An educator and one of my favorite author, Jim Trelease has once said: "The primary purpose of being four is to enjoy being four, of secondary importance is to prepare for being five."  

Many years ago, the minimum age for attending school was six years, till that age, kids were staying home with siblings, grandparents and parents. Family values, mother tongue, social emotional development, culture, manners are the primary things any child should learn before entering into the world. These are the first life lessons children used to learn from their family. Apart from that, they were left freely to play and be happy, in other words..be a child. Later, woman started to go out to work and that made families to start thinking; who will take care of the children? Initially, grandparents took care of children but relocating to different places for economic betterment made parents to look for other alternatives - childcare facilities. It started like that but now it turned out like a multibillion dollar industry. As per latest stats, early childhood development and childcare industry is about $50 billion industry. Since parents are spending lots of money, they started thinking what are they getting back in return, to make things appealing to parents, childcare industry has innovative ideas like college prep schools, handwriting without tears and Montessori etc. Some centers started attracting parents even with extended hours like 6 am till 7 pm. Even though all these things are fascinating, the child development needs has never been changed. Remember, these are the same children who needs to be with the family or loved one to get most of their needs met. They need small group activities and low student to teacher ratio. They need simple things to be taught. Their simple needs to be met right away. But because parents want absolutely the best for (them?) their child and are demanding more, childcare centers had started coming up with innovative ideas, enticing the parents to capture the market share -- and in the process, the very important concept of childhood is being ignored. Kids are very good at being and living in the moment, they don't dwell into the past or worry about future. Even when we put too many colors and make their childhood complicated, they still try to live with that and stand up to it with their happy faces. It is the society which is making them run after success and making them perfect in imperfect way! How are you preparing your preschool children? 

In many preschools and childcare centers, circle time is a complicated and stressful thing - because they've been asked to sit still! I was asked numerous times by the parents that “How would you make my 2 year old sit still in the circle time?” My immediate follow up question is “Who said that young children should sit still for 20 mins in circle time?”

I always get surprised that I've been asked the same question by many parents. Most of them were from the childcare centers and top rated brand name schools. The parents were told that the kid is not sitting or paying attention and not socialized. It is very difficult for little ones to sit for long time. I find that some kindergartners will sit still, and some four-year olds will too, when there's a story or a song or something to look at that interests them enough. If the centers are not letting kids to move around freely, then how can children be well socialized? Tom Hunter, a well regarded expert and keynote speaker on early childhood education has articulated well on this subject in his NAEYC article.  Children need to move. Movement is better and helps for the brain and body to develop. Tom has concluded that a research conducted by orthopedic specialists found out certain injuries among the teenagers now have never been seen in such numbers, probably because in early childhood many kids sit around, often in front of screens for hours together! Research suggests that if we want smarter and stronger kids, we should shut off the screens and go play in the park with our children.

Preschool teachers should understand that children need to move and we need to continuously encourage them to do so by creating an environment which they can be active and safe. Sitting still makes us dumber. The brain doesn't grow and prevents children from socializing with others. 

At Sailors Preschool the circle time entices kids of all ages, because the circle time is made of interesting stories and they are not sitting still. We incorporate music and movement. Kids continuously move and are encouraged to do so. Children pay attention not because we tell them to or bribe or threaten them but because we provide something that interests them. Encouraging kids to explore outdoors, with hands on learning that is fun and educational to young children always makes them feel connected and helps them pay attention to you, even if they are moving continuously. Next time, when you want your little one to pay attention don't tell him/her to sit still..ensure you are presenting it in a way that interests them. Just sharing my thoughts... 

I grew up in a culture where education is always structured, kids don't have any choice to do what they want to do. Playtime is also defined by the teachers. Talking in the class or sharing ideas with friends is prohibited, education means numbers and letters only. Unfortunately, I still see this strong belief in millennial parents who obviously grew up like me with a structured education where play based curriculum has no value.  I learned the importance of play based curriculum through the workshops and seminars I attended. The rules of the play is they are supposed to get dirty and play all day, when they get bored they invent new ways to play and end up making new friends. I raised all my three boys with play based curriculum. I volunteered during their early childhood programs and participated in their play based education activities. Now my kids are in middle school and college, I can see that they are better equipped with the skills they need for college. What are the differentiators? They have empathy, self-control, problem solving skills which they need to survive and excel in the college. 

When I started Sailors Preschool, I ensured implementing these very foundations of play based curriculum as part of our curriculum. My students who attended different preschools in the past had emotional issues or separation anxieties when it comes to going to school. The parents either had to drag the kids (literally) to the school or even worse used to get a call from the school to pick up the kids in the middle of their busy workday as their child was crying continuously or not participating in their rigorous academic activity. I can see how happy my students are with Sailors play-based curriculum; the results are amazing. The kids want to come back to the school every day with a big smile on their faces. The same parents now admit that they see a lot of change in their kid’s behavior - since the kids see school is fun! Not only that, these kids use more negotiation skills, learn on their own how to resolve conflicts without using hands and more importantly the kids are transforming into a well-behaved children. And I know that these skills are going to help them in future with college, just like it is helping my own children. The real challenge is...how can I convince the parents who believe that the best way to send their kids into college is only by rigorous education and running around different tuition centers? Any thoughts?