Preschool-aged children around three years old may not be ready to actually learn how to read, but teaching them the foundations of reading helps improve their chances of success in reading later. Skills such as the ability to rhyme and write and identify letters will help your child later. It is also important to ensure their vocabulary is ever-expanding and that they're pronouncing words correctly; watch out for your child confusing letters or associating them with the wrong sounds, habits that could make learning to read difficult.
Visual learners respond best to visual stimulation such as written numbers, patterns and imagery. Visually learning preschoolers show the most interest in and learn effectively through charts, diagrams, posters, pictures and other visual media. Consider looking for a preschool with decorated, organized classrooms featuring bright colors, interesting imagery and posters, graphs and charts on the walls.
As the name suggests, auditory learners are best suited for learning through sound, spoken instruction, music and dialogue. Often easy to identify, auditory learners tend to ask a lot of questions, engage in conversations and act noisy when they find the environment too quiet. Such learners may find it difficult to learn or concentrate in audibly hectic or noisy environments. Look for a preschool that encourages the children to work together in groups or pairs. Frequent group discussions and storytelling also work well for auditory learners. Try to avoid excessively noisy schools while also staying away from schools where quiet and silence is encouraged or enforced.
Kinesthetic learners learn the most effectively when engaged in physical activities and exercises involving movement and the sense of touch. Kinesthetic learners typically learn through drawing, building and participating in learning-related activities. A good example of this style is a child who learns to count to ten with the help of ten blocks he can physically touch, manipulate and count. For kinesthetic learners, look for a preschool with a large learning area that promotes movement, hands-on involvement in learning and frequent drawing and writing.
Don't specifically expect your child to fit perfectly into one of these three styles. Children often possess a mixture of the three styles, though figuring out the predominant style they prefer can help you choose a preschool that best fits their needs. When it comes to learning the foundations of reading, utilizing your child's preferred learning style helps ensure they're up-to-date when entering kindergarten.