School readiness is a measure of how prepared a child is to succeed in school, cognitively, socially and emotionally. More than a measurement, school readiness is the process of providing students the opportunity to find confidence, comfort, and aptitude at the learning new things.
The transition between early childhood and formal education can often come with social and emotional hurdles. Learning to overcome these challenges in a safe, positive environment establishes a positive impression of education on young learners, setting them up for success instead of having to address them all at once in kindergarten.
Why is School Readiness Important?
Students who are unprepared to start school often fall behind in reading, leaving them unable to read well by the end of 3rd grade. Research shows that learning begins long before a child enters kindergarten. Children, even infants soak up words, rhymes, songs and images.
Vocabulary development is particularly important, with studies showing that vocabulary differences at age 3 predicted scores on language assessments at age 9. A child’s health, and the timely recognition of developmental delays, is another critical aspect of school readiness. Doctors, care providers and preschool teachers play a key role.
How does Cape Ann Preschool foster School Readiness?
Parents are their children’s first teachers, but don’t always know the best ways to get them ready to start school. We support our students and parents, guiding them how to provide verbal interaction and build routines from which both can benefit. By the time they graduate the Blue Room (ages 4-5), our School Readiness goals are that your child can:
- Participate in snack/lunch with minimal support (opening containers, making healthy choices, using mealtime manners)
- Play in a group or alone without requiring constant intervention
- Communicate fluidly with others to share, get needs met, express opinions and emotions
- Separate from you gracefully
- Follow basic classroom rules and an adult’s instruction
- Learn to self-regulate in order to tolerate small levels of frustration with few or no tantrums
- Feel confidence to take risks in the classroom and try new things
We prepare the children for school focusing on practicing social skills and developmentally appropriate individualized instruction. In our classrooms, the children learn through free play, modelling, and guided activities. Our goal is to simply expose the children to what they will be expected to know in Kindergarten and beyond.
“Lively Letters” is a one curriculum tool we use to introduce letters and their sounds to our students. The program was developed by a speech and language pathologist who specializes in reading disorders. It helps the children to develop a solid foundation in reading by fostering their phonemic awareness, speech production, and phonics base.
Considering enrollment in Cape Ann Preschool means that you have begun to realize that success in formal education starts much earlier than kindergarten. Our mission is to help your most precious investments, your children, succeed both in the classroom and at home by providing an educational experience that serves both child and parent.