The Amazing Ways Preschool Expands Children’s Brains

From exponential development in children’s cognitive abilities to developing foundations of resilience and emotional intelligence, a healthy, educationally-minded toddler care and preschool experience—like those offered at Horizon Education Centers—gives young children the best chance to thrive.

This post looks at several ways that research has shown how childcare and preschool education holistically prepares minds for kindergarten through twelfth grade—and beyond.

Findings by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) include the following:

• Early childhood education helps children to gain foundational skills needed for reading and math as well as to develop self-control, helping them to form positive relationships.
• Not surprisingly, benefits are most significant when early childhood education programs like preschool are of high quality. This means that they go beyond the basics by providing developmentally appropriate and engaging curricula that allow children to form “warm, responsive relationships” with their teachers.
• High-quality early childhood education is good for all children, but can be especially positive for children whose families have low household incomes and/or have disabilities. It can also be quite helpful in dual-language households.
• Benefits often last into kindergarten with some studies demonstrating positive effects in middle school and even high school. Benefits may even go beyond that, helping children to attain higher levels of education and enjoy better health as adults.

Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child, meanwhile, describes the benefits of healthy development in the early years as the “building blocks for educational achievement, economic productivity, responsible citizenship, lifelong health, strong communities, and successful parenting of the next generation.”

The Center on the Developing Child has been touting the benefits of quality early childhood education for many years now. In fact, in 2011, they were featured in an article titled “Investing in Early Childhood Education Is to Invest in Human Capital” that shared how an investment in high-quality early childhood care and education is the “best investment society can make”—even more so for children from families with low income.

Science Daily focused more specifically on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) learning and, in 2023, shared research published by the American Psychological Association. Children who receive high-quality care and education perform better in STEM through high school—with that link being even stronger with children from backgrounds with low incomes. The study author went as far as to say that investing in quality child care and education could “remedy the underrepresentation of racially and ethnically diverse populations in STEM fields.”

Whether your focus is on enrolling your child into a quality preschool program, or you’re also thinking about the long-term benefits of doing so, the solution is the same: Horizon Education Centers.

Horizon Education Centers

Our quality preschool programs are led by experienced teachers who nurture and care for the preschoolers, ensuring their well-being and development. Sensory-rich environments are specifically designed for this age group to allow stimulating explorations. Plus, we foster strong parent-relationships. Request a facility tour today!