5 things to look for in preschool activities

Parents of young children can find themselves in the middle of a minefield of information.  We're surrounded by opinions and ideas, advice and options, benefits and features.  This activity will improve their concentration, that will improve their social skills, and the other will affect their school-readiness.  And depending on the area where you live, there will be more or fewer choices - so, should you travel or "support local"?  Should you go to the busiest or the quietest?  The loudest or the most academic?  This has led to businesses that aim to represent the industry that have "membership criteria" designed to reassure parents of quality, but often involves fees that not all levels of the industry may be able to afford.

As a parent, I had ideas of different activities I'd like my child to try.  Sometimes they lasted, sometimes they didn't.  Out of the activities that stuck, I found these to be my top five criteria:

1. Relationship with my preschool child - and me

I still remember the adults who treated me respectfully as a child, those who listened to my opinion and discussed my ideas in the same way that they spoke to their adult friends.  And I've noticed that adults who talked to my child as a person meant more to her, and were people that she wanted to see again.  Which made me as a parent relax, take an interest, and want to get involved.

2. Expertise in their specialist area

 I admit it, I just don't get some activities.  How some people can want to spend their hours learning more about specialist ideas that I really don't feel that I missed is sometimes beyond me.  But I do respect the specialist, in any field, who can show that they know a little of the theory, a little of the history, or a little more about their topic than the average session-leader.  And it's not always about the academic qualifications, either, which can sometimes be too theoretical for me to apply to my real-life experience.  However, I do recognise that if my child is enjoying their session, it is probably something to do with their expertise, and it is something that I trust will encourage my child to pursue a little further.

3. Passionate session leaders

People who are passionate are irresistible.  When singers or musicians get so engrossed in their song that it feels like you can see their real response, it is exciting, exhilarating.  When sportsmen focus so intently on their game that the crowd seems to disappear from their awareness, you can almost imagine it was you in that place, at that time.  And seeing session leaders getting caught up in their activity, living in the present, focussed on sharing that experience with you and your child, is a powerful, magical moment.  Finding an activity that your child enjoys with a passionate session leader guarantees that your child will experience the fulfilment that comes with combining the perfect level of skill with the perfect level of knowledge, or flow. 

4. Personalised sessions

There is a lot to be said for continuity, and knowing that the same ideas and experiences are available to all children at some stage, but I think there is more to be said for personalisation.  Much like the difference between equality (all receive the same) and equal opportunity (all receive more or less in order to access opportunity equally), sessions where individuals are acknowledged are more meaningful.  In sessions where I am just one in 20 easily-replaced attendees, I didn't lose sleep over missing the occasional session, but when my child was expected, and may even have had an activity dedicated to them, I would reschedule my other activities to make sure we got there.

5. Friends

Although this is listed last, this is one of the most important things I look for in groups for my child - is there a friend for them?  Initially when my child was very young, I made my activity decisions based on my friends, but when I realised that my child wasn't having as much fun, I had to go it alone.  And activities that stuck were activities in which my child found a friend, sometimes leading me to a new friend, too!  Activities that definitely didn't stick were the quick-in, quick-out activities, where we knew we were just quick-turn-over.  But where people wanted to linger, where children had the opportunity to play undisturbed, those were the activities that lasted.  And it was clear that those connections, those friendships, lasted beyond the session, and into "real life".

These are just a few of the highlights of sessions that we stuck with - I'd be interested to know what made you and your child stick with what you did!