A question that often weighs heavily on the hearts and minds of parents with young children during this time of year is, “Should I enroll my four-year-old in Pre-Kindergarten at Rockdale Elementary School or just let them stay home and “be little” another year?”
It’s not unusual for parents to question whether or not their child is “too young” to be a student in the “big kid school” or are possibly worried their child might experience feelings of separation anxiety. Many parents are also under the misconception that Pre-K students simply “play all day” and no valuable learning opportunities and experiences actually occur during the school day.
Those fears and misconceptions are very typical and often valid, so please allow us to put those assumptions and fears to rest. Please read on to make an invaluable, informed decision about your child’s enrollment in Pre-K at RES next year.
Enrolling your child in Pre-Kindergarten at Rockdale Elementary School will provide a solid foundation for core academic, social and emotional development that can be built upon the following year in kindergarten.
Research in recent years by top influential and reputable educational researchers has produced strong evidence that young children who participate in/enroll in high-quality Pre-Kindergarten programs will become successful kindergarten students who are developmentally more ready to learn than their same-aged peers who did not attend a high-quality Pre-K program. In fact, researchers who studied Pre-K aged children enrolled in such programs scored higher (44% higher in math, 31% higher in language arts and 85% more successful in print awareness skills) than those children who did not go to Pre-K at all.
Pre-K at RES affords your son or daughter the opportunity to be in a supportive, structured educational setting where each individual child is valued for their uniqueness and his or her success is celebrated with enthusiasm, sincerity and zeal.
Dr. Seuss wrote, “A person’s a person no matter how small,” but in Pre-K at RES we like to say, “A child is a gift, no matter how small, and at RES, we love them all!” Our creative team of highly qualified, compassionate Pre-K teachers are all parents themselves, and therefore they understand the need for flexibility, patience and organization. Most importantly, we have a passion for teaching our youngest learners as we become their partners in learning during the school year. Together, we work collaboratively with students and parents using a team approach to spark the love of learning and foster a mutual respect of our diverse population of our students and their families.
We are often the first people to introduce students to the vast, exciting world of learning and we take that role very seriously. Our goal each year is to develop students who will become lifelong learners and productive citizens of society who strive to be their best selves in every situation before them in the years to come.
Attending Pre-K will prepare your child for future academic, social and emotional success as they develop into problem solvers and independent learners throughout the school year.
Yes, academics are a vital part of our curriculum in our highly-qualified Pre-K program at Rockdale Elementary. It is a commonly held misconception that children enrolled in Pre-K are forced to grow up too soon in school because they are not allowed opportunities for creative, open-ended exploration and play.
In fact, just the opposite is true at RES. Our reputable, child-centered curriculum offers the best of both worlds because as educators and parents, we hold firmly to the research-based belief that children learn best at a young age when they are given opportunities to learn through play. No, we don’t just play all day, but our lessons/activities are designed to allow all modalities of learning to be experienced.
We know some children are visual or auditory learners, while other children learn best through hands-on, tactile activities that stress active movement and experiences.
More times than not, our youngest learners use a combination of these modalities to learn most effectively. At RES we believe in teaching the whole child, meaning that academics is not the only area addressed throughout the day. We also place great importance on developing social skills such as learning how to share/take turns with our classmates, how to regulate our own behavior, how to actively listen and participate in class discussions and activities and how to be respectful of ourselves and others.
Additionally, students in Pre-K are given opportunities to discover they are smart little people, capable of being independent learners, understanding they can do things for themselves, while learning how to make great choices and decisions.
See next week's column for advice on what you can do at home to help your child prepare for Pre-K.
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