People have been saying “The more, the merrier” for almost 500 years. While this is often true, it’s not true when it comes to the size of a preschool class.
ChildCare.gov says that having the right number of children to adults is important for your child’s health, safety, and development.
When the number of kids to adults is low, your child can get more personal attention and learn in a way that is right for them. ChildCare.gov says, “This kind of responsive care is very important for your child’s social and emotional development as well as his or her physical fitness.”
But that’s not all that’s good about smaller class sizes. Here are some more reasons why you might want to avoid a classroom that is too full.
Getting Individualized Care
When a child is away from home, personalized attention helps them feel safe and lessens their feelings of being overwhelmed. Children are less likely to get hurt in the classroom because adults can respond to situations faster. If a child doesn’t feel well, adults can keep an eye on the situation and do what’s best for the child.
The Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes also has something to say about this topic. Small classes give kids a chance to get to know the adults and other kids in the group well. They also give teachers time to get to know each child as an individual and plan lessons and activities that are meaningful to them. When kids are in small groups, they are more likely to be creative and to learn new words more quickly.
One more important thing is that teachers will feel less burned out when they don’t have too many students. This makes it more likely that they’ll stay at the preschool, which is good for the kids because they need the same people to care for them.
Ohio Preschool Sizes
The younger the child, the more adults should be in the room, and the classroom should have fewer kids.
Typical class sizes and ratios for preschools:
Children between 30 months and three years old:
- 1 adult for every 8 children
- Maximum size of 14
three-year-olds are the most that can be in a class:
- 1 adult for every 12 children
- 24 students are the most that can be in a class.
Children aged four and five (not yet in kindergarten):
- 1 adult for every 14 children
- The most students a class can have is 28.
Quality Is Important
The Learning Policy Institute points to research that backs up what most people already know in their guts: quality matters if you want your child to get the short-term and long-term benefits of going to preschool.
In other words, size is important, but it’s not enough if there’s no quality. For a successful preschool program, it needs the following:
- “Well-qualified educators”
- “program that’s right for their age and stage of development”
- “enough time for students to learn”
The site says that teachers who are ready and use a well-thought-out curriculum are important building blocks. What else is important is getting the family involved in meaningful ways and helping children with special needs, like those who are still learning English.
Paramus Day Care
At Paramus Day Care, we make sure that our preschool programs are just right for your child so that they can have the most enriching time possible. Your child will benefit from our programs because we put a lot of attention on:
- Kindergarten readiness
- Literacy skills
- Verbal and social skills
- Getting to know numbers and letters
We also do screenings and assessments of a child’s development to give parents the information they need to make the best decisions for their children. We have both part-time and full-time preschool programs, and some of our centers also offer wrap-around care to help working parents.
