As your child gets older, you’re likely wondering how to best prepare them for kindergarten. Overall, you want to make their transition into their new school life easy to navigate. After all, kindergarten is very often a child’s first real experience with going to school.

One of the best ways to help your child get ready for kindergarten is through a preschool program. Nonetheless, you will likely have a lot of questions about what your child would learn in preschool. You also may wonder what the difference between a public or private school will mean when it comes to choosing the right preschool program for your child.

To help you make the most out of your child’s preschool experience, check out these important skills that children build thanks to preschool.

1. Learning to Listen

Listening skills are one of the most important things your child will learn in preschool. In fact, for children, learning how to listen involves much more than hearing what is said with their ears. Some listening skills may involve an understanding of body language.

Naturally, your child isn’t going to dive into the complex skills that go into learning active listening but they will begin to learn an important foundation for that skill in their preschool learning. Then, once they get to kindergarten, they can continue to build on their listening skills and put them to good use!

2. Independence and Social Skills

Up until now, your child has likely spent most of their time with you. Even if they’ve made friends in the neighborhood that they play with, they might not have had the more in-depth social experience that a school can provide.

This social aspect is what can make kindergarten feel a bit intimidating for your children. Thus, preschool is a great way to help your child take steps towards being comfortable interacting with other children their age. Plus, your child can start to understand their own independence outside of the house with skills such as sharing and how to get along with others.

3. Letters and Numbers

Preschool is also the first place your child may be exposed to numbers and letters. While they may have taken an interest in reading or math at home, preschool can help your child begin to understand what these mean.

For example, your child will learn the alphabet and may even learn how to write things like their own name and other simple words to get started. Additionally, they’ll learn the connection between these letters and the sounds we make when speaking.

With numbers, your children may understand the concept of counting already, but making that connection between a written number and the number they say is a great skill learned through preschool.

4. The Importance of Play

Preschool should be a balance of academic learning as well as learning to play. There are many different ways that a good preschool can encourage your child to learn while still having fun.

For example, many activities may have a goal to teach a concept to your child but are structured so that they can still use their own creative play skills as well. Thus, your child can begin to build skills relating to socialization as well as learn things like problem-solving through play.

For more great parenting tips, check out the other blogs on Cyber Parent.