PreSchool/Nursery Schools

Your preschool child is enrolled in a program licensed by the Rhode Island Department of Education, usually operating two-three hours per day, and two-five days per week.

Early Head Start - is a family focused program for low-income children ages birth to three.

Head Start - is a comprehensive early childhood development program for low-income preschool children, primarily ages 3-5. Children receive comprehensive services that provide for the education, health and emotional growth of the child. Services provided include: health, dental health, mental health, and nutrition. In addition, Head Start provides services for families including intensive social services, parent education programs and opportunities for parents to become actively involved in the Head Start program. Both Head Start and Early Head Start focus on the entire family, not just the child. http://www.riheadstart.org

Pre-Kindergarten/ Nursery - Pre-Kindergarten and nursery schools enroll children under the age of five. They usually operate in the mornings and early afternoons, 2-5 days a week. They can be privately operated or part of the public school system.

A nursery school or preschool is a school for the education of very young children (generally five years of age and younger). These schools range from schools which seek to teach young children to schools that only provide childcare with little educational benefits. Schools which focus on education generally teach early social skills including interpersonal interaction, being a part of a group of peers, and classroom skills such as following the instructions of a teacher. Some formal education also takes place, such as early reading or language skills. Some nursery schools have adopted specialized methods of teaching, such as Montessori, High Scope, Reggio Emilia approach, Bank Street and various other pedagogy. Most preschools are supported by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Difference between Kindergarten and Pre-kindergarten schooling: Pre-kindergarten is defined as: "center-based programs for 4-year olds that are fully or partially funded by state education agencies and that are operated in schools or under the direction of state and local education agencies".

The difference between Pre-K and Child Care:
Pre-kindergarten is an educational experience, while child care tends to be care-giving so that parents can work. Good child-care programs can be just like a pre- kindergarten class as long as there are experienced, well-educated teachers who promote children's cognitive and social development. State-funded pre-kindergarten programs have set standards and are able to provide the necessary resources to ensure that every student is offered a high-quality learning environment that prepares a child for further schooling. It is therefore essential to know how pre- kindergarten can prepare children for schooling. Good pre-kindergarten programs instruct children in different skill areas that they will need in further schooling. Such skill areas include learning to read, to do math, to progress in science, and to understand the world and how it works. Through pre-kindergarten programs, children are able to become familiar with books, words, language use, numbers and problem solving, as well as important social skills for classrooms (like paying attention and developing peer relationships). http://www.usaeducation.us

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