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Saturday, November 19, 2011

Pre-school is very precious for children`s development

A small portion of my views on Pre-School published in City Plus ..
Pre-school is very precious for children`s development
Date of Publishing: 2011-11-11 00:00:00.0
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The big moment has arrived and you need to let go of it. Yesterday your child was crawling, today your child is ready to make friends and go to big school. But how important is a pre-school?
Many people have reservations about the importance of pre-school education. But there's increasing evidence that children gain a lot from going to pre-school. At pre-school, they become exposed to numbers, letters, and shapes. And, more important, they learn how to socialize -- get along with other children, share, and contribute to circle time. According to a report, the majority of children attend at least one year of pre-school.
"Children who attend high-quality pre-school enter kindergarten with better pre-reading skills, richer vocabulary and stronger basic math skills than those who do not," says educator Lakshmi Venkatesh.
"Kindergarten teachers will tell you that the students who are ready to learn are those who come to school with good social and behaviour-management skills," she adds.
Mathangi K Kumar, a teacher from Koramangala, says: Pre-school education has become one of the necessary skills for all children. In spite of their young age and being away from their parents, it has become an essential part of a child's growth. The school syllabus caters to the needs of the children. Their cognitive and emotional skills are taken care of as their brain undergoes a rapid growth in their early stages. Moreover, each child learns to give and take, cooperate with each other, how to work in harmony in a large group. Mere academics is not the only curriculum; it has extracurricular and co-curricular activities for the overall development of a child."
"Parents also feel secure for their child in the new environment. The child also looks forward to attending the school at a very early stage to mix with friends and play in the school," she adds.
Why is pre-school education necessary for children?
Vice Principal Zahver Dhabhar of TLC Montessori Pre-school, says: "Pre-school education is not only necessary but also very important for children too young to enter elementary school.  Here they are exposed to a lot of learning activities and become independent thinkers. Social skills are enhanced, friendships are cultivated, and vocabulary is improved upon. In brief, a child is ready for his first steps into an elementary school. Bringing up a child is a community endeavour with teachers and parents working in an open and transparent partnership. Education is thus an 'Aid to life' and its end result is a mature healthy adult."
Sapna of Butterfly Montessori says: "Navratna were traditionally the nine jewels of Emperor Akbar's court, each one signifying a skill, a knowledge, and art. In today's age the Navratna needed for all-round development of children are the nine intelligences as given by Dr Howard Gardner. In pre-schools and Montessories we explore the intelligence of each child and discuss ideas, themes, events and activities that a teacher, parent and educator can use for developing these in children. So start collecting the nine jewels and make learning is fun for pre-schoolers." 
A co-ordinator with Little Elly Pre-school says: "In a pre-school, children learn social skills when they interact with other children. Interacting with other children means learning how to wait, how to take turns and how to listen.  These skills are critical to a developing personality.  Primarily, they are the foundations for academic learning. In pre-school your child will listen to songs…which are actually building blocks needed to grasp phonics and reading skills when it is developmental appropriate. The play that takes place with water, sand and containers form the foundation for understanding some basic Math concepts.  Matching and sequencing done over and over and help children get ready to learn academics.  Watching other children pursue a challenging task is also very helpful. So pre-school is indeed a precious time in your child's life. Do not shrug it off as something that he is not going to remember later and, therefore, unimportant."
—CITYPLUS NEWS DESK

1 comment:

  1. Agree, if the pre-school is a good one like the one you have described!

    ReplyDelete