The preschool teacher is your child’s first formal teacher who unquestionably plays a huge role in your young one’s mental and physical development.
The first 8 years are most crucial for the development of a child’s brain and research suggests that his or her experiences with other people has a huge impact on this development. Read here.
We all know that teachers have a great influence on children right form the first day they step into a formal school. You would have observed how excitedly your child shares about something new and interesting that the teacher showed or taught in the class?
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While each and every preschool teacher relentlessly works to make children feel comfortable at school, there are few schools where the kindergarten teachers go beyond the normal and create outstanding learning experiences.
Here are 5 traits that make a good preschool teacher:
Trigger inquiry
A good preschool teacher would be constantly triggering curiosity in children during the activity or playtime. She would move beyond information delivery and create scenarios where young ones are stimulated to feel inquisitive about things around them. As a facilitator, the teacher will let the child phrase questions and possible answers on their own before giving the exact information.
Engage productively
Children between 3 to 5 are most vulnerable to getting distracted. To gauge their attention and keep them engaged in learning activities for a sustained period of time depends a lot on the creativity and tact of the preschool teacher. An experienced preschool will set some guidelines and class rules as well as make the lesson an enjoyable experience so that the young ones stay glued to the activity.
Foster creativity
A good preschool teacher would go beyond the conventional approach and would be innovative in creating day-to-day activities that foster creativity in kids. She will create ample opportunities for children to use their imagination and give constructive feedback to children for their creative outputs.
The teacher herself needs to be extremely creative in her approach and come up with tasks beyond art and craft that stretch the thinking capacity of the child beyond the box.
High on Energy
To match the high levels of energy possessed by kindergarten students, the teachers should be bubbling with similar vigour and enthusiasm. Whether it is music, dance, reading or storytime, a good preschool teacher will be high on energy during the lessons. She would be tapping her foot to music at the same pace as children or narrating a story in a dramatised voice to make the children feel energetic and involved.
Foster Leadership
Giving every child a chance to express and making them feel heard and important are the first steps towards inculcating leadership qualities in kindergarten children. A good preschool teacher creates opportunities where each and every child feels accomplished and important and feels that he or she is a leader in one way or the other.
In the words of Charles Kuralt, the American Journalist, “Good teachers know how to bring out the best in students.” Hence, it is important that as parents you know what qualities of a preschool teacher can be valuable for your child’s development.
And don’t forget to pat the back of every Preschool teacher for their commendable job of nurturing kids, developing their talents and love for learning and building their academic foundation in form of numeracy and literacy skills.
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Role of Kindergarten in Preparing Children for Future
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