Preschool education has been set as the foundation for successful education and even success in adult life. But not all preschools are the same, not even the most expensive ones. These are the characteristics and characteristics that a good preschool should have:
- Clean and safe location. This is non-negotiable for preschoolers. We are talking about children under the age of six who will regularly attend classes. It is crucial that even on the way to school they feel safe. There should be no health and safety hazards anywhere near the school. A good preschool should not only attend to a child’s mental well-being but her physical well-being as well. Children must be able to associate positive feelings and images with school.
- Complete and safe facilities. Setting up a classroom will not be enough if we want quality public nursery schools. There are basic facilities that children need throughout the day and facilities that are required to keep the school child-friendly and hazard-free. In a nutshell, a preschool should have a bathroom, a sanitary eating area, a separate garbage area, a clinic or medicine cabinet, a non-slip floor, and cabinets for toys and other supplies. Furniture and any equipment must not have sharp edges. Electrical outlets should have covers and anything else that could be harmful to children should be kept out of sight and reach.
- Atmosphere to feel good. A preschool should have a welcoming environment for young children. It should not appear boring, harsh, or threatening. Classrooms should be well ventilated and well lit. Positive and colorful images and designs should be visible to children. Staff and teachers must be helpful, friendly, and accommodating. Children need to be able to see that they are going to have fun in class and that school is a place where they can play and learn.
- Trained and attentive teachers. It’s no joke to take care of small children, what else to teach them. A serious effort for preschool education must be accompanied by a willingness to invest in teacher training or retraining. If children are taught the wrong things in preschool, the whole purpose of the program is defeated. Preschool teachers must know how to teach the alphabet and counting, how to read stories and sing songs, how to motivate children through games, and how to manage a class of young children. They must be loving and caring, and must never resort to coercion or physical punishment.
- Low teacher-student ratio. Studies of the effects of preschool education on academic and life success say the same about its potency. Preschool education cannot achieve its goal if it is of low quality, and one quality factor is the teacher-student relationship. Ideally, a teacher should only handle seven to ten students. The maximum for each class is twenty. Sometimes having teacher aides or assistants also helps manage a large class. Young students need a lot of supervision and personal interaction. If the government is serious about installing public preschools, the current teacher-student ratio in public primary schools should not be tolerated at the preschool level.
- Holistic approach and curriculum. A preschool should not only prepare a child intellectually to enter the big school. You must also help children to develop their other aspects. Preschool cannot be too focused on academic subjects. He must also address the development of social skills to prepare children for a larger group or class. Already at preschool age, good qualities and values such as self-confidence and love of country can already be introduced. Creativity and self-expression should also be a priority in the curriculum, keeping children motivated and interested in education. In the words of Dr. Barbara Willer of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, “Your 3- or 4-year-old will learn the fundamentals of reading, writing, math, and science, as well as how to interact with teachers and peers. ..[but] The overall goal of any preschool should be to help a child feel good about themselves as a learner and feel comfortable in a school-like environment.”
- Some structure or routine. What differentiates a preschool from a daycare center is that it has a more defined structure. A good preschool has a set schedule for activities, from writing lessons to playtime and naptime. She also requires regular attendance, she is not a mother taking care of children. In the classroom, routine tasks can be performed to instill in children a sense of competence and responsibility. These can be as simple as helping distribute materials or tidying up the room. This structured quality of a preschool ensures that children are not wasting time but are learning each day.
- Variety of teaching materials. Children need a lot of stimulation: their intellectual stimulation depends largely on sensory stimulation. A good preschool has to have a wide variety of educational aids. Pictures, stories, recorded songs and models or realia are some of them. Children are also very tactile learners. Manipulatives, such as puzzles and pegboards, help children develop fine motor skills and the hand-eye coordination essential for writing and other tasks. Buttons or marbles are less expensive items that can be used to teach counting. The idea is that children have fun while learning.
- Playground and materials. It is natural for children to play. Therefore, there must be an area or time to play. In addition to the usual toys, blocks should be available. These help develop spatial and problem-solving skills as well as creativity. The game can also come in the form of art (children love to draw). The school should never run out of paper, crayons and clay. The idea is that children learn while having fun.
- Physical activity. You heard right! A good preschooler is not afraid to exercise. Children should have the opportunity, every day, to move and play, either inside or outside. This helps them practice their motor and other physical skills.
- Sensitive to language, rich in language. Since children will be learning more about language, and learning a new one, in preschool, they should be exposed to it as much as possible. Whether the new language is Filipino or English, materials should be available everywhere. Posters on the walls, labeled objects, and storybooks should be staples in the classroom. On the other hand, the preschool must also be sensitive to the mother tongue of the community. Many countries have multilingual education, and preschools must be careful not to prohibit children from using their mother tongue. Furthermore, teachers should not hesitate to use the mother tongue when explaining and teaching.