What does a Playschool offer for my child who I have already taught everything?

The new generation parent is always enthusiastic about making their child learn more and more. Many a times I have come across parents who have walked in for admission at my school and have given me a list of what their child already knows: how to recite or recognize alphabets, all of the colors, all shapes, how to count till 10 and so on. The next question asked to me is, “What does my school curriculum have, that can be offered to their child?”

As an early childcare educator as well as a founder of a playschool I want the parent to know that our playschool, Niño & Niña, which has a particular vision, would not really be interested in this, as I know that these concepts would come easily to anyone in due time. What I would rather hear is a little more about the child’s interests, self-confidence, and the child’s ability to cooperate with peer or adults.

The truth is that a playschool is not the parents yardstick of measuring their child’s academic growth. The playschool is always for a scheduled time, ( 3 or 4 hours), however the child’s learning is happening all the time. It’s a continuous process, be it in the classroom, at home, or when at the park.

So when a child starts a playschool, the child is learning more than just concepts.

• Firstly, the child is adjusting to doing things in a space where there are other kids of the same age and at the same time learning how to follow the rules.
• Secondly, the child is learning to take directions from their teacher who unlike their parent is not always pampering them.
• Third most important thing is that the child is learning how to figure out where they fit in with an entirely new group of people.

So I really get surprised when some parents, during feedback sessions ask me to list any five things that my playschool has taught their child.

For some, the bench mark is that the child is able to write alphabets. However, there are lot of other things that the child has to learn before they learn how to write letters or to make patterns. The child needs to learn the exact grip of holding a pencil, how much pressure to apply on the paper in order to get that perfect impression. More so the child needs to learn that perfect posture needed for writing.

This is what each of my child at Niño & Niña is aware about. They are confident about their existence and extremely aware of their surroundings. This is exactly what our yardstick is at Niño & Niña when it comes to measuring what we have taught a child at OUR PLAYSCHOOL.

-Divya Joshi