Music, Art & More: Preschool Extras

Music, art, athletic activities, detailed work by hand, interpersonal and group relationships, emotional understanding and self-control, creative thinking of all kinds and just being able to converse in a common language are all endeavors that bring both pleasure and function to life. Most children will gain joy and success from having at least a threshold level of appreciation and ability in these areas. Children who excel in one or more of these areas can enjoy great success in life and work as a result. While few preschools vary in the level of difficulty or advancement offered in these areas, they often differ in which of these areas are addressed at all and in how much of the preschool day is spent on each.

Other subjects addressed here include:

Musical: senses, appreciates, composes, and/or performs music, including rhythm, pitch, and tone.

Artistic: understands and appreciates others' art; creates original works of art pleasing or interesting to others.

Physical & Hands-On: displays strength, agility, speed, balance and/or flexibility, also called "large motor" or "gross motor" skills; or uses small muscles to create art, writing and objects, also called "fine motor" skills. Also note: some preschools require that children be potty trained to enter a certain age group.

Social & Leadership: understands and interacts well with many kinds of people; or organizes and leads other children.

Emotional: understands own emotions and those of others; controls behavior and other responses to emotions as appropriate for situation; learns to handle separation from parent in early preschool years.

Creativity: thinks of new ideas and ways to do things, rather than imitating others; may apply to varying activities.

English as Second Language: understands, speaks, reads, and writes English at age appropriate level.

Children who are very weak or strong in an area may benefit from a preschool that is especially good at developing that capability - to a basic level if it is a weakness or far beyond when it is a strength. Some capabilities are easily developed outside of preschool if your child is in a part-day program, depending on your ability to provide relevant materials, lessons, activities and experiences.

This is a high priority in your choice among preschools only if your child has extreme strengths (early or very strong capabilities) or weaknesses (late or very weak capabilities). Remember, all preschools should address the four core developmental areas of cognitive, social, emotional and physical development.

Enrichment Curriculum and The Preschool Search