Preschool education

Preschool education is the provision of education for children between the ages of 2 and 4, dependent on the jurisdiction. Also known as nursery, day nursery, day care center or kindergarten, preschool provides education before the commencement of statutory education.

Day care

Day care or child care can overlap with preschool in providing early childhood education, to children whose families use long day care to allow the parents to work. Many child care centres in Australia provide preschool and kindergarten early childhood education services.

Developmental areas

The areas of development which preschool education covers varies by jurisdiction, however the following main 'themes' are represented in the majority of systems. [1] [2]

Personal, social and emotional development
Communication, including talking and listening
Knowledge and understanding of the world
Creative and aesthetic development
Physical development
Mathematical awareness and development

Ages for and importance of preschool education

Preschool is generally considered appropriate for children three to five years of age, between the toddler and school stages. During this stage of development, children learn and assimilate information rapidly, and express interest and fascination in each new discovery. These qualities make them prime candidates for education, although most are not ready for structured elementary schooling. ^{[citation needed]}

Aspects of preschoolers' abilities

At the age of four the practice of vocabulary and grammar starts to become very important. For four- and five-year-olds, the average vocabulary span is between 1500 and 2000 words. In this age group, the curriculum should focus on past tenses and pronouns of words. One word concept that becomes very confusing to the preschool age students is literal statements, which are those phrases that explain something figuratively but not realistically. An example is “when pigs fly”; if you say this a preschooler will picture a pig actually flying.

Mathematical skills also come into use a great deal at this age. Preschoolers begin to recognize numbers better and understand the concept of numbers and their use. Rote counting, the ability to recite numbers in their proper order, is a very popular part of the curriculum for this age.

The physical development of preschoolers should include more challenging activities. They like to do more things on their own. They love to help with anything they can and have responsibility. At this age their coordination has improved a lot and their body proportions have changed. They also become responsible for their own simple hygiene.

Methods of Preschool Education

Parents are a child's best resource for education before school. Research shows that the more time and effort parents, caregivers, or teachers at preschools give to the child, the better a preschool child will be able to adjust to their environment. ^{[citation needed]}

Some preschools schools have adopted specialized methods of teaching, such as Montessori, High Scope,^[1] The Creative Curriculum^[2] Reggio Emilia approach, Bank Street and various other pedagogy which contribute to the foundation of education. In the United States most preschool advocates support the National Association for the Education of Young Children's Developmentally Appropriate Practices. Universal Preschool is the notion that access to preschool should be available to families in a similar way as Kindergarten. There are different perspectives on priorities for access and how it is to be funded.