3 Signs Your Child Is Ready For Pre-school

Through the years preschools have risen in importance, but there is still a big question in parents' minds. The usual ones include - "When do I actually take the leap and send my child to preschool near me?" Before we answer that question, let’s take a step back and explore two myths about your toddler busted recently by science.

Myth 1- Children only start learning at the age of 6: Our whole education system is based on the assumption that schooling and therefore learning starts in Grade 1. Prior to it, we assume that it is all about playing. However, research has shown conclusively that your child learns as fast as they could well BEFORE the age of 6 at the playschool itself. That’s right, the speed of learning before 6 is much fast than after. So, the earlier they start preschool, the better it is.

Myth 2 - Children learn best from adults: We have been told this over and over again that there is always pressure on Moms to do multiple things with the kids, and that’s how kids learn. But, science differs from this view. It tells us that while children do look to adults to feel safe and enjoy the happy environment, most of their learning comes from interaction with other children. Given the increasing number of urban and nuclear families, it becomes more important to expose toddlers to their peers early so that they can maximize the learning opportunity. Once this stage passes, it will never come back again.

Now that you know the truth about these two myths, it is important that you must send your kids to preschool as early as possible. But, what are few of the signs to watch out for which tells that your little one is ready for preschool? Let’s look at them below:-

1. Loneliness

Try to find that if your child is having the following characteristics:-

a. Feeling restless at home and constantly asking for your attention are signs that your child needs companionship.

b. If you find that your child is watching TV or videos a lot, it is because the environment around him is not stimulating enough, which is largely due to the lack of a peer group.

c. If you find that your child is unable to make friends with others, this likely is because he isn’t used to having children around him.

Preschool is a great environment where your child can join playgroup consisting of peers under the supervision of a trained teacher.

2. Readiness to interact:

Mothers are known for having a strong bond with children, and therefore you can understand and communicate with your little one easily. But few signs tell you that they are ready for pre school:-

a. If your child can communicate his needs, like hunger or need to go to the toilet, then sending him to preschool will help him learn to communicate and socialize even faster than he would at home.

A model of children’s interactions with teachers, peers, and tasks embedded in activity settings within preschool classrooms.

Source : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4337404/

3. Shows signs of independence:

Since birth, a child is completely dependent on the mother for his/her routine. However, as children grow, they start doing a few activities by themselves. If a child starts making some efforts to eat or wear shoes by themself, it is time to send them to a pre school. This will help children to become independent even faster as they see other kids doing activities independently.

Finally, as a mother, you will know when is the right time to part with your precious child and send him to school. At the same time, we hope these tips will help you look for the signs. Good luck!

Name of the activity

Pre- School

Without Pre-School

Kids performing daily activities independently

95%

10%

Interaction with surroundings

75%

15%

Learning new skills

80%

10%

At Mindseed, we interact and work a lot to understand the queries, anxieties and expectation of a mom, and these signs are results of those interactions. We have kids starting playgroup as early as 1.5 years, and the results are fantastic as more than 95% of our kids at day care centre and playgroup start showing signs of independence while eating food and getting ready.

Today, with over 40 pre schools in just 5 years, Mindseed has already impacted the lives of more than 3000 learners across 7 cities and 2 states. Mindseed aims to grow to 200 pre-schools by 2020 and usher in a never seen before ‘learning’ revolution.