🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• 💬 Vocabulary Expansion — Every new concept, activity, and domain-specific term a child encounters expands their vocabulary — and children's vocabulary at kindergarten entry is the single strongest predictor of reading comprehension at age 10.
• 🎯 Self-Directed Learning — Learning that begins with the child's own question or interest produces the deepest understanding — and children who experience self-directed learning develop the intrinsic motivation that sustains learning throughout life.
• 🌐 World Knowledge — Background knowledge about the world dramatically accelerates reading comprehension — children who know more understand more of what they read — making every content-area learning experience a literacy investment.
• 😊 Love of Learning — Positive early learning experiences build a child's identity as a learner — and children who see themselves as curious, capable learners approach school with the engagement and resilience that matter more than any specific skill.

Parenting a preschooler is a lot of fun but it can also be a lot of work. You want what is best for your child and their education is usually at the top of your list. Here are some resources that will help you determine what your preschoolers educational needs are and give you the resources you need to find them.

Featured Preschool Information for Parents

Pain Free Preschool Drop Offs
Preschoolers often go through phases where they struggle being dropped off at preschool. Determining the cause of your preschoolers anxiety can often help to relieve the problem.

Miss Shields' Top Ten Gifts for Preschool Teachers
Finding the right gift for your child's preschool teacher can be tricky, but sometimes some of the simplest gifts are the most appreciated. Find something that your child's preschool teacher will love on our list of the top ten gifts for preschool teachers.

Starting School - Coping with Separation Anxiety
Magda Santos, an experienced preschool director, was a special guest on the Preschool Rock Mom's internet radio show that aired on August 19,. Santos is currently the preschool program director at the University of South Florida. She has previously worked as a preschool director for corporate and public facilities. As preschoolers start school, many parents want to know what they can do to cope with separation anxiety. Magda Santos shared some tips that she has learned through her experience as a preschool director.

More Preschool Information for Parents

Preparing Your Child to Start Preschool

Coping with Separation Anxiety at Preschool

Summertime Preschool Education

Making Sense of your Preschool Options

Signs of a Good Preschool

Featured Product for Preschool Parents

Preschooler's Busy Book: 365 Creative Games & Activities To Occupy 3-6 Year Olds is a wonderful resource for parents of preschool aged children. Trish Kuffner offers simple and enriching activities for preschoolers that can be easily done using materials found around the house. Preschoolers will love the creative games and activities included in the book and parents will love having easy access to a wealth of preschool rainy day activities and much more.

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Finding Quality Daycare - Questions to Ask Your Daycare Provider
Finding quality daycare is one of the most important things you can do for your infant or toddler. Asking the right questions can help you find the best provider.

Making Story Time Part of Your Day

Reading is so important for young children. If children learn to enjoy books at an early age it can set them up for future success in school, better self-education skills, and a lifelong source of enjoyment.

Helpful Tips for Parents - Mistakes are how children learn. A classroom and home that treat mistakes as information rather than failure produces more confident, persistent learners. - Avoid academic pressure before age 5. Preschool children's brains are not developmentally ready for formal academic instruction, and premature pressure backfires. - Use mathematical language all day: "more than," "less than," "half," "equal," "twice as much." Incidental math vocabulary builds the conceptual foundation formal math builds on. - Expose children to multiple languages early if possible. The preschool window is the most efficient period for language acquisition the brain will ever have. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How much learning time should a preschooler have per day? All of it — because preschoolers learn continuously through every interaction with their environment. The question of "learning time" implies that learning is separate from living, which it isn't at this age. A preschooler who plays freely, has rich conversations, is read to, helps in the kitchen, plays outdoors, and is exposed to music and art is having the richest possible educational experience. Formal, scheduled "learning time" is less productive than a generally enriched daily environment. ### What learning differences might first become apparent in the preschool years? The preschool years are when speech and language delays, developmental delays, autism spectrum characteristics, sensory processing differences, and early signs of ADHD typically become apparent. Early identification and early intervention are the most powerful factors in outcomes for children with learning differences — the preschool brain's plasticity makes early intervention far more effective than the same intervention at age 8. If you have concerns about your child's development, discuss them with your pediatrician rather than waiting to see if the child grows out of it. Related reading: See also our counting activities and our writing readiness guide for more ideas on this topic.