Preschool

If you’ve ever spent time with a group of young children, you know how challenging it can be to get everyone to sit still at the same time—sometimes it feels nearly impossible. That’s because extended stillness simply isn’t developmentally appropriate for preschoolers. In the video below, one of my favorite early childhood experts, Rae Pica, explains why movement is so important in the early years and how allowing children to…
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“Play-based” is a phrase often used to describe preschool programs today—but what does it really mean? For many years, educational expectations have been pushed onto children at increasingly younger ages. You may have heard the saying, “Kindergarten is the new first grade,” and unfortunately, there is truth to it. As a result, preschool has often been expected to resemble kindergarten, leading many programs to adopt highly academic approaches that overlook…
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Choosing the right preschool for your child can feel overwhelming. With so many options available, it helps to step back and consider what matters most to you and your family. Below are several important factors to keep in mind as you begin your search. Location & Environment When thinking about location, I’m not just referring to proximity to your home (though that certainly matters), but also to the setting itself—whether…
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Preschool is often viewed as a time to prepare children for kindergarten. I prefer to shift that perspective—from “preparing for kindergarten” to mastering preschool. What does that mean? And isn’t a child who has mastered preschool naturally prepared for kindergarten? The answer is a resounding yes. The distinction matters because how we frame a goal shapes how we approach it. When our mindset focuses on what comes next, we can easily overlook…
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Have you ever thought about the difference between art and crafts? Surprisingly, it’s a hot topic in the early childhood world—primarily because one emphasizes teaching children a process, while the other focuses on creating a specific finished product. In many early childhood centers, children are given all the pieces they need to assemble a themed project, often aligned with the week’s lesson. When completed, each child takes home a nearly identical…
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