More and more parents are discovering the benefits of a good online preschool. When handled properly, online preschools can provide an early education that’s just as good as in-person learning, but while keeping your child safe and allowing you more direct oversight of their education.
However, this has led to a lot of virtual preschools jumping on the bandwagon – and not all of them are created equal. How do you find an online preschool at home that’s going to give your child the best chances of success?
These are some of the biggest signs to look for.
The Best Online Preschools Will…
1. Keep You In The Loop
Online schooling requires engagement from parents, not just students. You should always be kept up to date on class plans, activities, and your child’s day-to-day growth. Along with that, you should be given opportunities to participate, help out, and otherwise be part of your child’s early learning.
2. Constantly Switch Between Activities
Young children have short attention spans, and those spans are often even shorter when on videoconferencing. A great online preschool teacher will constantly vary their lessons, moving between activities, and working hard to keep the students’ attention focused. Ideally, they should be switching tracks every 5-10 minutes to prevent students from getting bored or wandering away from the computer.
3. Include Physical Activity
Sitting staring at a screen for hours is bad for anyone, especially children. Preschool at home should still try to integrate physical activities as much as possible, such as singing or dancing, or even sending children on a scavenger hunt around their room. These are vital years for learning hand-eye coordination and body control, and online preschools should take that into account.
4. Follow A Set Routine
Children need routines to learn how life works. Your online preschool should always have predictable class times and be structured enough that children can learn what to expect as they sit for each lesson. Ideally, this should also be part of the communications sent to you, the parent, so you can help reinforce those routines.
5. Show Books On Screen
One thing that educators conducting virtual preschool classes quickly learned is that students tend to get bored just sitting and watching a teacher read to them. They will stay much more engaged if the book is being shown onscreen as part of a slideshow or video. This also helps them start to read along. Seeing words in combination with hearing the read is what inspires a child to read for themselves.
Online preschools offer many benefits if you can find a quality school. This takes a little research and calling around to different schools, but you can definitely find a virtual preschool that is a good fit for your child. Do your homework, and your child will have a great head start in their education!