Parents have many reasons for wanting to stay home with their children. It can save on childcare costs, let the parent make decisions about how the child spends their day, build relationships, let children explore the world at their own pace, let parents witness milestones, and let parents impart values to their children.
These are all beautiful reasons to stay home with your child. But if you’re planning on enrolling your child in public or private school, it is beneficial to give your child at least a year (or more!) of early childhood education before their first day of school.
Some benefits of early childhood education are simple: raising your hand before speaking, standing in a line, following a new schedule, and learning together as a group. But there’s more to early childhood education than learning the rules of kindergarten.
Brain Development
A child’s brain develops rapidly during the early years of their life and needs a constantly stimulating environment to grow and process new information and skills. Early childhood education programs support the brain’s development through structured and independent play. Children learn new skills through intentional teaching strategies that are often overlooked at home.
Social and Relationship Skills
Children need to learn how to interact with a variety of people, not just their family members. Children with limited exposure to non-family members can be anxious and shy when starting school. This can lead to many problems that could have been prevented by giving them early exposure to other children and adults.
Early childhood education programs help children learn important social skills, such as:
- How to make friends
- Sharing
- Cooperating
- Solving problems
- Resolving conflicts.
These skills will be better integrated by your child’s first day of kindergarten, so they can focus on learning.
Language and Communication Skills
Infants have no understanding of language and must learn language quickly. Often, babies can understand spoken language before their first birthday, even if they can’t reciprocate with language yet.
Young children have a tremendous ability to learn language. Their communication (both verbal and nonverbal!) is being actively formed. An early childhood development program like Children’s Academy Childcare is carefully designed to enhance language development and communication skills through activities like storytelling and group play.
School Preparation
While there are more benefits to an early childhood education program than school preparation, it’s undeniable that school preparation is a huge benefit!
Children who participate in an early childhood education program are independent and confident. They know basic rules like raising their hand to speak, standing in a line, waiting for the group to finish, and following a structured schedule. Learning these skills before starting kindergarten will help their first weeks of school go by smoothly and even boost their confidence because they already know proper school etiquette.
Enroll at Children’s Academy Childcare Today!
Children’s Academy Childcare offers an outstanding early childhood education program that will prepare your child for kindergarten and beyond! Ready to get started? Contact today!