Important Role Of Preschool Teachers In Your Children’s lives
Guest Post by Dejan
Ancient Greek philosopher and thinker Aristotle once said, “those who educate children well are more to be honoured than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well.”
Captured aptly and eloquently, even back in 300 BC, the role of a teacher is an impactful position which commands universal respect. Famous personalities around the world such as Helen Keller, attribute their principal successes to the guidance of a noteworthy teacher.
Preschool teachers have a much more intense impact for these souls are the nurturers who embark children on their first path to an educated life. Plus, it is said that a child’s brain grows fastest before the age of 8 – a fact that makes preschooling ever important. Hence, preschool teachers play a vital role in creating responsible citizens by laying the right foundation in their childhood.
How preschool teachers influence children’s lives
1. Identifying developmental milestones
Almost all parents are familiar with developmental milestones. These certain set behaviours we associate when reaching a given age. For example, for a 3-month old baby, turning his head towards a sound source would be a developmental milestone. For a 5-year old kid, speaking in complete sentences would be one.
Preschool teachers ensure that children learn the beginner basics of life within a reasonably standard time frame. This can be by picking up the first few alphabets, identifying colours or drawing shapes.
2. Building social and emotional skills
One big change that parents notice after sending their kids to preschool is a spike in their interactivity. Children engage with others their same age in a stress-and-rule-free atmosphere, building relationships and starting to share their things.
Preschool teachers might be the first person outside their family to befriend them. Their playfulness and personality can give children a sense of security to speak and interact better. The right social interactions taught by teachers are often learnt faster than those by the initial caregivers.
3. Establishing routines
Did you know waking up early is the easiest for early risers who have been up at 6 am every day since their school days? This is one habit learnt at childhood that sticks till the end of life.
Preschool teachers emphasize a lot on trying to create routines. Something as simple as arriving at school on time can be learnt subconsciously by children, thus instilling punctuality and timeliness in them. Also, maybe there will be activities that the teachers incorporate in their day time routines that create positive vibes in children – such as beginning the day with a prayer or fixing a time for lunch and snacks.
4. Making the child independent
Until preschool, a child’s world comprised of only their parents, siblings and a few familiar faces in an environment he or she is at ease with. But once in preschool, everything is new. The child has to suddenly deal with separation from their parents and spending time amongst a bunch of absolute strangers.
Preschool teachers have the responsibility to mollify their tantrums and make the transition easier for the child. Through this process, the child gradually becomes close to the teacher. With time, the new confidante moulds the child to being at ease with themselves. Activities such as potty training and asking for help respectfully become inbuilt in children.
Nudging them in this direction also raises their self-esteem and moral standards.
5. Communicating effectively
Preschool teachers design their classes in ways that are interactive and stress-free. One-on-one attention and also group activities both benefit children by increasing their levels of communication with the teacher and peer group.
Children can also pick up those polite words you have been trying to teach them without much difficulty – “please” “sorry” “excuse me”, etc.
6. Practising gratitude
Gratitude doesn’t end by just saying ‘thank you’ as a formality. Teachers instill a greater sense of the words in the hearts of children. This can be by making them write thank you notes to people like the postman and janitor, or creating “3 things I’m grateful for today” type lists.
How wonderful it would be for us parents to see our children growing with a strong sense of compassion and gratitude every day right? For everything they do for your children you as parents from time to time would need to show gratitude to them with small gifts for preschool teachers. Even those very inexpensive gifts will make them very happy and make them feel special.
7. Improving physique
Perhaps a major reason for kids to love preschool and you to thank its teachers! The emphasis placed on physical tasks is enormous during preschool days as this is the time children maximize their hand-to-eye coordination, energy levels and strategic thinking.
Teachers use their play time to effectively plan games that boost thinking and give good exercise. Getting fresh air and being with nature also forms a part of the activities.
8. Recognizing learning disorders
Learning disorders like dyslexia and ADHD surface extremely early in a child’s life. With keen observation, symptoms can be identified by preschool authorities and treated immediately.
9. Creating opportunities to be creative
At the ages 5 to 7, children show a big burst in creativity levels. They learn curiously about colors, shapes, sounds and alphabets, all new concepts that suddenly create a brand new world in their mind. They often begin to show interest in activities that can later become career choices, such as drawing, painting, singing or reading musical instruments. These hobby choices are encouraged and nurtured by preschool teachers, some of who identify them in the first place.
Remember that for children who are underprivileged, preschool may be the only venue available to explore these hobbies.
10. Enhancing life outside the classroom
Many preschool teachers have been known to support the child outside their classroom. Such teachers can find cues for discomfort, negativity and even abuse, and talk to the child’s parents and caregivers about the situation. Lives have been saved and many self-esteems boosted by the efforts of a sincere preschool teacher.
These are just 10 ways preschool teachers can influence the lives of our children. Reading between the lines, these educators do so much more and will forever be remembered by children as being their first friends.
Hear, hear Dejan. Thanks so much for this awesome post and for sharing your valuable gift resource in point 6. Every year, I scramble around looking for posts of gift ideas for my son’s Teachers because they are so amazing and deserve to get something special.
About the Author – Dejan
My wife and I are writing on GiftLightBulbs.com. There you can find us and our gift ideas.
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