What Should Three Year-Olds Be Learning

Choosing the best preschool option for your child is a tough decision. 
From private schools, parochial schools, and mom-and-pop daycare to homeschooling, there are many options to consider what’s best for your family and child. Still, is there another choice that will help us understand what should three year-olds be learning? 

Daycare Benefits

In San Diego County, daycare centers are populated by ‘mom-and-pop’ private homes, homeschooling or religiously affiliated facilities. Historically, the latter choice is located in the parking lot or asphalt topped exercise area surrounding the church and has dozens of children and aides. 

By contrast, mom-and-pops normally have six children for each adult and the homeowner and family is the child’s primary caregiver. Daycare is far cheaper and far less formalized than a parochial facility. 

Finally, homeschooling has become an option–albeit an unpopular one in the recent past.

However, these three types of preschools do not feature what many of San Diego’s 60 Montessori preschools offer on a daily basis.

The Montessori Preschool Approach

Montessori is both a philosophy and methodology based on building a child’s world through love, care, mutual respect, academics, social, and emotional foundations. Toddlers as young as 18 months are welcome.

What Separates Montessori From Daycare

Montessori preschools employ educated, accredited, and experienced teachers who act as guides by observing and learning what makes each child tick. Their focus: treating each student as an adult, then giving each one the power and permission to focus on what interests him or her…individually! 

At Lifetime Montessori School, students learn and play while building social, social and emotional skill sets. Perhaps this is best illustrated at Lifetime Montessori School in Santaluz, a San Diego suburb, where toddlers begin a three-year dual immersion English and Spanish language learning program to verbally converse in Spanish by the end of Kindergarten.

Montessori preschools use age-range peer group learning as a component in creating emulation, mentorship, cooperation and leadership skills between older and younger students. Such collaboration cuts bullying while fast-forwarding potty learning and management, movement, routines, and an overall balance of work and play, freedom and self-discipline.

The Value of Early Learning

Toddlers absorb knowledge like sponges. This is why Montessori preschools start earlier than traditional schools while teaching children at their own pace. We teach students how to think--but without the anxiety of grades, tests and memorization. Ultimately, students research, they reason and they follow their academic passions.

THAT is what three year-olds should be learning! So, when choosing the best preschool that incorporates large facilities, homeschooling and daycare benefits, consider how philosophy, methodology and individuality blend to create toddler, primary and Kindergarten programs featuring an intangible called The Montessori Edge. 

To add your child to our waiting list, please visit: www.lifetimemontessorischool.com/free-tours