Wow! Those are some fairly lofty results for an environment where the Itsy Bitsy Spider and mucking around in the water table often dominate the day.

It also may leave parents feeling compelled to pack their child off to school at a time when they just aren’t ready–whether emotionally, financially or otherwise–to make the leap into formal schooling.

Here’s some news that may help ease worried minds. Preschool education can take many forms, including what many parents are already doing with their children every day. Patricia Myers, executive director of the New York State Association for the Education of Young Children (NYSAEYC) says when it comes to young children and learning, the name of the game is informality.

"Early education research points to the fact that kids learn best through play," says Myers. "When we talk about young children and learning what we mean is allowing them to have regular opportunities to be read to, to have conversations with adults, to interact with someone who can ask them questions about the things that they are experiencing and to provide answers to their questions." Myers says that none of this needs to happen in a formal preschool setting. "If parents are providing these types of activities at home, that’s wonderful."

However, as the number of households with both parents working outside the home grows–and for a variety of other reasons–families
supplement learning in the home with child-care or a formal preschool program. Chosen wisely, Eileen Mahoney, assistant professor in the Early Childhood Education Department at Hudson Valley Community College, says that an early learning environment can benefit children in a host of positive ways.

Mahoney says that learning experiences beyond the home allow children to develop trusting relationships with adults other than their parents and with children their own age. Children may also be able to have experiences that parents can’t always provide easily at home.

"Although it is not essential," says Mahoney, "if it is a good quality program, it can definitely be to the child’s advantage to be included."

Nursery school. Cooperative. Montessori. When it comes to preschools, there are many different terms to describe their philosophies and structures. The following guide will help you understand some of the most common types of preschool options available. Often preschools combine a variety of educational approaches. When you are visiting a preschool, be sure to ask the director or teacher what philosophies she/he uses.

Child-centered means most of the activities are initiated by children who are free to move from one thing to another as they want. Often this type of setting will include a variety of stations—art, music, blocks, books, housekeeping—and children will be playing alone or working in small groups. Overall there is a gently structured feel to the day. Myers says when it comes to young children this is how things should ideally be. "Most of a three- and four-year-old’s day should be devoted to play at their own initiation," says Myers. "If a school is truly child-centered, the teacher’s role will be about setting up the environment, interacting with the children, and providing ideas and materials for activities."

This is a more structured approach, in which teachers usually plan the activities and guide children in carrying them out. The teacher might ask specific questions like "What color is Elmo’s rain hat?" or "What shape is this drum?" although the queries may be presented in a playful setting, such as during a sing-along. The idea is to introduce children to a classroom setting and prepare them for formal learning.

A cooperative’s board of directors is made up of parents who do everything from hiring teachers to purchasing classroom supplies. Parents are expected to help out in the classroom on a regular basis, as well as serve on a variety of committees that help the school run smoothly (activities such as housekeeping, fundraising, providing transportation to and from field trips, etc.). The teaching approach of a cooperative school may be based on almost any philosophy.

This method, based on the teaching of Maria Montessori, combines individualized attention with careful structure. Children are usually grouped in three-year age spans. This allows the older children to help the younger ones. As a result, teachers play a less dominant role in both instruction and nurturing. Children learn through interaction with real-life experiences and objects. Although Montessori focuses on academics, the philosophy is to have learning happen naturally and at the child’s own pace.

The Waldorf approach is based on the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner. These preschools are child-centered, but with a definite structure built around routine and rhythm. Children work in mixed-age groupings and stay with the same teacher from year-to-year. A Waldorf environment is typically filled with natural materials like rope, cloth, stones and shells which children can use in a variety of imaginative ways.

Although not traditionally considered a "preschool" environment, day-care is where many children spend a good percentage of their time prior to entering kindergarten. Does this mean that these children lose out on the advantages of preschool education? Not at all, says Mahoney.

"Ideally what happens in a quality day-care setting for three- and four-year-olds should very nearly mirror what happens in a two and a half hour preschool program elsewhere," she notes. If child-care is a necessity, Mahoney suggests choosing your setting wisely to ensure that the three- and four-year-old program provides the same types of enriching activities that you might find in other preschool programs.

Also ask if the program is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Such programs have completed a rigorous self-study and external review to prove that they meet standards of excellence in early childhood education.

Signs of a GREAT preschool

Currently New York State does not have oversight for early learning where children meet for fewer than three hours a day. As a result, parents need to be vigilant about what goes on in the setting they have placed their child. When choosing childcare or a preschool program, NAEYC suggests you look for these signs that indicate your child is in a good learning environment.

• A low teacher-to-child ratio. NAEYC recommends at least two teachers to every 10 to 14 children for two- and three-year-olds; and two teachers to every 15 to 20 children for four- and five-year-olds.

• Children spend most of their time playing and working with materials and other children. They are not expected to sit quietly for long periods of time.

• Children have access to various activities throughout the day. Look for assorted
  blocks and other building materials, props for pretend play, picture books, art materials, and table toys such as puzzles. Children should not all be doing the same thing at the same time.

• Well-trained teachers. At least one adult in each classroom should have a degree in early childhood education.

• Teachers should interact frequently with kids–bending or sitting down at a child’s eye level.

• Teachers work with individual children, small groups and the whole group at different times during the day. They do not spend all their time with the whole group.

• The classroom is decorated with children’s original artwork, their own writing and stories dictated by children to teachers.

• Children learn numbers and the alphabet in the context of their everyday experiences like cooking, taking attendance or serving a snack.

• Children work on projects and have long periods of time (at least one hour) to play
  and explore. Worksheets are used rarely, if at all.

• There should be an indoor and (space and location permitting) an outdoor play environment.

• Openness. Parents should feel welcome to visit and observe classroom activity.

• Teachers read books to children individually or in small groups throughout the day, not just at group story time.

• Teachers recognize that children’s different abilities, backgrounds and experiences
  mean that they do not learn the same things at the same time in the same way. Find out if the school is equipped to meet the needs of children with physical or developmental challenges.

• Diversity. Look at the mix of children in the classroom, as well as staff diversity.

• Children and their parents look forward to school. Parents feel secure about sending
  their child to the program. Children are happy to attend; they do not cry regularly or complain of feeling sick.

For permission to reprint this article, please contact the Capital Region BOCES Communications Service by e-mailing dbushsuf@gw.neric.org.

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