Parents today are faced with big decisions. For many, it starts early with choosing the right preschool. When choosing a preschool, today’s savvy parents are looking for small class sizes, top quality programming, and assurances that their child will be kindergarten ready.
Parent Participation Preschools (PPPs) offer all of these aspects of preschool education, and more. PPPs have a long and proud history in Metro Vancouver, and have been operating in British Columbia for over 60 years. Below you’ll find the top 5 benefits of joining a PPP.
1) Parents participate in the classroom experience.
PPPs offer much higher adult/child ratios and small class sizes compared to other preschools. At a PPP, children receive the personalized attention, recognition, and support they deserve to develop their social and emotional skills.
As part of the parent participation aspect, a family member or caregiver volunteers their time in the classroom. After an orientation, the volunteer, along with the teacher and assistant teacher, are available to help and support the students.
By being in the classroom with their child, parents are able to model a lifelong love of learning. Hands down, the children absolutely love it.
2) Parents can sharpen their parenting skills.
Let’s face it, parenting a preschooler can be trying and emotionally draining.
For the majority of us, their behavior is truly baffling. Most parents would love to understand the reasons behind their child’s outbursts and mood swings – but where does a busy parent find the time to figure it all out?
PPPs are an amazing parenting resource and offer free monthly parenting seminars by experts in child development. These speakers’ events provide parents with knowledge to broaden their parenting skills and allow them to share experiences about raising children with other like-minded parents.
3) Children receive high-quality programming.
The quality of preschool education is on every parent’s mind. Parents need to know that their child will be stimulated, challenged, and supported at an age-appropriate level.
PPPs provide enriched and quality play-based programming. Child-led play is crucial for children to develop socially, cognitively, physically, and emotionally. Play is so important to optimal child development that it has been recognized by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights as a right of every child. PPPs also recognize the importance of play to child development and are committed to providing enhanced play-based environments.
4) Be part of a community.
A sense of community is integral to the development of a child’s feelings of belonging and security. The “village” parents are so desperately seeking to help raise their children can be found in the community of a PPP.
PPPs offer the opportunity to build friendships with other parents and children and to feel part of a caring community. Parents are able to meet others with similar parenting values, work together to support the school, and make life-long friends. The time parents invest in creating this community has an amazing pay-off.
5) Parents help children learn new skills.
At the core of PPPs are the families. Parents are directly involved in the classroom and the administration of the school. PPPs are a wonderful setting for both children and parents to learn new skills, meet new friends, and take the first steps together in a school setting.
Research shows that parent involvement early in a child’s education is a major factor in their success. Children that are comfortable and feel supported at school tend to do better overall, which means parents have to spend less time dealing with problems later on. It clearly pays for parents to make an investment with their own time in the early years.
PPPs formed out of the need for community and have been treasured in their communities for generations.
Preschoolers graduating from PPPs have the skills and tools for problem solving, self-regulation and interacting with others. These children are ready to enter kindergarten with confidence.
Curious about PPPs? Happy Corner Preschool, one of two PPPs in East Vancouver, is holding its Open House and Registration on Saturday, February 24 from 11am-1pm. Bring your families for a stay and play, meet the teachers and see the classroom!
