Preschool does far more than teach ABCs and 123s. While your child develops essential skills like counting, sharing, and holding a pencil, the true magic of preschool lies in how it shapes their curiosity, confidence, and love for learning. In this blog, we will discuss why preschool is important and how early education lays the foundation for lifelong success.
Understanding Why Preschool is Important
At EuroKids, we believe that preschool is more than just learning. It’s about connecting with children and nurturing their interests and hobbies to help them build a strong emotional, social, and academic foundation.
The first five years of life are crucial; this is when your child’s brain grows the fastest. It’s a time filled with significant changes, essential questions, and immense potential.
While you are doing an amazing job at home, incorporating preschool into your child’s routine provides even more opportunities for them to thrive. With expert guidance from trained teachers and daily interactions with peers, your child learns to share, express themselves, and confidently explore the world around them.
Skills Kids Develop at Preschool
1. Gross Motor Skills
Physical development depends on the development of the body’s large muscles and gross motor skills like throwing and catching balls, climbing and hanging, skipping, hopping, singing action songs, running and chasing, to name a few. Preschoolers move non-stop, and this is the most important skill to develop in the early years, as all other learning depends on it. Movement helps in the development of hand-eye coordination, agility and core strength. They also develop balance and body awareness. Movement boosts learning and concentration, increases the oxygen supply to the brain and stimulates both sides of the brain. The development of fine motor skills is dependent on the development of gross motor skills.
2. Fine Motor Skills
Creative arts and play in preschool help enhance fine motor skills. Activities like drawing, cutting, pasting, painting, playing with playdough and puzzles, and constructing with building blocks or cardboard help develop fine motor skills. Hopping, skipping, throwing, and catching a ball also strengthen fine motor skills. Because of the development of fine motor skills, the ability to hold a pencil and form letters is possible.
3. Early Mathematical Concepts
Preschool is where children learn the first basics of mathematics. They learn rote counting, usually from 1 to 20, sorting, classifying, shapes, weight, capacity, length, temperature, area, time, and space. There is no formal training; they learn it through fun and play and hands-on activities like baking, playing with water, playing in the sand pit, building with blocks, and even tidying up.
4. Problem Solving and Critical Thinking
Problem-solving and thinking skills begin to develop in preschool, and this greatly helps them with mathematical problem-solving when they start regular school. These skills are learnt through board games, solving puzzles, building blocks, resolving problems while playing, and asking open-ended questions during story time.
5. Language and Vocabulary
A child’s language expands in leaps and bounds as preschool children learn things by imitation. In preschool they begin learning sentence construction, correct grammar and tenses and the meaning of words. This happens during circle time discussions, singing nursery rhymes and songs, listening and telling stories, and playing games alone or with friends, which is imperative for their cognitive development.
6. Pre-Writing Skills
Before a child can start to write, pre-writing skills have to be learned through art and play activities. The four pre-writing skills that a child will learn in preschool are pencil grip, crossing the midline, learning about letters and their formation through play and learning to form patterns which are the shapes found in letters.
7. Listening Skills
Listening is often not given the importance it deserves but should be focused on in preschools. Children learn listening skills by listening to stories, following instructions, music activities and class discussions.
8. Musical Skills
Music in preschool learning is not just about teaching musical skills to kids; it also develops vocabulary, auditory perception, concentration and understanding of rhyme and sounds. Action rhymes enhance gross motor skills; finger plays develop fine motor skills; counting rhymes develop mathematical skills; and games like musical chairs boost decision-making skills.
9. Visual Perceptual Skills
Reading skills in children come through visual and auditory perception and visual perception in preschool comes through activities that teach about colours and shapes, puzzles, patterning activities, memory games and card games.
10. Auditory Perceptual Skills
When auditory perception is developed, the brain is able to make sense of what we hear. This is essential for children to learn sounds for reading. Auditory perception is developed in preschool by reciting nursery rhymes and poems, playing word and sound games and by playing with instruments.
11. Pre-Reading Skills
Children learn pre-reading skills which are essential for them to learn formal reading. Learning to read requires auditory and visual perception and so they need to learn print awareness, have motivation to read, listening comprehension, letter knowledge and phonological awareness. They learn this through playing rhyming games, word games, listening games, following instructions and playing games involving hearing syllables.
12. Memory
At preschool, kids strengthen their memory, something they will require throughout their education. Memory card games, circle memory games where each child has to add an item to a shopping list, but must first recall all the previous items of the list are good ways to build memory. Games like Chinese Whispers, where children stand in a circle and say a word while also repeating everything that the previous children said, sharpens the memory.
13. Early Science Concepts
As children explore their environment in their preschool, they learn about early science concepts. Water play teaches them basic physics like water makes sand heavier, water changes the texture of sand, water falls through space when they use a sieve, air moves water, water is a liquid because it can be poured and water takes the shape of the container it is poured into. These early science concepts encourage curiosity and make them sharper.
14. Social and Emotional Skills
These skills are as important as physical and mental and are usually an essential part of a preschool curriculum and what every child should learn in preschool.
Social development includes building healthy relationships, learning communication skills and interacting appropriately with others. Children learn important social skills like sharing, showing empathy, taking turns, considering the opinions of others, cooperating and negotiating, resolving conflicts and following rules in games.
Emotional skills include self-awareness, emotional intelligence, expressing emotions in a healthy way and empathy, so it’s important to know how to motivate preschoolers to learn.
15. Creative Expression
A child’s creativity can really shine in a preschool through art activities like painting, drawing and constructing. Musical activities like singing, dancing and playing with instruments brings out their creativity. Drama and puppet play, telling stories, dress-up play and outdoor play like building forts and bridges are other ways to foster creativity in preschools.
16. Independence
One of the most important things that kids learn at preschool is independence. They learn to take care of themselves, become responsible and try to be competent. Regular tidy-up time, looking after their belongings, self-care like washing their hands and going to the bathroom, taking accountability for their actions and making choices during free play or activities with choice are all activities that foster independence in preschool.
What Else Does Your Child Learn in Preschool?
Preschool is more than playtime. It’s the foundation for your child’s learning journey. By the end of preschool, your little one should be ready for kindergarten with strong early reading, math, and social skills. Here’s a simple breakdown of what your child is expected to learn:
1. Early Literacy
- Recognise letters and the sounds they make (phonics)
- Begin writing letters and simple words
- Listen to and understand stories
- Start writing fun things like poems or short stories
2. Math Skills
- Count numbers confidently
- Know basic shapes (circle, square, triangle, etc.)
- Understand simple math like adding and subtracting with objects
- Recognise patterns and solve simple problems
3. Creativity and Art
- Express themselves through drawing, painting, colouring, and craft
- Use their imagination during creative play
4. Thinking and Problem-Solving
- Improve memory and attention span
- Ask questions, explore new ideas, and solve simple puzzles
5. General Knowledge and Science
- Learn about plants, animals, and how things work using all five senses
- Explore nature and their surroundings
- Discover basic science through fun activities and experiments
6. Social and Emotional Growth
- Learn to play and share with others
- Handle big feelings like frustration or excitement
- Understand rules and routines
7. Healthy Habits
- Practice hygiene like handwashing and brushing teeth
- Learn about safety (like not touching hot things or crossing the road carefully)
These early skills help your child feel confident and excited about learning. With the right activities and support, your child will be ready for kindergarten and beyond! Want to learn more about the effect of school on your kids? Check out our blog, Importance Of School In Child’s Life. Don’t forget to check out EuroKids Blogs for more insight about your child’s development, learning, and nutrition.
Take Away
In conclusion, being cautious of preschools prioritising academic skills over the invaluable benefits of learning through play is essential. Such an approach is not developmentally appropriate, as play is crucial during these formative years. Preschool serves as a foundation for independence, responsibility, and competence in children. While we’ve highlighted some key aspects of what kids can learn at a quality preschool, it’s important to note that this is just a glimpse into how preschool contributes to a child’s growth. For more detailed insights into preschool learning, contact EuroKids Preschools or visit the nearest EuroKids Preschool near you.
