Preschool Education

It's a tragedy that the focus of preschool has become increasingly narrow with many parents now seeing it as merely a time to prepare kids for kindergarten. This short-sighted stance results in youngsters who are less creative, less curious, and less communicative.

Tips to running a toddler classroom while keeping structure and order in a room full of one year olds.

Ms. CeCe's preschoolers welcome spring with lesson plan activities including CeCe's "Spring is Coming Song," illustrating moving picture songs, planting pansies, and working in a garden center!

Raising a child who loves math and feels confident in the subject starts in the first few years of life. The preschool age is the perfect age to build math foundations. Read about some of our favorite strategies!

Calendar, craft projects, teacher-directed lessons, worksheets, and letter of the week are part of the daily routine at preschool. Yet, are they supported by research? A former teacher explains why they're not only a waste of time but can squelch a child's innate curiosity and love of learning.

Parents in the US are enthralled with academic preschools, buying into the belief that earlier is better. However, research shows that play is how kids learn best. It enhances their imaginations, promotes exploration, increases vocabulary, and builds social skills.

One-third to one-half of preschoolers are introverts. There's little acknowledgement of this reality, though, at most preschools today. Kids get crammed into noisy classrooms with constant interaction and teacher-led lessons with little or no time for quiet moments and self-directed learning.

Early childhood education in the US is in a harrowing state as many preschools now do what's contrary to the latest findings in brain research. Even though studies consistently show that exploring and playing build literacy skills, they're getting minimized in favor of teacher-directed lessons.

A long-time early childhood educator argues that the dad should pick his son's preschool, not his mother. She contends that little boys need an advocate as they enter this female-ruled world where sitting quietly and learning passively get rewarded and boys earn negative labels just for being boys.

You can stimulate language skills, imagination, and creativity through simple activities with preschool age children. Learn more about how to do it here.

Find everything you need for a pig story time theme here: book suggestions, coloring pages, craft templates, and a rhyming flannel board story.

When choosing a preschool, some parents get seduced by the very things that they should avoid: an academic focus, computer learning, and paper-pencil work. Find out why these and others are indicative of a subpar preschool that ignores developmentally appropriate practices.

Are you driving your child's preschool teacher crazy? You probably are if you send your kid to class in fancy duds, expect special treatment for your precious tyke, fret about her being bullied, and pick her up late with no apology or explanation. Find out if you're the pain at preschool!

If we want preschoolers to express themselves through art and feel empowered while doing so, we're going about it all wrong. Open-ended art activities (painting, drawing, and sculpting) have been replaced by teacher-directed craft projects, much to the detriment of young children.

Many preschools have at least one circle time as part of their daily routine. Research, though, shows kids learn a lot more with small group activities, kinesthetic learning, and hands-on exploration. Why then are circle times getting longer and being overused?

Ms. CeCe's preschoolers celebrate our grandparents with poetry, their favorite activities as children, grandparents around the globe, and games our great grandparents played!