Preschool education is important because it gives your child the opportunity to develop a strong foundation in basic academic skills.

Finding the right education partner is as important as it determines the quality of education your child receives.

You might be asking yourself difficult questions such as:

“What is a good preschool education?”
“How do I prepare my child for primary school?”
“What are the important skills my child should have?”

Here, Academic Director of The Learning Lab’s Early Years Programme, Sue Lynn Lee, shares her thoughts on the three key elements of preschool education that will benefit your child.

Sue Lynn adds, “At the Kindergarten 2 level, being able to read is important. When children can’t read, they won’t be able to follow written instructions and they may also struggle with Math problem sums. Being able to read makes a big, positive difference.” — Sue Lynn Lee. 

On Numeracy Skills

A strong number sense sets the foundation for higher-level mathematical thinking at Primary 1 hence, it is crucial for your child to be given opportunities to explore number concepts that allow him or her to fully understand the subject.

Goh Wan Mei, Head of Math Curriculum at TLL, also shares, "Children begin to develop numeracy skills from a very early age. If your child is entering Primary 1 next year, developing a strong Math foundation is going to be crucial — and it begins with cultivating a strong number sense."

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With a trusted preschool enrichment partner, your child will learn: 

• how to ask for help when needed — this can be challenging for your child who may have been used to having close guidance and attention in preschool
• the value of responsibility as he or she begins managing homework and tasks in class
• ways to take and respond to instructions given by his or her teacher(s)

That is why it's important for your child to have a good preschool education that prepares your child for these new experiences in formal education. 

A credible preschool programme should allow your child to have a mix of activities within a lesson, incorporating visual, kinaesthetic, aural and read-write stimuli to build cognitive and gross motor skills.

To encourage curiosity in the classroom, preschool curriculum should introduce captivating, real-world content to your child and develop his or her awareness of the world through a range of topics such as world cities, occupations, festivals around the world and world cuisine.

“As parents and educators, we play a big role in having conversations with our children. Sometimes, kids come in talking about cars and pandas and things that they are interested. Engaging them in a conversation about animals, events and places your child is interested in makes a difference in the confidence level and communication ability of the child,” says Sue Lynn.