Preschool Education

Preschool education in the United States begins practically from the diaper. You can enroll your child in a nursery or kindergarten as early as 6 months of age. There he may stay from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. In contrast to Russian kindergartens, a child may be brought to kindergarten even after school, since by law he may not be at home alone until he is 12. All kindergartens in America are paid; the average monthly fee is about $1,200.

For children from three to five years of age there are “preparatory groups” at schools. At this stage much attention will be paid to general development, socialization, and literature, as the preschool system of education aims first and foremost to teach the child reading skills.

However, kindergarten and preschool classes are still an optional step. Compulsory education in America begins in school and lasts 12 years.

Under 5 years old: Supervised at fee-based centers

The first level of preschool education (Pre-School) includes nursery schools for very young children and child care centers or “day schools”. Some of them are open 24 hours a day. They are usually for profit.

There are also corporate day care centers for children of employees of certain companies, and religious day care centers belonging to churches.

All-round development of children and staging of oral speech are the main tasks set by the teachers of American preschools. There is no educational program in these centers. Children play, perform skits, read aloud literary works, and do modeling, drawing, and dancing.
Year of school readiness

Kindergarden is the first level of the public school system, a preparatory class. They are often located in school buildings. Kindergarten is free and state-funded. There are also private pre-kindergarten centers.

In preschool classes, the teacher stresses adaptation to the environment and interaction with each other, which helps children feel psychologically comfortable in school. During this period, active learning of writing, reading and counting begins.