Preschool Essay

I had the opportunity to attend the exploring European preschools forum last week and identified many insights, while making connections from what I have learned in class. Several professors went on a trip to study early childhood education in Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany. They went on this journey to find out and explore some of the best practices for children in preschool. The main topic I noticed in this forum was empowerment. In Denmark the preschool was extremely nature based. In this school the professors noticed that the children spent most of their time outside, exploring. The children took the professors on a walk through the forest, leading them and showing them their knowledge. Exploring the forest is something the children do every single day. The children were able to identify where deer had slept the night before in the woods and pointed out marks that the professors could not see or notice. Something significant they recognized is that in this preschool the children did not look at something and say they couldn’t do it, but instead they found a way to do it. The children have been empowered and know what they can and cannot do. The kids were not afraid to pick up …show more content…
In class we have learned about Maria Montessori and that she invented children’s furniture. In the presentation that was the first thing mentioned, that she was the first person who realized that if children had child-sized furniture they could learn and do more. Montessori was focused on empowering children to be independent and master skills. In this program there is a three period lesson: (Naming, Association and Recognition, and Recall), which is learning by direct instruction. This is a flexible and stricter organized, but children can move freely, are free to create and choose what they want to do. This type of preschool empowers the children to make decisions and do what they want to