Preschool vs Nursery School – What Exactly is the Difference?
Parents of toddlers will be preparing for their next stage – admitting their little ones in the nursery or preschool. They will be searching for the best from private preschools near me. At this juncture, it is common to get confused about the difference between Preschool vs Nursery School.
On the surface, it appears that both preschool and nursery school are similar. The age group, activities, and set up all look the same. But a closer look at them reveals certain finer differences that differentiate them from one another.
Age group
Nursery schools take in toddlers ranging from 2 years to 7 years, in general. As they need not strictly be regulated according to government rules, the age group that children can join a nursery varies from one nursery to another. Some nurseries consider taking children ranging from one year and a half and above.
When it comes to preschools, the age group is mandated by government guidelines. Most preschools take in students from 3 years up and above. This is because the next stage of preschool is the lower kindergarten, they need children at the age where the real learning begins.
Timings
Nursery schools work at their own timings. Some extend till late in the day till 7-8 Pm. They are good choices for working parents who need help with taking care of their children while they are at work. On the other hand, nursery schools wrap up the day a little after the lunch timings. Some work till noon while others extend till 2 PM.
Food provision
Nursery schools offer snacks and meals, and sometimes dinner too. As they extend late in the day, this amenity is found in many nursery schools. You can also let the management know about the food preferences for your child.
In contrast, the pre-schools will supply only snacks for morning breaks. In seldom cases, you can find good preschools offering lunch provision too. As they wrap up the afternoon, you cannot expect them to provide lunch or evening snacks and food.
Curriculum
For onlookers, it may look like both the nursery and preschool teaches rhymes and alphabets. But, preschools adhere to regulated syllabus and curriculum. The syllabus here is planned in such a way that it helps children to learn and grasp the subject in the higher classes.
Nursery schools, on the other hand, are free to teach children in their own way. They use creative methods to teach children. The main focus here is to build sensual grasping in children and develop their learning skills gradually.
Attendance
For nursery schools, attendance may not be mandatory. Considering the fact that they are designated to help working parents and the age of children is very small, attendance is not a compulsory aspect in nursery schools.
Preprimary schools take into account attendance. As we know that they are guided as per state rules, attendance is one of the mandatory aspects in preschools.
Similarities between nursery and preschool
Looking at the above differences, it may seem like both nursery schools and preschools are different. However, there are certain commonalities between both:
• Parents need to submit vaccination records before admitting their kids to either of these.
• You find a nursery and preschool in one building or separately run by a single management.
• They can be privately run or publicly managed.
• Both of them may offer transport facilities and contain an in-house kitchen.
Also, some schools need your children to compulsorily attend preschool to be eligible to gain admission into a formal school. A nursery admission on another side is an optional one. If you run short of time and helping hand to take care of your child due to your professional and personal reasons, you can join your child in the nursery. Else, parents are free to admit their children straight away in preschool. Whichever is the case, preschool is the one that is compulsory at least in many states.
Conclusion
Both nurseries and preschools differ in little ways. The age group, the attendance requirement, and the way of teaching and curriculum. One common aspect in both is the age group and the care they take. So, which one are you choosing now? Happy parenting!
Study Abroad: Enrich Your Dream of Enjoying Such a Lifetime Opportunity
Study abroad refers to studying in a foreign nation for a term, a semester, a year, or a full term. It is essentially education received by the exchange of citizens between the two countries.
Study abroad is not a new concept. It is, in fact, thousands of years old. For example, the Greek philosopher was born in Macedonia, but he went to Greece for his education. The first record of a student to study at a foreign University is from 1190. A student known as Emo of Friesland lived in Holland but traveled to England to look at Oxford University.
Studying abroad is an excellent, albeit expensive, step for a student’s career. However, all countries have their premier and esteemed institutions which provide the students with excellent education and opportunities. A lot of students dream of studying away from their home country. Unfortunately, only a few can achieve it.
Let us know about why study abroad is crucial for you. Studying abroad has a lot more advantages than disadvantages. Some of them are:
Opportunities You Get By Studying Abroad:
It allows students to find the best of the best in their field. It doesn’t limit them to finding a university close to home; instead, they can choose a college or course anywhere in the world. Students learn to be proficient in a language through immersion. They build an international social network. While studying abroad, they become acquainted with both local students and international students and faculties of different countries. This network is beneficial when they apply for jobs.
Students get to experience and immerse themselves in a new culture. Universities with study abroad programs look fantastic on the resume/cv and give you a boost in interviews. This is because it shows that you may be proficient in another language and are comfortable with new experiences. It also builds self-confidence as students must interact with strangers, look after their well being, and perform their personal chores. It makes them more responsible and disciplined.
Points You Must Remember:
The first and foremost disadvantage is the high cost of foreign education. There is a higher cost of living, travel, food, and college courses than in your home country. International students cannot apply for the foreign country’s education loans, and very few are granted scholarships.
Homesickness is another major disadvantage. It plagues almost every single student who studies abroad. This is because students are shifted from a place of high comfort, i.e., your home country, to a place where you will experience a language barrier, ethnic cuisine, where you will have to interact with strangers, live in a strange area, etc. Your families will also miss you, especially your parents and siblings.
There are bound be to both cultural and language barriers. Even if you go to an English speaking country, their dialects and culture vary across regions. You will have to learn a lot about their culture quickly before you offend a local who may cause you problems. For non-English speaking countries, students will face difficulties with language and culture. There may be countless things that would be acceptable in your home country but forbidden or frowned upon in the foreign country.
There is, of course, a greater risk for students if they dislike the course they’ve chosen or dislike the country or their living arrangements. It isn’t easy to change classes, and there is a lot of documentation involved, and neither is it easy to switch living accommodations as you would be unaware of the new country’s tenant laws.
It may not seem as a big issue but studying in a foreign country entails longer travel time. There may be long stopovers, changing flights, or even long travel to reach airports. It becomes exhausting and tiresome for students to travel with all their luggage.
However, studying abroad is an excellent investment for your future if you’re sure about your choice, of course, and country. If you can study in a foreign country and wish to go, you must apply at least once.
Creativity and Innovation in Teaching and Learning
Creative thinking and innovation are indispensable elements that are a must in both personal and professional lives. However, many people feel they are lacking in innovation and creativity. What most of you do not realize is that you are creative on a daily basis, whether it’s selecting what clothes to wear in the morning or managing family time with a tight budget at work. While such tasks are not normally associated with creativity, there is a great deal of creativity involved to get these jobs done.
You keep on hearing the statement ‘Think out of the box’ while you are at work. It can be a difficult thing to do: after all, your modes of thought are fairly well ingrained when you enter the workplace, and opening up new channels and ways of thinking might be a hard task for some. There are many people for whom a job is not need much of creativity. But for industries, where a good idea is worth ten bad ones, being able to think outside of the box will help a career go further. Fortunately, creativity and innovation and creativity training are available for businesses and employees that need new ways to think about and approach any problem at hand.
The Need for Creativity and Innovation and Creativity Training
Most people do not pay attention to learning creativity and innovation during school time or during the other management training programs. You need a training experience that is engaging and impactful. Leaders need to develop their innovative leadership skills and respond to the challenges that are always emerging. The need for creativity and innovation and creativity training is:
• Create, develop, and launch new idea, strategies, products, and services.
• Respond to the rapid pace of advancement.
• Such training programs help you develop creativity & innovation skills and learn what you didn’t in school.
• Learn to utilize advancing technologies instead of just getting disorganized by them.
Employee moral in any workplace can be elevated with creative training. Training, like team building exercises, is better helped with creative hosts than with a impassive manager. But, again, it is not about just the person who is teaching, but is about how it is being taught.
Just by setting up an inspirational environment, supporting creative thought, and offering the right accolades, you can get the creative juices of your team members flowing like never before.
Here are some examples to get started:
1. Creative environment: First, create an environment that boosts creativity. You could brighten and dress up one area of your office and designate that area to your employees, giving your team some sense of ownership.
2. Work hard, play harder: Allow your team to play with creative thoughts. You can have flip charts, Lego, play dough, colored markers, paint, music and anything that sparkles the creative process during brainstorm sessions.
3. Brainstorming: Set a meeting every biweekly where you can brainstorm and work on a project or any problem. This gives the employees the right objective before entering your meeting.
4. Goal board: Create a board where you have goals or strategies that your company is striving for and each week you can focus on one goal or problem to solve or work on.
5. Homework: You may assign the employees some pre-work where you have one agenda for the meeting and the employees have to come into this meeting with one good idea to company’s goal or problem.
6. Reward creativity: Of course, if the best suggestion or solution is given a reward, will eventually encourage employees to think creatively. A reward could be in the form of movie tickets, a Thai massage, a bottle of wine, a voucher or money.
Thinking outside the box is what Mad Men is all about (well, that and a tragic character). Don Draper shows the advertising industry, what it is like to be on top of popular culture while remaining classy. Creative training comes from advances in culture, popular or not, and if the thinkers do not take heed of what is new and exciting, someone else, possibly a rival, will.
Professionals who take care to attend creative training on a regular basis are able to stay on top of their game, teach their teammates or coworkers in an engaging way and offer new solutions to problems within the business.
What’s the Point of Professional Development Workshops for Teachers?
Professional development for teachers is crucial for their career growth as well as successful learning outcomes for students.
Body Content:
Learning can empower individuals to perform well in their professions, participate in endeavors to advance their professional goals, and objectively analyze their growth. One of the best ways to continue learning is to participate in workshops where you can meet your peers from different locations, engage in creative activities, and really advance your professional training. One profession where continuing learning is critical for many stakeholders is that of educators.
Here are some ways professional development training can help educators from all walks of life.
Nurture Talent and Build Skills
Professional development workshops for teachers can be optimal learning environments to nurture talent and skills. Educators can participate in various exercises to test their existing knowledge and develop new skills. Teaching professionals can focus on their specific talents to develop them even more.
Learning methodologies are continuously changing. To keep pace with new teaching guidelines, teachers require to not only brush up on their existing knowledge but to also learn fresh techniques to perform well in their jobs. With new skill development, teachers can gain more confidence – both as individuals and teaching professionals.
Enhance Creativity
Professional development workshops for teachers are perfect to build or enhance creative capabilities. Such workshops often include fun exercises to awaken or sharpen creative abilities of teachers.
Creativity is important for educators as without it learning can become rote and teaching can be boring. No good can come off a teaching session where there are no inspiring thoughts and no exchange of ideas. Through professional development training, teachers can learn new tools to infuse creativity in their classrooms.
These tools can be teaching (and learning) through storytelling or analyzing concepts through various angles. Some workshops also teach strategies such as creating learning maps or utilizing outdoor settings to complement lesson plans.
Develop Leadership Qualities
Teachers need to be leaders. They also need to help their students realize their leadership potential. With new skills, renewed confidence and enhanced creativity; teachers can feel more assured about leading their students towards a brighter future. They can guide students to realize and reach their full potential. With leadership skills, teachers can present themselves as better authority figures.
When teachers are ready to put in time for advanced training, it shows a commitment to their profession. Students look up to their teachers. When teachers are leaders, it can inspire students to become leaders as well.
Transfer the Learning Optimally
Without knowledge of new teaching tools or confidence to lead a class; educators are not equipped to teach their students. Teachers need to invest time in continue with their learning by attending workshops, seminars, and collaborating with their peers. Professional development workshops for teachers can enable them to reach every student by applying new learning methodologies. Each student learns at a different pace. Teachers need to be ready to address the learning needs of each of their students.
With access to advanced teaching tools and strategies, teachers can help students learn in a more fun and nurturing environment.
Gain Job Satisfaction
When classroom learning is fun for students, it can only mean greater job satisfaction for educators. When teachers enjoy their work due to their advanced knowledge and their students’ better performance in classrooms; it can lead to a feeling of fulfillment and pride.
Professional development workshops for teachers can also help them unwind and refresh their minds through creative exercises. Participation in professional development training can prevent burnout and help teachers perform well in their careers.
At these workshops, teachers also get to meet other educators from different locations and with various skills. A healthy exchange of ideas and sharing of knowledge is paramount for professionals. A lack of community participation is not good for any individual who wishes to succeed professionally. Participation in training workshops provides educators with opportunities to update and upgrade their skills in fun and creative ways.
The Bottom Line
Professional development workshops for teachers ultimately help the students. But there is no undermining its importance for the betterment of educators, schools, and communities. When teachers are happier individuals with advanced career skills and adequate job fulfillment; the benefits transfer to students and the community.
Workshops for Writers – Do You Need Them?
Creative writing classes can definitely be very helpful for aspiring and established writers. But such creative workshops can also be helpful for students and people from other career fields.
Here are some ways a creative writing class is for everyone.
For aspiring writers –
For aspiring writers and those just starting their professional writing careers, a creative workshop can be helpful in so many ways.
Writers’ workshops are fun and nurturing environments that facilitate learning. You get to practice your craft using new techniques and exercises. You can learn about better ways to express your ideas through words. You can improve your existing skills such as writing dialogues and scenes; characterization, plotting, and storytelling itself.
With the help of your instructor’s feedback, you can make improvements in your writing or a work-in-progress.
For experienced writers –
Can established professionals also benefit from writers’ workshops and creative writing classes?
The answer lies in the many ways guided exercises can help to release creative burnout and stagnancy. It is very common for writers and creative professionals to experience burnout after being in a profession for some years. Often, a project can prove to be difficult and cause cessation of creative thoughts.
In such cases, creative writing classes can be immensely helpful in refreshing the mind and renewing the inventive process.
For other professionals –
Creative writing classes can be helpful for people pursuing other professions also. For people in sales and marketing, drafting letters for existing and potential customers is almost a daily task. You can’t present you and your company professionally if your introductory letters are not up to the mark. Marketing people also need to develop creative collaterals for business deals. Creative writing skills can come in handy during such times.
Startup founders and small business owners need to write business letters, product descriptions and develop content for digital marketing during the early days of the business. Creative writing classes can be beneficial in helping them do well in various roles they need to take up for their various operations.
For students –
Creative writing is a useful skill for students. Writers’ workshops are catered for people with different needs. Students can sign up for basic or advanced creative writing classes depending on their interest level and skill-building requirements.
Improved writing skills can help students with their lessons and in writing essays for college applications. In college, creativity in writing can help students draft academic papers with much more ease.
For students, there is also the added benefit of seeing writing as a career option. Once you have participated in one or more writers’ workshops, you can clearly see if this is what you want to pursue as your career. Deciding upon your career choice as a student is much more helpful as you can focus on a profession with much more care.
For those who wish to pursue writing as a career, there is no restriction in terms of your college major. You can study English but you can also opt for any other subject. Anyone can pursue writing if they have the requisite skills and the patience to work on their craft.
Students can take creative writing classes during their vacations or once they are done with their school or college.
For everyone –
Creative writing skills teach participants about looking at a problem in a different way (recreating a scene to make it better; making the character more believable, plotting a cliffhanger etc.). Problem-solving skill is something that useful for everyone in life.
Writers’ workshops, especially in multicultural urban centers, have participants from diverse cultures and backgrounds. It can help participants gain a fresh perspective to view their work and also find kinship with fellow writers.
There is no age limit or professional barriers when it comes to creative writing classes. You can pursue writing any time you want and there are tools and classes always available for those need and want to take them.
With the help of practical exercise and professional guidance offered at writers’ workshops, you can become more creative irrespective of your profession and age.
