The School Readiness Benefits Of A Program Teaching Infants How To Learn

What does a program teaching infants how to learn have to do with school readiness? Your baby is years away from the kindergarten transition. But this doesn't mean they need to wait until the pre-k year to build a foundation of skills. Take a look at how infant programs can help the youngest of learners to develop abilities they'll use down the road in grade school.

Develop An Interest In Learning

It's never too early to develop an interest in learning. This doesn't mean your baby is ready to focus on math equations and multi-step science projects. Instead, the first early learning experiences simply expose your child to the school setting. 

An infant program can also show your young student that learning is fun. Unlike college classes, infant learning activities include hands-on, sensory explorations. Even though it may look like your child is playing their day away at school, they are actually learning new concepts and developing skills.

Develop Early Literacy Skills

Your baby isn't ready to read. But they will need literacy skills years from now as they make the pre-k to kindergarten transition. 

Even though you shouldn't expect your infant to read or write right now, you can start the process during the first year of life. According to the national early childhood organization Zero to Three, early literacy skill development begins at birth. A high-quality infant care program should include plenty of literacy-based activities for your child to explore and engage in. These may include formal and informal activities.

A formal early literacy activity in an infant classroom may include story-time or singing songs. Informal options may focus on handling books and language use. 

Develop Social Skills

Like literacy, your infant isn't ready for complex social interactions. Without the verbal skills to communicate effectively or the developmental abilities to connect with other children in meaningful ways (such as building true friendships) or even engage in a give-and-take type of play, your infant may seem like their years away from truly socializing.

While your baby has years of social development ahead of them, they can start building a foundation right now—in a program to teach infants how to learn. The social setting of an infant classroom can help these young students to feel more comfortable around their peers and take the first steps towards understanding interpersonal interactions. 

Develop a Sense of Independence

The school transition is a major step towards independence. Even though a five-year-old is ready to spend their day at school (and away from their family), this type of separation isn't always easy. Years spent in infant, toddler, and preschool learning programs can increase the independence necessary to smoothly transition into grade school. 

For more information, find a program teaching infants how to learn near you.


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