There are only so many hours in the preschool day. Unfortunately, this often limits the types of activities and how much time there is available for learning. Having preschoolers engaged with after school activities is one way to extend the learning. Here are some things to know about the ways that after-school activities can be important for preschoolers.
One of the most important benefits of after school activities is the additional opportunities for socialization. Within the preschool day, there are likely many structured activities that do not allow as much time for open free play with friends. Through after-school, kids have more time to play together and form lasting friendships while practicing important social skills such as taking turns, following directions, and sharing.
Cognitive Development
Cognitive development happens when your child is exposed to a wide range of stimulation. While classes can promote a lot of development, having experiences with a different structure can help tremendously. That’s why your child can benefit so much from an after-school care program.
They are exposed to more learning activities, but they also get to experience those activities in different ways. This distinct change from normal classes to an aftercare program can push your child to develop in different, beneficial ways that are otherwise difficult to cultivate.
Physical Health
Children play sports and games while in after-school programs. This allows them to stay active, burn off energy, and stay in better physical shape. With childhood obesity on the rise in the United States, it’s more important than ever to encourage children to develop a lifelong positive relationship with exercise.
After-school care programs are a welcome change from traditional classroom environments. Your child gets to move around and be active, which can be hard to facilitate during the school day. Letting kids work out their physical needs not only makes it easier to learn but also promotes brain development.
Emotional Regulation
Spending time with other people is an important part of learning emotional regulation for young children. They not only experience a lot of different and new emotions, but the environment is perfect for practicing how to manage those emotions.
More than that, their learning is reinforced by experiences with other people. Children learn about emotions best when they are with other kids. Seeing their peers working to control themselves and how they respond in different situations lets your child mirror and internalize those responses. In the end, they learn what an appropriate response is and can explore them more frequently because they are in an after-school care program.
Family Work-Life Balance
For parents who work full-time, traditional preschool hours may not provide enough coverage to get to and from work and to work 40 hours a week, especially when your family’s schedules don’t align. After-school programs can extend their schedule so that you have time to leave work on time and pick them up, rather than having to leave a few hours early.
In essence, after-school care programs bridge the gap between child and adult schedules in a way that benefits both. You don’t have to pay for a babysitter or take off work to pick up your child. At the same time, they get to experience school in a different way while developing schools and working out their physical energy in healthy ways. Enrolling in an after-school care program provides the support needed for both parents and children to be happy.
Independence
In an after-school program, your child can develop a level of independence that they may otherwise struggle to develop at home. At home, children are the center of attention and are attended to at every second by an adult. While they are looked after in an afterschool program, the attention is split between many children. In response, every child begins to develop a level of independence and self-management.
This is as simple as recognizing what they need and how to take action to satisfy those needs. Learning when they need to go to the potty, for example, and being able to express that to the adults in charge who may have their attention on other students. It pushes your child to take charge of themself, which can make development in other areas easier.
Academic Readiness
Spending more time in school can help bridge the gap between expected performance and student performance. That’s because after school activities provides more time for students to prepare for academics in a less stressful and more interactive environment. With this extra time, your child can reinforce critical skills to be successful in school as they progress through academic grades.
Creativity
Developing creativity in children requires an open environment and room to explore. That’s exactly what they get in after-school care. The activities that children do in aftercare are less structured and allow for more free exploration than they get in the day hours. Combined with support from teachers and a school environment packed with resources, your child can learn to freely create and expand their thinking beyond what they are taught in regular classes.
Sense of Community
After school activities help students build friend groups since the environment is less restrictive and more open to getting to know others. Creating friendships and building friend groups is the basis of building a community, which can be beneficial over the long term. In many cases, this early friend group will be together throughout their primary education years and can also be a source of support outside the home.
Consistent Routines
One of the things that can help your child develop is having consistent routines. Consistency builds resiliency in kids. They learn that things will happen regularly every day, and they can count on certain events in the day. This removes a lot of the anxiety of going to school since they know what to expect.
Choose Providence Children’s Academy’s After School Activities Program
While enrolling in an after school care program is beneficial, not all programs are created equal. Make sure the program that you choose fits the needs of your child as well as yourself.
Providence Children’s Academy offers an after school care program where your child can learn, be active, and build relationships that make life better. Contact Providence Children’s Academy today at (954) 570-6914 or use our online form to learn more.