Preschool education is important because it gives your child the opportunity to develop a strong foundation in basic academic skills.
Finding the right education partner is as important as it determines the quality of education your child receives.
You might be asking yourself difficult questions such as:
“What is a good preschool education?”
“How do I prepare my child for primary school?”
“What are the important skills my child should have?”
Here, Academic Director of The Learning Lab’s Early Years Programme, Sue Lynn Lee, shares her thoughts on the three key elements of preschool education that will benefit your child.
1. Building Strong Literacy and Numeracy Skills
On Literacy Skills
Throughout your child’s preschool education, he or she will need to build up reading and writing skills that are pivotal to his or her ability to communicate with others.
Literacy skills are not just essential for English, they are also important in building confidence in Math.
Sue Lynn adds, “At the Kindergarten 2 level, being able to read is important. When children can’t read, they won’t be able to follow written instructions and they may also struggle with Math problem sums. Being able to read makes a big, positive difference.” — Sue Lynn Lee.
On Numeracy Skills
A strong number sense sets the foundation for higher-level mathematical thinking at Primary 1 hence, it is crucial for your child to be given opportunities to explore number concepts that allow him or her to fully understand the subject.
Goh Wan Mei, Head of Math Curriculum at TLL, also shares, "Children begin to develop numeracy skills from a very early age. If your child is entering Primary 1 next year, developing a strong Math foundation is going to be crucial — and it begins with cultivating a strong number sense."
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2. Being Comfortable In A Classroom Setting
As a parent, you may be concerned about ways to ease your preschool child into a new environment when he or she begins primary school.
Helping your child to adapt to the new Primary 1 environment does not just involve helping him or her learn to make new friends, but more importantly, it is about making sure that your child is able to adjust to changes in classroom that requires him or her to learn more independently.
With a trusted preschool enrichment partner, your child will learn:
- how to ask for help when needed — this can be challenging for your child who may have been used to having close guidance and attention in preschool
- the value of responsibility as he or she begins managing homework and tasks in class
- ways to take and respond to instructions given by his or her teacher(s)
That is why it's important for your child to have a good preschool education that prepares your child for these new experiences in formal education.
A credible preschool programme should allow your child to have a mix of activities within a lesson, incorporating visual, kinaesthetic, aural and read-write stimuli to build cognitive and gross motor skills.
3. Cultivating A Strong Interest In Learning
At kindergarten, your preschool child is still exploring the world around him or her.
Asking questions to seek answers is a large part of learning — it is also a wonderful way to help your child see that learning is all around us, in his or her everyday experiences.
To encourage curiosity in the classroom, preschool curriculum should introduce captivating, real-world content to your child and develop his or her awareness of the world through a range of topics such as world cities, occupations, festivals around the world and world cuisine.
“As parents and educators, we play a big role in having conversations with our children. Sometimes, kids come in talking about cars and pandas and things that they are interested. Engaging them in a conversation about animals, events and places your child is interested in makes a difference in the confidence level and communication ability of the child,” says Sue Lynn.
A Sneak Peek into Our Lessons
At TLL, we believe in empowering your child to learn, create and achieve through lessons that are directly relevant to his or her learning needs. Our preschool lessons encompass a variety of teaching methods in order to captivate, educate and enrich your child.
Click here to find out how our preschool programmes can help your child build key literacy and numeracy skills to be well-prepared for Primary 1 or watch the short video below for a sneak peek.
The Learning Lab is now at 9 locations. Find a location that suits your needs.
If you have any questions about our range of programmes or class schedules, you may fill in the form below or contact us at 6733 8711 / enquiry@thelearninglab.com.sg.