Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) programs are specifically designed to ensure that children are ready for kindergarten and will be succeeding at school by the time they enter the 3rd grade. Investing in high quality pre-K education, results in tremendous benefits for children and schools.
Here are the 3 reasons Pre-K matters:
1. Outperformance in school
Research has shown that kids who attend good pre-K programs have better reading, writing and math skills than home based preschoolers. They outperform their peers in grade school and have higher test scores.
2. Decrease in need for special education classes & lower retention rates.
There are also long-term benefits of pre-K education. Communities believe that pre-K programs result in a decrease in the number of students that are referred to special education classes in grade school and a decrease in the number of students that are retained in primary grades. This is because good quality pre-K programs develop a child’s intellectual capabilities from a very young age making them more competent in grade school. They therefore do not need special education classes to cope with their studies, as they have a strong base that is able to take on the curriculum of each class in grade school with ease.
3. Enhancing social & emotional development
Apart from developing their academic skills, pre-K programs also boost the social skills of children. Kids learn to interact with other kids and gain self-confidence to work independently. It is very important to concentrate on the emotional and social development of kids, so that they do not struggle with behavioral issues when they are in school. They learn how to pay attention in class and behave with other students.
As interest in pre-K education has increased over the years, there have been many programs accessible to parents. But what makes a pre-K program stand out in terms of quality? The main factors are as follows:
- Highly trained teachers with proficiency in early childhood education
- Low teacher-student ratio
- Small class sizes
- Personalized curriculum that emphasizes individual attention on each child
RARE Learning covers all the above areas in their pre-K programs. They have been known for the lowest teacher-student ration in their preschool and summer programs. Additionally, they also use a unique method known as the Learning Modality Rotation (LMR) which focuses on holding a child’s attention span during classes. This method uses technology tools and games to reinforce concepts of reading, writing and math in kids so as not to make it boring and repetitive. Children therefore become more excited and eager to attend the next class.
Another specialty of Rare Learning is that they provide parents with a day-to-day progress report. At the end of each class, kids can take their work home so that parents can see their daily progress and be assured that something valuable has been taught to their child every day.
It is also necessary for education to continue during the summer break as well, aiming to maintain the learning flow for kids at this critical age. Over time, research has proven that summer breaks lead to learning loss. Summer breaks result in kids forgetting what they had previously learnt during the school term. While their reading abilities may not be affected if they continue to read books during the summer, their math skills may suffer. For this reason it is important for children to attend summer programs that are not only fun, but also help maintain their math and science skills. Summer programs are designed for kids of all ages, and are made interactive and educational. Kids are also able to boost their creative skills and may discover an interest in photography, film making etc. High quality educational games and tools help them sustain their basics in various subjects so that when they go back to school after the break they do not feel as if they are out of touch with what they had learnt.
RARE Learning in addition to pre-K Programs, also offers fun summer programs for 3 to 9 year olds, aiming at increasing your child’s learning ability and self confidence. For more details about the programs please visit www.rarelearning.com
