The Big Goals for Preschool

The two most important goals for preschool are to help children develop social competence and become enthusiastic learners--eager to explore and confident about their growing skills. This means encouraging children to be active and creative explorers who are not afraid to try out their ideas and to think their own thoughts. High quality programs teach children how to work together and how to learn, skills that will benefit them throughout their lives.

To achieve these big goals, preschool programs address goals in the four areas of development:

• Social: to help children feel comfortable in school, trust their new environment, make friends, and feel they are a part of the group.

• Emotional: to help children experience pride and self-confidence, develop independence and self-control, and have a positive attitude toward life.

• Cognitive: to help children become confident learners by encouraging them to try out their own ideas and experience success; and to help children acquire learning skills such as solving problems, asking questions, and using words to describe their ideas, observations, and feelings.

• Physical: to help children increase their large and small muscle skills and feel confident about what their bodies can do.

To accomplish these developmental goals, high-quality programs organize the environment, plan activities, select toys and materials, plan the daily schedule, and interact in meaningful ways with children.