During preschool age, children are at their most receptive. This is the time where they learn the fastest. It is important to instill in them the foundations of the skills they need when they grow up.
The main goal of preschool is to develop these said foundations. Different exercises and activities are done to teach, refine and assess the skills of the child.
Cognitive skills
This subset of skills is focused more on your child’s learning and thinking ability. Attention span, problem solving and reasoning are all included in this subset.
Playing allows the child to focus, understand what they want to do, do matching, do sorting, do organizing, etc. Activities in preschool often include some sort of “play” element to them.
Other activities that are done to develop cognition include recognizing colors, counting, memory practice, as well as comprehending simple commands like “come here” or “pick that up.”
Social and emotional skills
These skills measure how well your child behaves and interacts with others. Learning this early on helps your child in dealing with people better in the future.
Preschool teaches your child these skills through group activities with the other students, teaching them how to respond to others’ behavior, as well as how to regulate their own.
Teaching them to follow rules, minimizing their tantrums and meltdowns, as well as differentiating what is “good” behavior and what is “bad” fall under this category.
Speech and language skills
These skills are factored in in your child’s ability to grasp and apply the language. The environment plays a huge role as it is where the child learns language through communication.
The basics of language such as pronunciation, the alphabet, etc. are included here. Preschool aims for the child to understand when and how to apply knowledge for their own benefit and for others as well.
Examples of activities include word enunciation drills, forming simple sentences in conversations and applying basic grammar. They are mostly oral but some can be written.
Gross motor skills
These skills involve the usage of large muscles such as the arms and legs. This includes carrying and reaching out for things, as well as sitting, walking and running.
Activities centered around these usually have a fun “element” to it: the Frisbee toss, short races and scavenger hunts are enjoyable to do and will exert their arms and legs.
The playground is also a good contributor. Many of its equipment such as swings, slides and seesaws help kids in knowing how to use their large muscles.
Fine motor skills
These skills involve the small muscles, specifically the fingers and hands. They are used in many tasks such as holding items, writing, drawing, etc.
Tasks usually involve specific activities such as buttoning/ unbuttoning, using a zipper, completing puzzles, building towers out of blocks, and others to use the small muscles in various ways.
Preschool provides both a passive and active environment for children to develop these skills. It is recommended to learn them effectively to make the kids more capable and knowledgeable.