As your child moves out of infancy, you will find you need to start making decisions about his or future, ones that will impact them for years to come. For example, one of the first major questions will involve their academics. Should you go with a play-based or academic preschool in NJ? As studies have repeatedly shown, children do better in school when they learn the fundamentals early, before they enter the kindergarten classroom. Others have shown this benefit to be short lived, however, so parents are confused. No matter which group you belong to, you’ll find numerous children thrive in this type of environment.
Children who need structure find an academic preschool better meets their needs. The teacher provides a structure for the day and plans the activities. The child is then guided through the schedule, moving from one task to another. Children will be taught the things needed to make the transition to kindergarten smoother, such as colors and shapes, letters of the alphabet, and more. The main difference between an academic and play-based preschool, however, if the amount of direction the child receives from the teacher.
Parents need to remember that this isn’t kindergarten and set their expectations accordingly, when choosing a preschool. The classroom should not look like it is set up for academic learning. Children, during the preschool years, must move from activity to activity, thanks to their limited attention span. If the classroom isn’t designed for this, the child won’t do well. Consider your child and his or her needs, as many find an academic based preschool, one that provides the fundamentals of learning, along with basic social and emotional skills, to be the best choice, rather than one which lets the child choose what to learn, based on what they are interested in.
When the time comes to select this Academic Preschool in NJ, you may wish to look into Alpine Montessori. The staff at Peppertree wish to see each child succeed and become a learner for life, yet the focus is on the process used to achieve this goal, not the end results. Children are encouraged to be independent and work on their own, as each child learns at their own pace. Your child is unique, yet most preschools overlook this fact. This isn’t an issue when you choose the Montessori preschool at Alpine Montessori.
