Preschoolers are encouraged to pursue their interests, learn from mistakes, and communicate thoughts and feelings through their words. The nursery school experience is the child's opportunity to socialize, and to learn how to get along with others. Just as important is building self-esteem so a child can feel good about himself or herself. Hands-on projects facilitates the development of small muscles and other physical skills. Group sharing encourages language development, and pre-reading skills are acquired through sorting and pattern recognition games.
Academics fall into place with the readiness that comes along with it.
The rich and varied educational curriculum is designed to provide for the natural development of basic skills that a child needs to learn by the age of 5 years. According to Co-op Quarterly magazine, the first cooperative nursery school was started in Chicago in 1915. The idea soon caught on both nationally and internationally, and even influenced social policy. The Head Start program is a legacy of the cooperative preschool movement. In California, the development of cooperatives was especially rapid.