Daughters pre-school?

Question

my 3 1/2 yr old daughter goes to a pre-school 3 times a week for 2 1/2 hr sessions. can anybody tell me what she should be learning from this? I took her there as it had good reports from friends and others but when i went to help it looked like all they did was free play until snack or story time. should they e sitting down constructively learning something or is it enough to be learning through play alone?

I am going to have a word but interested in what others kids do at their pre-schools first?

Answer 1

I take my daughter to 2. One is a pre-school where they can play, but they are also taken to a table to do work like writing, colours, shapes, etc.

The other one is a nursery and they just let the children play and encourage them to try different things but don't teach them anything like the pre-school. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

there is no need to worry... at that age learing through play is enough...  it may not seem that they are learing but they are learing important social skills...how to share...how to make friends...these are things we take for granted but we had to learn these skills...if you are concerned ask the pre-school teacher ... im sure she would be happy to talk through any problems

Answer 3

Hi, I work in a pre school and we are taught that a child learns most when playing, although supported by staff.

Free play is an opportunity to make decsions and to have free access to materials and resources and is also a vital part to nursery life..

Please be aware that the staff will be supporting ur child's play as from what u said, ur daughter attends 2 1/2 hr sessions, which means she will be funded by the government.

As the nursery will be funded by the government they have the duty to provide focused activities to the children, which may include them ''sitting down constructively'' or may just include the children playing freely and the staff observing them in their play...which will lead the staff to plan further activities for the children.

The main thing is that ur daughter is happy within the nursery..x

Answer 4

First and foremost, your child is learning to interact with peers of her own age.  Children who are exposed to pre-school and its environment are better equipped for a smooth transition  when entering kindergarten due to their social interaction abilities.  I am a Montessori pre-school teacher and am amazed at what pre-school children are able to absorb and recall!  Pre-school also builds self-esteem, independence and self-confidence which instills an excitement to learn new and more challenging things!  The best way to quash that wonderment is to constructively sit a child down (per say) and attempt a lesson they may not be ready to embrace....every child approaches learning differently.  Pre-school should be a positive experience, showing children that learning is both fun and beneficial!  Keep sending her mom!

Answer 5

The nursery I use always gives us a start of term sheet which tells the parents what they are going to be learning through the term.

Maybe it might be a good Idea to ask the nursery to do this too, it will help them stay in communication with parents about what the children are doing and also the parents can then help at home by talking to the children about what they have learnt. (kids never tell you when they get back from nursery what they have been doing, my daughter ALWAYS says nothing!!).

At least this way, you know what the subjects being taught are.

Oh, and also a lot of the time, play is incorporated into the learning, so the children dont feel they are being taught and its not too rigid.

I'm sure your daughter is getting a good start at nursery, its just a bit more communication from them that you need!!

Good luck!

Answer 6

Free play is good that's how kids learn. 3 1/2 is too young for much sitdown constructive learning. Do they encourage different kinds of play?  such as an art area for self expression and fine motor skills? One of the biggest complaints that Kindergarten teachers have with children coming into school is that they don't know how to use liquid glue (they squeeze out big globs) and that they can't cut with scissors. Is there a pretend area with dress up clothes? it can be switched out to look like a house, store, doctors office, hair salon, or school. Do they have a block area? Puzzles? Books? They should be doing large group activities like music and movement, playing short games, reading a story out loud, etc. they should also do small group activities where their educators brake off with with a smaller group of children (about 6)  during that time they can talk about where the want to or did "work" (play) have them draw it and write their names on the paper. Is there outside play time for them to develop large motor skills? They should also be teaching social skills. instead of telling the kids how to work out problems they should guide them in doing it themselves. This is done mostly by asking the children questions. if they are fighting over a toy, "how can you take turns? how would you feel if...?  I say all of this because I have worked in preschools. I am glad to hear that you have spent time with your daughter at school.

Answer 7

I am a preschool teacher and from my experience with child they learn a lot at preschool and daycare. They learn social skills which are need to succeed in life. They are involved in an atmosphere with rules provided by people other than parents which will make the transition to kindergarten simpler for you and the child. Also most schools work on letters, shapes, colors, numbers etc. If you are still concerned, ask the teacher for her daily plans or ask to watch the class for a day. The teacher will not mind and love the fact that your taking interest in your child's learning.

Answer 8

This will give you everything your children should be learning until

the age of three.

http://www.surestart.gov.uk/resources/ch...

After this look at this for what your child should be learning after they are 3, until they are 5:

http://www.qca.org.uk/160.html

Hope this helps

Answer 9

My daughter is four now and I really see a difference between what she is learning this year and what she did last year at pre-school.  I think when they're three, most of the focus is on socialising and being able to follow instructions and settle into a routine.  This year, they have been studying a topic to a very basic degree, concentrating on counting, colours and shape, and have even been learning some German.

Also, I know that free play is an opportunity for the teachers to assess the children's development - for example, they'll take a note of them managing to complete a jigsaw as proof of their problem-solving abilities.