Preschool education is the provision of education for children between the ages of 2 and 4, dependent on the jurisdiction. Also known as nursery, day nursery, day care center or kindergarten, preschool provides education before the commencement of statutory education. Image File history File links Mergefrom. ... Child picking up book. ...

Day care

Main article: Day care

Child Care centers often work with Preschools in providing Early Childhood servies to children whose parents work or go to school. Some Child Care Centers have a preschool program built into their morning routine. Still others collaborate with different preschools, child care services, Head Start programs, or Special Education Programs to provide children with the best quality programs they can be provided for an entire day. Day care is the care of a child during the day by a person other than the childs parents or legal guardians, often someone outside the childs immediate family. ...

Developmental areas

The areas of development which preschool education covers varies by jurisdiction, however the following main 'themes' are represented in the majority of systems. [1] [2]

• Personal, social and emotional development
• Communication, including talking and listening
• Knowledge and understanding of the world
• Creative and aesthetic development
• Physical development
• Mathematical awareness and development

Ages for and importance of preschool education

Preschool is generally considered appropriate for children three to five years of age, between the toddler and school stages. During this stage of development, children learn and assimilate information rapidly, and express interest and fascination in each new discovery. These qualities make them prime candidates for education, although most are not ready for structured elementary schooling. ^{[citation needed]} A nursery school is a school for the education of very young children (generally five years of age and younger). ... Boy toddler Toddler is a common term for a a young child who is learning to walk or toddle,[1] generally considered to be the second stage of development after infancy and occurring predominantly during the ages of 12 to 36 months old. ... Students in Rome, Italy. ...

Aspects of preschoolers' abilities

At the age of four the practice of vocabulary and grammar starts to become very important. For four- and five-year-olds, the average vocabulary span is between 1500 and 2000 words. In this age group, the curriculum should focus on past tenses and pronouns of words. One word concept that becomes very confusing to the preschool age students is literal statements, which are those phrases that explain something figuratively but not realistically. An example is “when pigs fly”; if you say this a preschooler will picture a pig actually flying. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ...

Mathematical skills also come into use a great deal at this age. Preschoolers begin to recognize numbers better and understand the concept of numbers and their use. Rote counting, the ability to recite numbers in their proper order, is a very popular part of the curriculum for this age. Euclid, Greek mathematician, 3rd century BC, as imagined by by Raphael in this detail from The School of Athens. ...

The physical development of preschoolers should include more challenging activities. They like to do more things on their own. They love to help with anything they can and have responsibility. At this age their coordination has improved a lot and their body proportions have changed. They also become responsible for their own simple hygiene.

Preschoolers are gaining better fine motor control. They can use scissors to cut on a line. Draw people with 2 to 4 body parts. Able to draw circles and squares and beginning to write some letters. Can pour their own drinks from a small pitcher or container. Able to use utensils during meals. (From CARING FOR YOUR BABY AND YOUNG CHILD: BIRTH TO AGE 5 by Steven Shelov, Robert E. Hannermann, © 1991, 1993, 1998, 2004 by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Used by permission of Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc.)

Methods of Preschool Education

Parents are a child's best resource for education before school. Research shows that the more time and effort parents, caregivers, or teachers at preschools give to the child, the better a preschool child will be able to adjust to their environment. ^{[citation needed]}

Some preschools schools have adopted specialized methods of teaching, such as Montessori, Waldorf, High Scope,^[1] The Creative Curriculum^[2] Reggio Emilia approach, Bank Street and various other pedagogy which contribute to the foundation of education. In the United States most preschool advocates support the National Association for the Education of Young Children's Developmentally Appropriate Practices. Universal Preschool is the notion that access to preschool should be available to families in a similar way as Kindergarten. There are different perspectives on priorities for access and how it is to be funded. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A Waldorf classroom in Witten-Annen, Germany Waldorf education (also known as Steiner or Steiner-Waldorf education) is a pedagogical movement based upon the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... The Bank Street College of Education is located in upper Manhattan in New York City. ... The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is the largest nonprofit association in the United States that represents teachers in part day and full day preschool in centers and in family day care homes. ... Universal Preschool is the notion that access to preschool should be available to families similar to Kindergarten. ... A nursery school is a school for the education of very young children (generally five years of age and younger). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

References

1. ^ High Scope
2. ^ The Creative Curriculum

See also

• Child development
• Early childhood education
• Nursery school
• Universal preschool
• Comenius Foundation for Child Development