If you’re considering putting your child in daycare, you may wonder when is the best time to enroll. While Bright Start Louisville takes children as young as six weeks, most pediatricians consider six months to be the youngest beneficial age to enroll an infant in daycare.
Parents of early preschool children (around the age of three to five) who seek to enroll their child in an early educational program consider the beginning of the school year to be the best time for enrollment. However, there are compelling reasons to enroll during the summertime before the school year begins. Let’s examine each below!
Prepare For School
Academic success takes a lot of work.
For children entering their first year of formal schooling, there are many things adults forget that are new or challenging to children. Things such as standing in a line, raising your hand to ask a question, being quiet while the teacher is talking, asking to go to the bathroom, and so much more, are unnecessary skills at home but are vital to school success.
These concepts are often not learned except by first-hand experience.
Many first-day jitters are also due to new people and relationships. Children who have never made a friend without a parent’s help may feel intimidated and awkward around peers, and this can cause a lot of anxiety in children. Enrolling your child in daycare during the summer will help them learn essential friendship skills that will benefit them when school starts.
Children who don’t know these basic skills are disadvantaged when they begin school. Their first few weeks may be predominantly learning new social and scheduling rules instead of academics.
Instead, children enrolled in an early preschool program have confidence walking into their first day of kindergarten. Their educational experience will be enriched because they know how to make friends, listen to their teacher, sit quietly, follow a routine, and much more.
Keeps Brains Sharp!
Children lose many academic skills throughout the summer because they’re not practicing them. In fact, teachers dedicate many weeks at the beginning of the school year to re-teaching academic concepts from the previous year.
If your child is already in school, enrolling them in Bright Start Louisville is still an excellent childcare choice! This is because our modified academic routine keeps kids sharp. They might not be learning new concepts, but they’re practicing ones they’ve already learned so they don’t feel behind and frustrated in the fall.
Keeps a Routine
Schools have very regimented schedules to keep everything running smoothly. But in the summer, children often have little to no schedule. They sleep in, play video games for hours, eat whatever and whenever they want, and rarely go outside or exercise unless forced to.
Summer should be a break from school, but it shouldn’t be a time of indulgent laziness. If kids are allowed to “veg out” during the summer, they will be unprepared and cranky when school rolls around again.
It’s common knowledge that children benefit from a schedule, even if it’s more laidback. And this is the benefit of enrolling your child in Bright Start Louisville over the summer! Although our summer schedule isn’t as strict as schools, there is still a daily routine that gives children predictability and meets all their needs. Children enrolled at Bright Start Louisville will have all the benefits of a schedule, including:
- Consistent healthy meals with limited snacks help children maintain a healthy weight and not indulge in boredom cravings
- Basic review of academic concepts to prevent academic regression
- Field trips and in-house events for fun and adventure
- Playing with friends to build social skills, problem-solving skills, and creative play
- Minimized tech helps kids develop creative play, keeps kids safe from unintentional browsing, and improves cognition.
These are just a few reasons why enrolling children in Bright Start Louisville during the summer is a wise childcare choice.