Educators know more than ever about early childhood development and how to leverage developmental stages to build the most effective learning programs possible. Now, a preschool curriculum can be built not just around what young children need to learn but how they can learn it as quickly and effectively as possible. Your preschool child’s learning center in Pembroke Pines has structured their classrooms around these principles about young children’s learning styles.

Learning Through Play

Play is one of the most important parts of learning for young children. What may seem like just a fun activity can actually be teaching your child vital math or language skills while giving him or her a chance to practice his or her motor skills. Everything from cooking to playing with blocks to singing songs gives young learners an opportunity to learn or practice new skills. Play also keeps kids moving and prevents the frustration and wandering attention that can occur for young people with sitting for extended periods of time.

Building Lessons on Each Other

Young learners do best when they get to focus on one skill at a time. This means breaking down lessons into small pieces that can easily build on each other. For instance, teaching young children to sing the alphabet doesn’t mean that they know and recognize all of those letters, but learning that song simply as a song is helpful when it is time for children to start learning letters. The song will them have a new, more concrete meaning.

Making Mental Pictures

Preschoolers in particular place the information they learn in context by forming pictures of what they are learning in their heads. For instance, if a young child learns how complete a puzzle, he or she will catalog mental images of their process that can be replayed like a movie later so that he or she can repeat the process. Young learners need these visualizations to help them retain knowledge and apply it later.

When your child attends an early childhood learning center near Pembroke Pines for preschool, kindergarten, or first grade, he will develop valuable life skills and reach key child development milestones faster. Early childhood development encompasses the emotional, social, and physical development of children between the ages of 2 and 8 years old.

Watch this video to learn more about the stages and importance of early child development skills. Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D., a Harvard professor, discusses the basic concepts of early child development, and the science behind it. Early childhood learning centers focus on fostering and encouraging the growth of early child development skills through the use of a comprehensive, well-rounded early childhood curriculum taught by professionals who have been trained and educated in encouraging independence, creativity, and healthy expression in children.

At Tanglewood Academy , we offer challenging early childhood education programs for kindergartners, preschoolers, and first graders in Pembroke Pines. Our comprehensive first grade program focuses on teaching children first grade math, first grade reading, geography, American history, science, economics, and creative expression. Because our first grade program is so diverse, your child will receive an early childhood education that will better prepare him for his future schooling.

Our early education program for first graders is designed to foster both academic and life experiences. We encourage parent and community involvement in the school and the early childhood education programs. Our early childhood learning center is home to a small population of kindergartners, preschoolers, and first graders of diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures, and religions. Your child will learn how to communicate and work with many different children.

We have a very low student-to-teacher ratio, so each child in our first grade classroom receives individualized attention and instruction. We can accommodate a variety of learning styles, and strive to ensure that your child’s needs are met. We also offer after school programs and summer camps for kids that extend their learning period and encourage the growth of important child development skills.

At around preschool age, or age two, your child should begin exhibiting signs of independence. You can help your child become more confident in his independence, self-reliance, and ability to self-soothe and help himself by enrolling him in a pre-kindergarten program near Pembroke Pines. Here are some other ways that you can encourage self-help skills in your pre-k student:

Allow him to dress and groom himself.

The first steps that you can take to encourage your child’s independence are to allow him to dress and groom himself. Let him pick out the clothes that he wants to wear to preschool or pre-kindergarten each day. Encourage him to tie his own shoes and button his shirts and pants. Try to build up to the stage where your preschooler can wash his hands on his own by putting a stepstool in the bathroom or kitchen, and providing an easy-to-use soap dispenser. You can also encourage him to brush his own hair and wash his own face.

Suggest that he clean up his own toys.

Prior to preschool or pre-kindergarten age, your child may have relied on you to clean up after him. By the time he begins preschool at an early childhood learning center, he should know how to clean up his own toys. Throughout his early childhood education, your child will be expected to put away the toys and materials he used during classroom activities. Stay firm at home when your child leaves a mess, and resist the urge to give in and clean it up for him. A huge part of helping your child fully develop independence and self-reliance is encouraging him to learn how to complete basic life skills on his own from a young age.

Prompt dialogue about feelings and needs.

Your child will be better at helping himself and self-soothing if he understands his feelings and knows how to talk about his needs. Don’t shy away from creating a dialogue with your preschool-aged child about how he is feeling, and how he can ease feelings of discomfort, anger, frustration, or sadness.

If your child is currently attending preschool or kindergarten, you may be interested in finding fun, rewarding after school programs, summer activities for kids, and summer day camps in Pembroke Pines . Summer camps for kids offer a wide variety of benefits, including helping children gain confidence and build important new skills. Here is a look at how a kids’ summer camp can foster child development skills.

Focusing on Teamwork

Many of the summer camp activities in which your child will participate will allow him to work as part of a team. Participating in summer activities for kids that focus on teamwork will help your child understand the importance of cooperation, and will further develop his skills in communication, listening, and collaboration. Strengthening these skills will carry over into every other area of his life, whether he wants to play team sports, join the debate team, or participate in other kindergarten or preschool activities.

Engaging in Physical Activity

The younger your child is when he begins regularly engaging in physical activity, the more likely he is to develop a life-long love of being active. Playing sports, or simply running around with other kids his age during summer camp activities, will help your child stay fit, healthy, and strong. Regular physical activity can also help stimulate and build child development skills like confidence, poise, and balance. Your child will also develop a sense of structure, learn how to handle success and disappointment, and understand the value of working hard to reach a goal.

Exploring Creativity and Expanding Social Interactions

Most summer programs for kids offer some summer camp activities that focus on the arts. These summer activities for kids allow your child to explore and expand his creativity and perhaps strengthen or develop a new artistic skill. While participating in summer camp activities, your child will also expand his social interactions. He will meet a diverse group of kids that may share some of his same interests, and he will learn how to engage and communicate with children of different backgrounds.

As your child enters preschool near Pembroke Pines, he may struggle with the concept of gripping a pencil. This is normal, especially in early childhood education . Children are still developing their fine motor skills and learning how writing on paper will help their academic success.

Watch the short video for an easy way to help your child grip a pencil. You would hand your child a pencil, sharpened end toward him. Ask him to grip the pencil between his thumb and pointer finger. As he grips, slowly move the pencil to rest on the skin webbing between these two digits.

Be sure to watch your child as he does his preschool or kindergarten work. Notice if he grips the pencil too hard. If he has blisters on his hands or his knuckles are white while writing, ask him to loosen his grip. This will help encourage him to hold the pencil correctly.