The value of preschool education at Kultur2000 College Alkent Kindergarten

Shaping tomorrow starts with the importance given to the education of today’s children. Therefore the value of preschool education is closely related to the correct orientation of children. Preschool education is the first step of the educational life that will last for years. Before saying ‘’ What will happen? , ‘’ They will just play’’, we should know the value and effect on the child.

Many researches show that children learn very fast and effectively in preschool period. In today’s world, children are more curious and open to learning. Preschool education is very important for a child to grow healthy and most importantly to become an independent individual. This period, which is between 3 and 6 years old, has an important role in future life of the child.

Because this is a period in which the child completes all stages of development to a great extent, where their personality is formed and constantly changed.

In this period, children also learn to share, to exist individually in a group, to socialize and to work together. They develop a sense of concept of ‘’myself’’ and ‘’someone else’’. They also learn how to solve conflicts with peers and how and when to protect themselves and to respect the rights of the other children. For these reason, the preschool child should be enrolled in kindergarten regardless of whether the mother is working or not.

In short, after the family, the most important place for a child’s development is preschool education.

In our kindergarten our goal is to develop the existing mental, emotional, social and physical potentials and abilities of our children at the highest level. For this purpose;

All of our activities in our kindergarten feature different learning styles and skill levels for children to develop and reach their potentials.

The preschool education program was developed under the supervision of the Education Faculty of Istanbul Kultur University, an eclectic model was created during the preparation phase and succesful examples from the world were integrated into the basic education approaches.

It is a multi-directional structure with HighScope, Reggio Emilia, Project Based Learning, Montessori, Waldorf, Child to Child approaches.

Science and mathematics are taught to our children through GEMS, an international science and mathematic program.

GEMS is a qualified, scientific and student centered program based on effective learning that directs children through science and mathematic driven discoveries, researches and direct participation.

Language learning is a special process in our kindergarten. Bilingual Education Program is used to maximize our students’ ability to use English. Children learn the foreign language through various activities ( Play centered learning.) Teachers are children’s role models here.

Teachers attract students’ attention with different games and continuous repetitions that appeal to various types of learning and help them become eager to learn. In this process, the child monitors the activity first, then understands the purpose and extracts the necessary meaning from the language spoken by the adult. Under the leadership of professional Turkish and English educators, they learn the concepts both in their mother tongue and in english thanks to the half day turkish half day english education program. The learning and teaching process are enriched with spanish lessons.

Reasearches show that the sooner children start foreign language learning, the more succesful they are in this field than the older ones(after 6 years) and they become individuals with advanced language mastery.

Effective learning strategies are used.

Effective learning means that children are not content with watching and listening, but actively participate in this process.

In a child centered classroom environment, our teachers give children plenty of choice, leadership, individual expression communication and interaction opportunities and freedom in all the activities they start.

According to Piaget, autonomy (self management) is a very important factor in the child’s learning. Learning becomes effective in the child’s finding the answer for the question on their own rather than receiving it from  the teachers.

Counselling works are based on love, compassion, interest, follow up and correct communication techniques are at the forefront.

Teacher- family communication becomes very important as the ability to express themselves verbally in preschool children is not yet fully completed.

Kindergarten is the field where the child will try to exist as a separate individual from the family. It is important that this beginning is happy and full of confidence. For this reason, our preschool psychologist conducts orientation studies in the first days of school. The child is not alone in the orientation and adaptation process. The family is with the children during the orientation process. Guidance is provided to the family along with the child and feedback is given about the process.

The process in which children present themselves in the most natural way is the process of playing in the classroom. Natural behaviour observation provides information about our student’s social and communication skills.

The acquired knowledge is shared with the teacher and the family, the child’s strengths and the aspects that need improvement are indentifed. Preschool education should be valueable firstly to parents and then to children. In this context, we expect to shape our future together by providing all the support to you, to our esteemed parents.

 

                                                                                                                        Sibel Çetin

                                                                                                                      School Principal