THE BENEFITS OF 2 YEARS IN PRESCHOOL AT HARMONY
OUR MULTI-AGE PROGRAMS ARE DESIGNED FOR GROWTH & LEADERSHIP
We’ve already explored the benefits of our Pre-K & Kindergarten program. Now, let’s take a look at the specific benefits of two years in Harmony’s Preschool program…
Beginning more than 100 years ago with sociocultural learning observations from pioneering psychologist Lev Vygotsky, early childhood research studies have repeatedly shown that an environment in which a child moves continuously through a cycle of challenge-mastery-challenge-mastery will promote optimal growth, satisfaction, and learning. This is maximized in what Vygotsky called the Zone of Proximal Development—instruction aimed at a wide range of abilities, allowing “new learners” to learn at their own pace, while also observing and imitating the “more knowledgeable other"—ideally, peers with greater knowledge and skills.
This type of environment exists naturally in mixed age classrooms—and the benefits become particularly evident during the second year in that same classroom, when children are intensely focused on their classmates, learning through play elevates to a complex, mature level, and teachers scaffold the second year preschoolers’ natural gravitation toward roles of leadership with their younger peers. Since typical public elementary schools offer only single-age classrooms, Harmony offers a unique opportunity for children to access this type of multi-age growth.
YEAR TWO IN PRESCHOOL AT HARMONY
A second year in our Preschool program allows for more in-depth exploration of concepts and subjects from the first year, providing a stronger foundation as children approach kindergarten. They have more time to interact with peers, learn to manage conflict, and develop critical social-emotional skills like understanding rules and expectations. The second year also gives children the opportunity to take on leadership roles by helping younger peers.
MENTORING AND LEADERSHIP ROLES
Through a familiar learning environment led by teachers who have already learned each child's strengths and areas needing growth, a child's second year in Preschool provides invaluable leadership opportunities. During this second year, when each child is ready, we move them into modeling and mentor roles with younger classmates. This significantly helps them understand their own abilities, demonstrate leadership, and allows them to emerge as community members ready for Kindergarten. This confidence developed as classroom leaders can be very supportive to their long-term success. We have observed countless children who turn 5 in their second Preschool year positively thrive as they blossom into new levels of independence, self-assuredness, and success in academic skills, self-care tasks, and emotional self-regulation.
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING & SELF-REGULATION
Much like physical fitness requires routine exercise, responding appropriately to any given life moment requires continually developing and flexing the social-emotional “muscles” that modulate how we react—and Preschool is prime time to focus on strengthening this.
Strong social-emotional skills are arguably the most important foundation for success in the elementary school years. Social skills we work on in Harmony’s Preschool classroom include conflict resolution with peers, reading and responding to others' cues with courtesy and respect, presenting boundary messages positively and constructively, pausing before reacting with heightened emotion, and resisting the urge to get wrapped up in inappropriate behavior. Though we continue to develop these skills in our Pre-K & Kindergarten program, younger preschoolers actively working on these areas in year one of Preschool accelerate their progress via a second year in the same learning environment with teachers who already know how best to support their unique challenges and strengths. We are incredibly intentional about carefully balancing these life skills with a child's intellectual learning—something often overlooked in solely academic environments.
INTELLECTUAL & ACADEMIC SKILL-BUILDING
In every program, we are constantly observing your child’s unique interest in and readiness for ever-increasing intellectual and academic work. From numeracy to literacy, writing, science, and art, our teachers actively meet all of these areas, presenting strategically challenging activities to support cumulative growth and mastery of skills. Our teachers understand that a second year of Preschool means meeting each child’s intellectual needs with greater exposure to letter and number work, intentional guidance toward these activities, and incorporation of this work in dramatic play and other areas.
Second-year preschoolers are introduced to deeper literacy and numeracy experiences through rich, open-ended play and thoughtfully focused activities. Repetition of any familiar curriculum simultaneously reinforces learning from the previous year, while introducing children to newly accessible layers and levels of learning, thanks to their advanced age and developmental process. This naturally occurring layered learning based on what is accessible at each age and stage of development means preschoolers are never bored by reintroduced curriculum—to the contrary, they are deeply enriched by it.
And the beauty of a play-based approach is that it nurtures cognitive development while also supporting physical, social, and emotional learning in a way that feels natural and joyful.
Regardless of where your child lands as they move through our Preschool and/or Pre-K & Kindergarten programs, we are dedicated to creating a fully supportive learning home for them, tailored to their individual interests and developmental trajectory. We are always here to answer any questions as your child takes his or her next step with us. It is our honor and privilege to lead your children through academic and social-emotional learning—joyfully playing all the way.
We’d love to see any Harmony-inspired moments you capture along your child’s early years journey. Tag us (@HarmonyNLC) on Facebook and Instagram, and use the hashtags #HarmonyNaturalLearningCenter #TheHarmonyApproach #HarmonyNLC
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Interested in introducing more of The Harmony Approach to your child at home? Check out Harmony at Home today (FREE activities available).
