Every parent wants their child or their children to succeed academically. We do what we can, from the day that they are born, to try to get our children ready for anything that they will have to face in life, as well. Kindergarten is no different from anything else in your child’s life. You want to get your children ready for kindergarten so that they will have an easier time transitioning from life at home to life at school. Yet, how can you be certain whether or not preschool even does get children ready for kindergarten?

One of the purposes of preschool, at least according to those who design and run preschool programs, is indeed to get children ready for kindergarten. Preschool tries to help our children to develop certain academic skills, and to start to transition into an educational environment. On the social side of things, preschool helps children to adjust more and more to being around other children. Preschool children get ready for kindergarten by learning important social skills such as taking turns, listening, and being patient.

There has been research that supports the idea that preschool does indeed get children ready for kindergarten, and even for later academic life. Some studies even suggest that children who go to preschool will do much better in kindergarten than those choldren who do not attend preschool. Again, both the academic and social skills that are learned in preschool can be very valuable to a child as they enter kindergarten.

Having said all of that, the fact remains that it is also possible for a child to have these positive, early academic experiences, as well as to develop those important social skills, in a setting other than preschool. Parents can help to provide for these things at home, and they should, even if the child is in preschool. However, to be as effective as preschool, a parent has to be fully aware of these issues and create a home environment in which those academic and social skills are nurtured.

Posted in School Issues

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