Preschools in India

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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We all know the importance of computer in our lives. There is simply no sphere of life that does not have the presence of computers and related technology. So how early child education could remain adrift of computers? Though, a certain section of society is against the use of computers in schools because of excessive violence in computer games. Their apprehension is definitely justified. However, a wide variety of safe and non-violent computer games are also available to the kids. There are plenty of educational computer games for kids that are used by preschools and kindergartens. These games help in teaching alphabets and numbers to the children. These games are very helpful in child’s development at preschool.

The contribution of educational computer games can be seen in diverse range of subjects including shapes, colors, alphabets, and numbers. Use of interesting pictures and graphics on computer instigates child’s interest in the learning process. Children are always fascinated by computers. Preschool teachers often use interesting educational games on PCs to involve children in various activities related to math, arts, music, language and many other skills.

One can find numerous useful educational software in market. Many parents swear by the usefulness of educational computer software. Children can solve math games, puzzles and can indulge in coloring and music with the help of these games. Parents can find good educational computer games for their preschool level children from a reputed kids store or they can order it online. A bit of search effort can also result into wonderful computer games that are totally free. Computer educational games are definitely useful learning tools and parents and teachers should definitely introduce kids to these games.

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.