What Makes A Kindergarten Special?

Kindergarten

Choosing a kindergarten for your child can be a daunting experience. This is especially true if this is the first time you’ve ever had to do it. However, even if your other children have already attended kindergarten, it can still be a hard choice – sometimes, what works for one child won’t be ideal for another, and therefore you might need to find a school that will help each particular child thrive in their own way. 

So what exactly is it that makes a kindergarten special? What should you be looking out for when you start to investigate your potential options and narrow down the schools that your child will do well in? There are a number of things that are important; read on to find out what they are to help make your decision a little easier. 

Enthusiastic Teachers 

Although there are many different things that make a good kindergarten and that ensure the entire experience is a special one for your child, one of the most important to consider is the teacher or teachers themselves. Even if everything else is ideal, if the teacher has no motivation or enthusiasm, the lessons will be boring, and the child won’t enjoy attending school. As they get older, this idea will stick with them, and they will automatically assume school is a boring place to be – they won’t focus on their lessons with this idea in their minds. 

Kindergarten is where children first get an idea of what school would be like, as well as their first taste of education. Therefore, the more enthusiastic the teacher is, the more they will enjoy it, and this feeling will stay with them as they get older and learn different lessons. Plus, the more enthusiasm a teacher has, the more the child will want to go to kindergarten, and this will make the transition a lot easier for parent and child. 

Small Class Sizes 

Every child needs to have an education, and that should start with a great kindergarten experience. However, there are many children, and this can lead to some extremely large class sizes, which is a problem. It’s a problem because the more children who are in a class, the less attention they can get from their teacher. Even if there are two teachers or teaching assistants to help out, having one-on-one learning time would be very special indeed, and that would certainly help improve any child’s education and how they feel about school. Large classes can mean that children miss out or feel as though they’re not being listened to, and this can be problematic not just now but in the future too. 

This is why, if you want your child to have a special time at kindergarten, it’s a good idea to look closely at the class sizes and make a decision based on that if you can. A kindergarten such as karterschools.com will take care to keep class sizes small so that individual attention can be given to each child and so that no one has to miss out on any element of this first vital stage of their education. Although this may not sound like something that would be an issue, it’s worth considering what a difference small class sizes could make to your child’s future. 

Plenty Of Outside Space 

What do you imagine when you think about kindergarten and the environment your child will be in? For most people, it will be an image of a classroom with lots of small desks and chairs, an area for napping, and a carpet for storytime, for example. However, although this is likely to be an accurate assessment of what a kindergarten classroom looks like, what about outside space? 

Learning inside is important – it helps the child to focus on their teacher and listen to the lesson. It also gives them a dedicated place they can associate with their education, one that feels comfortable and safe and where the rules are very clear. However, learning outside is also important, so it’s a good idea to take a look not just at the potential kindergarten’s classrooms but its outside areas as well. Is there a lot of room for children to run around and play, for example? Children will learn a lot through play, such as how to think for themselves, how to harness their imaginations, and how to socialize. If the outside area can also be used for education, such as a forest school environment, that’s even better. Children need to be able to explore and play outside, and if that is part of the curriculum in kindergarten, this is even better.