Preschools in India

Usually, kids are not really interested in reading simply because their brain is not developed enough to understand alphabets and sentence structure etc. You can read fluently to a child only when he develops the grasping power. But reading is known to benefit children in many ways. The first and foremost benefit is improvement in the hearing skills of the child. It is recommended that after reading the text to the child ask him/her to repeat it. This will not only improve his hearing skills but also help him in learning correct pronunciation. Reading aloud to children is very important for toddlers or preschoolers. Both teachers as well as parents should do it regularly. It is important for developing linguistic abilities.

Reading to a child has direct effect on his pronunciation which is going to play a big role in his future. He tends to receive the words minutely. He will follow the way you or teachers read and pronounce the words. Reading something like poetries or nursery rhymes or stories etc not only interests child but also helps him in memorizing quickly and grasping the words efficiently. Besides, this is a great way to find out his intelligence and grasping power.

When you read aloud to children, they are able to pay more attention which in turn improves his concentration and focus. It is hard for children to remain interested in one thing for long so choose reading matter carefully. Stories and rhymes etc can do a fine job here. One more benefit of reading to child is introduction of new words. As child comes across new vocabularies, he starts interpreting the meaning. Later on, you can teach him how to use these new words in writing. Reading to children also helps in improving their communication skills.

It is important to create a learning environment at home. Though, you might have got your child enrolled at a playschool or preschool, but because children spend most of their time at home, you can encourage your child’s natural instincts by making your home learning environment. This will also prove crucial in making child interested in learning things on his own. Contrary to popular beliefs, children do most of their learning at home and not at schools. A child spends maximum time in his home so that leaves plenty of spare time for learning new and interesting things at home.

Children are curious by nature. They like to explore new things and learn at their own pace. It is not advisable to force child into a fixed schedule. Children tend to spend their time at home actively playing and using their imaginations, fighting, eating, watching and hearing adults interact, and even daydreaming. With few minor modifications and creativity, you can foster a great learning environment at home. Parents should strive to encourage creativity of the children. Provide them with resources such as an area in your house completely dedicated to painting or drawing. It is important to encourage artistic instincts of your kid. You should motivate him to play with building blocks or sketches or musical instrument. Instead of buying expensive kits, games, and learning equipment, arrange for smaller items and enjoy the creativity of your child.

Learning cannot take place in a crowded place. Provide some privacy or a quiet place to your child where he can go to read, listen to music, write in a journal, or just sit and look out the window daydreaming. Focus on what interests your child. You can share his enthusiasm for new things and guide him properly. If you child talks about solar system or stars or sun then gift him a telescope and teach him how to use it. These small steps will go a long way in making your home a learning environment.

One of the important tasks for kindergarten teachers is to get the kids interested in and developing good reading habits. This important task must be done through a fun-filled activity and not as a structured assignment. If the task is imposed on the toddlers, they will develop an aversion towards reading so teachers as well as parents must strive to get kids into reading in a friendly manner. Reading activity for kids will help them in learning and recognizing letters and the sounds they make.

One such important activity is reading to the kids. It could be a story, fable or anything that can interest the child. To understand the listening ability and receptivity of the child, teachers can ask him to paraphrase the story back to them. Reading a story to the kids will help them in building their vocabulary as they work to find new words.

Ideally, parents should start this process before child is admitted into a kindergarten. This can be done during the bedtime or even while parents are running errands. For instance, parents can ask kid to spell objects as they see or collect words from sign while they are roaming around. Allow child to describe objects as they see and in their own words. Parents need to be creative while trying to develop reading habit in the child. It is not just books they need to look at. Use nameplates, license plates or roadside banners etc to teach the child different letters and words.

One more interesting idea is to use labels and stick them to everyday items around the house. This way child will learn to associate the spelling. There is plenty of reading activity for kids and all the parents need to do is to be creative.

It must be a nervous moment for your kid when he approaches the gates of kindergarten for the first time. Though, parents make a great deal of efforts to prepare their child for this exciting new event yet some necessary steps are needed for this transition phase. Children who have already attended preschools are definitely at advantage but even they need to be prepared by their parents for this important day.

The first thing, parents need to do is to introduce the child to his school or should we say, building. Yes, taking a tour of his kindergarten school, classroom, going for paperwork, admission process with your child is a great way of making him comfortable with a new chapter of his life. It will help him know which school would be his. His familiarity with the layout of the building and classroom will give him more confidence and reduce his apprehensions.

Make an arrangement to introduce your child to his/her teacher before the school begins. When you leave him in a new environment on the very first day, he will find great comfort seeing one familiar face of his teacher. Ideally, you should also introduce him to other teachers, staff members, bus driver etc. Knowing all those familiar faces on the first day of the school will give your child more confidence.

If your child has attended preschool, he would feel reluctant to leave it and move onto kindergarten. But if you can manage to find some of his friends in the kindergarten, he will definitely be more relaxed. Also, make your child aware of his school schedule. Give him a rough idea of how the day will pan out. This way, he will be mentally prepared for the day.

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Games play a crucial role in the development of children. That explains inclusion of games in the kindergarten curriculum. These games are innovative that helps in immediately attracting the attention of the children. Games for kids do not need to be complicated because then it will spoil the fun for children. Games help in keeping kids engaged and entertained. It is not easy to handle kindergarten kids as teachers can vouch for this fact. Their minds easily get distracted and that’s why games are essential to keep them interested in a subject as well have a ball of a time.

Talking about some of the popular games for kids, Wild Goose Chase is a favorite amongst the children. It is played outside where all the kids sit in a circle facing inward. One child is appointed as picker and he/she walks around the circle and taps each one sitting in there and says ‘duck’. Once the walking child taps someone and says ‘goose’, the other child has to get up and chase the picker. That’s where the fun begins. If the picker manages to sit in the vacant area left by the goose before the latter touches him, the goose becomes the picker. This game helps in developing alertness and motors skills in kids.

Tug of War is loved by every child. All that the game demands is a rope. Children are divided into two groups and both groups are asked to tug and pull at the rope. Kids love pushing and pulling. The winning team is rewarded with a bar of chocolate or a small storybook.

Treasure Island is another popular game amongst kids. This game involves hiding an object that is treasured by the kids. The object could be a chocolate, toy, book, ball or crackers etc. After hiding the objects in different spots on the playground or in the class room, children are given some clues using which they have to find the treasure. This is a thoroughly enjoyable game for kids.

Before children start kindergarten, they should know certain things. It not only helps the child but also the school. There is no universal rule regarding proper age for a child to start kindergarten education. Different countries have different perquisites for a child entering school. However, it usually ranges from four years to six years. Most of the kindergarten schools want children to know certain things before they can begin their education. That makes it imperative for parents to check out all the requirements demanded by the schools. Some of the most common skills required in children pertain to pre-academic like reading, writing, and bit of math.

Children should show ample sign of social skills, development of which very much depends upon parents. A child learns basics skills such as safety, health and nutrition in his family. Kindergartens do not really expect child to know everything. They don’t even expect child to completely know how to read. However, having a basic idea will certainly prove helpful. Children should be aware of famous stories, alphabets and should be able to tell their names. It will help if kids know how to hold a crayon, pencil or marker. Pre-academic skills also include writing their own names, ability to draw simple recognizable pictures of people, places and things.

Prior to starting kindergarten, children should know numbers 1 to 10 or 1 to 20 and understanding how they work. Quite a number of kids also understand basic shapes. It is important to make child remember his full name, address, phone number, parents’ or guardians’ names and place of employment and the location of the school for safety purposes. Some of the other basic skills required to be known by kids are how to cross the street, how to contact a safe adult when there is an emergency, how to wash their hands before and after each meal and to cover their mouth when they sneeze or cough etc.

Before preschools, playschools and daycare centers had made their entry into child care education, kindergarten used to be the initiating education point in a child’s life. Kindergartens hold a special place in defining child’s future. Usually, a child is sent to a kindergarten when he is about four years old. However, it is up to the discretion of the parents to find out whether the child is ready for the kindergarten. This question arises because of the fact that not every child grows at the same rate. Parents need to consider whether the child is ready to face long periods of time in an unfamiliar environment.

There has been a radical change in Kindergarten over the past ten or fifteen years. Earlier children were introduced to crafts and games for educational purposes but now the focus has shifted to academic subjects including computers and foreign languages. Some kids are ready for the newness offered by kindergartens whereas some others are not developed enough at four or five years old to deal with complex subjects. This readiness and development is subject to several factors like motor skills, child’s aptitudes, social skills, the capacity for concentration, curiosity and ability to follow a routine. Keeping these facts in mind, some kindergartens have started to take screening test and it includes simple activities such as body movements, drawing, use of language and auditory memory.

Parents should focus on developing child’s social skills from an early age. Parents can initiate the basics by teaching alphabets and introducing numerical games at home. There are different puzzles and building blocks games as well that can help child getting ready for kindergarten. Parents can also take help of internet and some books for preparing child for a brand new kindergarten experience.

Kindergarten education literally shapes the future of a child. If there is a term that one can use for kindergarten then it must be ‘fun learning experience’. Toddlers are taught basic learning skills at kindergarten. These skills play a crucial role in further education of the child. At many places kindergartens are also known as preschools, nursery schools or play schools. However, in recent times the concept of each of these terms has been defined in a more proper way. Kindergarten is for kids aged between two to five years. The purpose of kindergarten activities is to improve the basic communication skills, introduction to alphabets and numbers and motor development of the kids. These activities are designed in such a way that child not only enjoys doing them but also learns faster.

There are certain factors that are kept in mind while planning kindergarten activities. The priority goes to concept of education in each and every activity. Education in kindergartens is all about simple activities. There is no unnecessary inclusion of academics in kindergarten activities. The primary aim is to teach children how to speak, how to recognise different objects, how to identify plants and animals, how to distinguish colours etc. In last few years, computers have also been included in kindergartens with the help of which children are introduced to new technology. Computer learning activities also help in improving hand-eye coordination.

Kindergarten ideas place special emphasis on element of creativity. By providing creative freedom to children, teachers can bring out the best from the kids. For example, in an art class, a child can paint stars in red or blue colour instead of white. The aim here is to enhance his creative side. Toddlers at kindergarten are introduced to kids of their age. By indulging in observations and interactions with other toddlers, kids can learn many new things. They discover the joy of sharing and communicating. Kids also learn basis etiquettes which goes a long way in shaping their future.

Kindergartens provide a wonderful mode of education for young kids. Basic skills are developed in the children through the help of social interaction and creative play. Kindergartens in India are essentially a part of the preschool system. Indian education system follows a structured manner.

Kindergarten education in India is usually divided into certain stages like junior kindergarten, lower kindergarten or senior kindergarten. The age of kids attending kindergarten varies between two to six years. Kindergartens play a vital role in child development. Children learn by playing with educative toys and by interacting with other kids and teachers. They also learn to live away from their parents for a while which helps them in tackling separation anxiety. Teachers play a major role in development of different skills in the children.

Kindergarten education helps in the development of basic motor skills in the child. Kids learn to do few things themselves like eating habits, dressing up and washroom related functions. A child is made to express his emotions which are so very important for his proper progress. The kindergarten environment makes children understand, accept and control his feelings. Good health habits are paid attention to. One of the most important contributions of kindergarten in India is in developing social attitudes, discipline, patience, group skills, manners and etiquette’s among the children. His intellectual curiosities are stimulated with the help of games, artistic activities and teachers’ guidance.

Sufficient opportunities are made available to the children to encourage their creativity and independence. A child learns to communicate and play in the wonderful environment of Indian kindergartens. Course curriculum is devised in such a way that child is motivated to learn language and vocabulary. Subjects like science and mathematics are introduced to the kids.

Kindergartens help children in adjusting with unfamiliar environment which comes very handy during their growing up phase. Kindergartens have a lot to offer to the tender minds. There are numerous quality kindergartens in different parts of India.

Indian education system places special emphasis on kindergartens that provide children with first-hand experience of education and learning. Because of kindergartens, parents are able to feel safe and secure in the knowledge that their children are in good hands. This also enables them to go back to their works in a relatively peaceful state of mind.