September is the month in which thousands of Spanish children begin to go to daycare, the one that Dad and Mom selected a few months ago, if they could choose, because this is sometimes a matter of proximity or available places.
In any case, regardless of the choice of your children's nursery school, it may be interesting to know the signs that confirm (or not) that the nursery we choose for our child is appropriate and that is why we will talk about ten signs that show that a nursery school is good.
1. There is movement, there is life
The children are playing with materials or toys or sharing space. It is not necessary to see that they are playing with each other, basically because of age they will hardly share games, but observe that they are doing something.
It would be negative to see children alone without doing anything, walking as a soul in grief without motivation to do something concrete and it would be negative, also, to see that children are too domesticated, that is, they are sitting for a long time in silence.
Young children have to play, not learn to be statues, so ideally they play, have movement, enjoy and have fun. Those children who are not doing anything because they do not know what to play or how to do it can (or should) be "invited" to the game by the caregivers.
2. There is variety of games for the whole day
Not only must we see that children play, but also see that they have the possibility to play different things. By this I mean to see that there is enough material such as building blocks, books and stories, paintings and material to make crafts, costumes and dolls to play the symbolic game, board games and even games created by recycling other everyday ones (bottles, for example).
Seeing a daycare center with little variety of toys and games will mean that children will have little chance to do varied things during the year. If, even if we are varied, we see that there is a small amount, the problem will be that not everyone will be able to play something at the same time, if that is what the children want, and that some will want to “share” a toy with which other children play.
3. Children are not doing the same things at the same time
There are times when all children may feel like doing the same and there are times when activities in a nursery school are directed (when a story is explained, when everyone sings a song, etc.), however you have to keep in notice that not all children want to do the same at the same time and that is why they must be free to do what motivates them most.
If, for example, a group activity begins and, at the end of it, a child wants to continue, there should be no problem in this happening. It is very frustrating for them (and for adults, although we have gotten used to it), to be doing something you like and have fun and for someone to tell you that you should stop doing it to do something more boring, simply because everyone is going to do it.
4. The educators work in a group and individual way
It is positive to see that educators individualize many of the attention Because young children need to feel heard, they need to notice that they are important to others. Therefore, the ideal is to see that educators spend time with children individually and also spend time with small groups.
If on the contrary the educators spend a lot of time attending to the whole group, there will be little individualization of the care and attention and the children will be treated in a more similar way to each other, when not everyone needs the same.
5. The environment shows that there is life and movement
One of the best ways to see that a nursery school is dynamic and that children participate in it by creating things is observe the children's class. If it is decorated with the works of the children, with their crafts, drawings, with photos and, in short, with what is lived there every day, we will not only see that they do many things there, but also the children will feel partakers of those creations and the growth of the scenario in which they live several hours a day.
6. Children learn unintentionally
The goal of children in kindergarten is not to learn numbers or letters, but many learn them. They also learn different words and develop their language, but All this learning must come in the context of your day-to-day experiences.
Children have to play and can play to explore, to know plants, animals, working on projects, etc. In this way, in a fun way for them they will learn letters, numbers, colors and words without the activities being focused on knowing all this.
Let's say that sitting down filling out sheets or files cannot be the way to learn things, because it's not too much fun ... you learn more and better when you enjoy it than when it is done by obligation.
7. Children play outdoors
Leaving home (indoors) to enter the nursery and spend the day there (indoors) is a mistake. The children they have to be able to play outdoors every day, enjoying the daylight, the outside air and the space to run, jump, etc.
Whenever the weather is good, this possibility must be given. In case of bad weather one day, that time in the classroom should not be used to do more work, but rather they should be allowed some free play, that which helps them develop their imagination.
8. Stories are read at various times of the day
As we have said before, there are activities such as reading stories that are usually done in a group way. This is correct, but the pleasure of listening to stories should not be limited to group moments, but children should be able to listen to stories, if they want to, at other times of the day with smaller groups.
Einstein said that “If you want your child to be intelligent, tell him stories. If you want him to be even smarter, tell him more stories. ”
9. Diversity is taken into account in terms of age and maturation
Not all children carry the same rhythm. Some are more advanced in many things and others are more backward. When preparing activities and when carrying them out, we must take into account both the most skilled children, proposing new challenges (so that they do not get bored doing things that dominate perfectly), as well as the children who go more Slowly in its development, creating adapted activities so that it evolves (if they are very difficult they will feel frustrated and lose the desire to try).
In the same way, the maturational processes of children should be taken into account when asking them according to what things. Sphincter control, for example, is a maturation process for which there should be no hurry, waiting for the child to give clear signals that he is already able to control. It is not logical that a nursery urges parents to remove the diaper and continue with it when the child misses the pee everywhere.
Another issue in which it is important to take into account the maturation of each child is when starting the course, with the periods of adaptation. Luckily, more and more nurseries are making periods more relaxed and longer in time, respecting more the needs of children. A nursery with a very rigid or very short period of adaptation, which just let the parents spend time in the nursery, will be doing something negative for their children.
10. Children enjoy going to daycare and parents can participate
The best indication that a nursery is good is see that children are happy, that they are happy. It is obvious that at the beginning most of them have a bad time because going to kindergarten means separating from parents, but if as the course progresses it is observed that children are happy, if they are happy with their educators and if with that The parents are also happy, the nursery will be a good place for them.
In addition, if parents can participate in daycare activities, if they can also live that environment and feel it in some way as their own, parents and children will make better use of the facilities and feel more integrated and happy in life in nursery school.
