So your toddler is at pre school and you are wondering what exactly are they teaching. Also, is my child keeping up with the with the other children? Here are a few all important tips on what your child should be learning:

• The most important thing a child should be learning is socialization. This is your child’s first formal experience away from you. They need to learn how to listen to other adults, and interact with other children. It is hard to learn how to ask a child to play with you, or learn how to cope when someone hurts your feelings. Children should look forward to coming to school and feel safe and secure in their social environment.
• Toddlers should also be learning how to function in their classrooms. For the most part, child day care centers have structured days. It is hard for a child to understand the concept of following someone else’s rules. Children must learn how to sit in a circle, complete learning activities, and learn to follow a scheduled day. This can be difficult and takes time.
• In terms of actual learning concepts, pre schoolers should begin working on pre-writing skills, These activities include fine motor skills such as learning to color within the lines, using play-doh, practicing pouring water, and eating with a spoon, Once your child has mastered these skills they will move on to learning how to hold a pencil and drawing straight lines. After tracing straight lines your child should begin to work on tracing their names and letters. When this is completed children will move on to writing letters without tracing.
• Letter comprehension should also be taking place. Children should start off just being introduced to letters by singing the alphabet and introducing one letter sound at a time (example: the letter a makes the sound …aaa…). They should also be learning words that start with that same letter sound (apple, ant, ankle). After learning the letetrs and sounds children will then begin to orally sound words out.
• In terms of math concepts, children should be exposed to numbers and also understand their quantity ( the number 2 means something). After children understand what the numbers are, and that they have value, they will then begin to trace the number that they are working on. Children will work on writing at least the first 20 numbers and some will even learn to write to 100. Children who have learned this will also begin learning addition. Children will also learn money concepts and possibly how to count by 5′s and 10′s.
• In terms of social studies and science, children usually learn the basics of hygiene, weather and season, holidays, dinosaurs, planets, and solar system. These are just a few examples. Usually these thematic ideas are based on the school’s preference and not on a set standard of what children have to know. Other curriculum may include art or physical education depending on the school.

What I have written seems simple. What parents really need to understand is that all children learn differently and its up to the child what pace they learn at. Some children will end the year knowing how to read and some may just understand letters. Remember THIS IS FINE AND NORMAL. Children learn differently and and that does not make one slower or smarter. Remember this is preschool and not college! Children usually reach the same level by third grade. If your child is happy and loves going to school, at the end of the day… they are learning a lot!

See also:

Early Years Are Learning Years™ from naeyc.org

Helping young children start school from naeyc.org

A Homeschool Curriculum for Preschool and Kindergarten

The most important thing I must emphasize is to never NEVER force a child to learn academically. Learning needs to be fun and interesting. Forcing a child who is not ready or willing, will create resentment and cause many problems in life. Remember learning comes in many ways, and children are using learning skills when they are trying to socialize and assimilating to the school experience. These are all valid skills and should not be ignored. If your little genius is ready, then how will you know?

A child who is ready to read is expressing interest in words. He is asking what the letters are that he sees and continually wanting you to read the same stories over and over. Part of every parents ritual should be reading a minimum of fifteen minutes to a child each day. By showing that you think reading is important your child will grow to love it as well. Soon your child will be picking up the stories and retelling them to you relying on memory and pictures. You may even hear him mimicking your own voice intonation.

The first step is to review the alphabet. One of t he best ways to introduce the alphabet is to introduce a child to his name. It gets them to understand that letters have meaning because it relates to them. With each letter of his name go over the sound it makes. This will get him to understand that letters have sounds. After reviewing the sounds in the name start with each letter of the alphabet ( one every few days) and go over the sounds and word associations with that sound. You should also create index cards with your child. Place index cards around your house with a word, and a picture drawn by your child next to real items ( i.e. write the word window have your child draw a picture of a window scribbling is fine and place it next to the window). This will also help him to understand that words are full of meaning.

If your child expresses an interest in writing start with purchasing the large pencils or pencil grippers. This will help your child understand the correct way to hold a pencil. You can also purchase some writing paper that has dotted lines in the middle. This helps children understand where the writing line is and where words go. Start with creating dots and having your child connect the dots. This will help your child gain confidence. NEVER make your child erase his work or tell them that they are wrong. Remember they are preschoolers and there is plenty of time for correction . You do not want to frustrate your child or make them think they can’t do something. They will then stop trying and you will have to wait. Once your child can connect the dots with ease start with writing the stick letters (b,p,d,,t) These are the easiest to write. Then go on to rounder letters (a,g,j,c). From their you can write the rest of the alphabet and then go on to simple two letter words etc. Remember these things take time. Connecting the dots of his name may take your child all year and that is fine! Your child needs to work at their own pace!

Remember reading and writing go hand in hand. You cannot teach one without the other. Make learning fun. You can play letter games, sound games, have fun reading times, read books about what your child is interested in, and even pick out learning materials together. Don’t use this time as time to get your child ahead of his class. Use it as bonding time, giving your child special memories that your child will have forever. Remember your child is a little genius no matter what because he is yours. So teach away!

Is my child artistic? Does this program do a lot of art? Does my child love to read? Does this program have a lot of story time? Does my child love to build, or work with trains? You get the point, think of your child’s interest and match it to what the program offers. A child who loves art and creativity may not do as well in a school that focuses mostly on academic skills.

Is my child extremely focused or does he have an extremely short attention span. You may want to look at programs that offer different choices all day or a program that is extremely structured. The important thing here is to find a school that seems like the best fit for your child and also makes you feel comfortable. Remember when your child starts school they are in school for a large quantity of time. You need to feel at ease when sending your child to school and finding the best fit will ensure this. Lastly remember, the first school you pick may not be the best fit. Don’t beat yourself up over this. It may take a few tries. Ultimately though when you do find that right school both you and your child will benefit.

This cycle of forcing a child to understand that school is a place that we do ?work? can be a scary one as it can set up children to resent school. This is a child?s first experience at school and it needs to be a positive one. At a young age children need to understand that learning is something that takes place everywhere and it is fun, not work. If you are relying for a teacher to teach your child you have the wrong idea about education. You want your child to learn at school; learn how to make friends, how to be self sufficient, how to separate home-life and what the basics of school are.

If they happen to learn a letter or number along the way great. School should not be the first time they are exposed to reading and writing and practicing with you where they feel safest to explore is a great thing! I am not saying break out the blackboard at home, rather spend time with your child teaching them through hands on experience. If your child loves dinosaurs read about it, count dinosaurs, visit museums, pretend to be dinosaurs, cook with dinosaur shapes draw paint and cut until they are interested in something else. Have Fun!