10 Signs of a Great Preschool 10 Signs of a Great Preschool From the National Association for the Education of Young Children Copyright 1996 by National Association for the Education of Young Children. Reproduction of this material is freely granted, provided credit is given to the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Children spend most of their playing and working with materials or other children. They do not wander aimlessly, and they are not expected to sit quietly for long periods of time.
Children have access to various activities throughout the day.
Look for assorted building blocks and other construction materials, props for pretend play, picture books, paints and other art materials, and table toys such as matching games, pegboards, and puzzles. Children should not all be doing the same thing at the same time. Teachers work with individual children, small groups, and the whole group at different times during the day. They do not spend all their time with the whole group. The classroom is decorated with children's original artwork, their own writing with invented spelling, and stories dictated by children to teachers.