Preschool Matters

Recently a parent asked Babe how he, as a father, could help ensure his son's success in school. The little boy is all of two years old, but because he knows our kids, Jay and Nas, are doing well in school so far (praise God) he probably figured

we might have a tip or two. When Babe presented the question to me my mind went into overdrive, because even when the kids were very young I took suggestions from magazines and parents of older kids to heart. So I had plenty of thoughts on the issue.

For our kids, preschool was the biggest piece of the puzzle in ensuring academic success. Jay went to daycare/preschool when both Babe and I worked full-time and she loved it! She was such a social butterfly, keeping her home with me all of her preschool years would have been hard on her. Preschool was an early lesson in how to behave in such a setting while she was able to play with other kids and interact with adults besides her family. It was especially important in her development because she truly was a sponge and soaked up everything her teachers offered her.

Nas was not my social child. He would've been content to be home with Mommy all of his preschool days. Registering him for preschool was about the social aspect in reverse: getting him outside of his comfort zone. I consider myself "socially retarded" in many ways, and being so much like me, Nas struggled with the same issue early on. In preschool Nas was able to push through his shyness so that he could 'make room' for academia. His naturally shy personality was kind of a roadblock to learning for him and I needed him to eliminate that before kindergarten or school would be very difficult for him.

Clearly, for my family, the social benefit of preschool was evident. But by the time kindergarten started they knew at least the first semester of the curriculum because of preschool. They had a leg up academically, and that is just what I hoped preschool would give them. I also knew that school would've been harder for Nas had he not gone to preschool because of the social roadblock. If you're too nervous or uncomfortable in school to learn, you'll miss learning opportunities until you do feel comfortable. Who knows when that would've happened for Nas, but because he had a leg up, he had time to get to know his teacher and a kid or two without missing out on the learning.

Other benefits of quality preschool include reducing separation anxiety when entering kindergarten and increased self-confidence and self-management - all learned during the time spent in preschool.

Babe and I take our children's education very seriously, so preschool just seemed the natural way to help them build a strong foundation for the years to come. Whenever I am asked about the importance of preschool I become a spokesperson of sorts - every child deserves the best possible chance at academic success, whatever that may mean for each individual child. For us, preschool was just the vehicle we hoped it would be.