If your son or daughter is close to three years of age, it is time to think about getting them enrolled into an early learning program, and with so many institutions that offer early learning programs, it can seem like a daunting task to narrow the choices down to a single school. While some parents look for a school that is close to home, there’s a lot more to choosing the right learning environment for your child than close proximity, and with that in mind, here are a few aspects to consider when searching for a kindergarten school for your child.
- The Right Approach to Learning – This is critical, and whether you are looking for kindergarten in Bangkok, or any other city, look for a school that understands there are multiple ways for a child to learn. The first two years of preschool should focus on learning through play, movement, art and other fun-based activities, and when you are browsing early learning programs online, take the time to read about their values and how they see learning, as well as how it best occurs.
- Social, emotional and Physical Development – According to the British Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), a fun-based framework enables a child to develop essential life skills that will help them to reach their fullest potential, and with a range of engaging activities, the children can develop at their own pace. It is not a good idea to introduce very young children to academic learning, and some parents mistakenly think that education is a race, and the sooner the child is introduce to academic learning, the better. In fact, children aged 3-5 years learn best through engaging in fun-based activities, and an established early learning program would understand and promote learning by doing.
- Parental Participation – Parents should always be actively encouraged to play a part in their child’s early learning, and with daily communication with your child’s carers, you will all be on the same page, so to speak, and your child will receive positive reinforcement in all their daily environments. Avoid any school that doesn’t encourage parent participation, as it is regarded as an essential part of the early learning process.
- Small Classes – The ideal learning environment for a young child is one with no more than 15 children in the group, which gives the carers time to spend with each individual child, and if the classes have children of mixed ages, this is beneficial to both the younger and the older students. Composite classes of no more than 15 children offer the very best learning environment, and sadly, there are schools that are more interested in making a financial profit and therefore cram as many children into a class as they can.
Taking the time to select the right kindergarten school is a wise investment, and with the right encouragement and surroundings, your child will acquire the necessary skills to go on and achieve a high level of academic excellence.