What Does Character Development Look Like in Preschool?

The development of good character starts sooner than parents think. Think back to the days of bringing your child to the park as a toddler. Did they share toys or patiently take turns waiting for the swings? Did your child talk to or nicely interact with the other children their age? Parents and caregivers are their child’s first teachers during the first few years of their lives. They supervise and help children navigate some of these early social situations, but what happens when children enter preschool? How can parents ensure that their children continue to navigate the right path toward healthy character development?

Good character development continues in preschool and involves a healthy social-emotional preschool curriculum. Here’s what it might look like.

Playing

Preschoolers can learn several lessons through the simple act of play. In fact “long-term social emotional capabilities are more robust when children have a chance to learn through play”. Children, for example, learn how to resolve conflicts and share if a disagreement takes place and how to cooperate well with others. Preschooler teachers can also tie in different literacy, science, and math concepts into different simple play situations. Teachers may prompt learning by asking their students “How tall can your block structure get or how many blocks do you need, etc.” Through play, in classroom stations or outside on the playground, preschoolers discover their independence while also developing their fine and gross motor skills while nurturing their creativity and imagination. 

Lesson plans

While preschoolers can learn important character traits through the simple act of play, there are several ways that teachers also incorporate these into their lesson plans. Teachers might begin the week by choosing a character education trait to focus on for the entire week. For example, if the class is learning about responsibility, students might be reminded to do their homework before going outside to play or remined to put toys back on the shelf after using them. If the class is focusing on fairness, the teacher may divide up snacks so that everyone has one and make a point of hearing what each student has to say before deciding on an activity to do.

Global Awareness

Exposing children to the world around them starts out with their immediate inner circle and expands with age. Once in preschool, children will start to read and hear stories about how to be a good neighbor and citizen. Preschooler’s may even be tasked with serving a non-profit or helping those in need in their area. By helping those in need, children are practicing good character development while starting to develop a keen awareness of the world around them. This can also help support a student’s sense of purpose. Some ways preschool teachers can help raise their student’s awareness of the world around them includes incorporating global stories into their curriculum, organizing a classroom pen pal from another part of the country or world or by taking a field trip. 

There are many ways that children are exposed to character development in their younger years. By incorporating some of these teachings into the preschool curriculum, teachers are exposing students to healthy character development at an early age. This ensures that children grow up with a healthy outlook about the world around them and in treating others with dignity and respect. Early preschool character development provides children with a healthy and stable outlook about their communities and others as they grow up.

See here for more information about Oak Knoll’s Little Acorns Preschool Program.