Features of the Best Preschool Programs

11/23/2017

Features of the Best Preschool Programs

When we begin to deeply understand that all experiences build brain architecture, we will uphold our ordinary experiences as sacred and tangible teaching moments that support and prioritize safety and connection throughout our children’s lives.
Lori L. Desautels, Connections Over Compliance

Writing in an article in The Atlantic, Erika Christakis cautions against recent pressures to bring an over-emphasis on "direct instruction" to programs for young children. She describes characteristics of preschool programs that are most beneficial for children:

"According to experts such as the Yale professor Edward Zigler, a leader in child-development and early-education policy for half a century, the best preschool programs share several features:

-They provide ample opportunities for young children to use and hear complex, interactive language;

-Their curriculum supports a wide range of school-readiness goals that include social and emotional skills and active learning;

-They encourage meaningful family involvement; and

-They have knowledgeable and well-qualified teachers."

Source: "The New Preschool is Crushing Kids," by Erika Christakis, The Atlantic, December 17, 2015

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