This story was originally published by Chalkbeat.
FORT COLLINS | The little boy clung to his mother as she carried him through the wooden half-door of the preschool classroom on Tuesday morning. Tears streamed down his face. It was going to be a tough drop-off.
While other children finished bananas, raisin bagels, and milk, Vraja Johnson, the lead teacher, ushered the mother and son toward a cozy corner in the back of the classroom. She spoke softly in English and Spanish to the nervous preschooler. Several minutes later, when his mother had slipped away, the boy nestled into a large blue beanbag clutching Tucker the Turtle, a stuffed animal that helps preschoolers understand that it’s OK to retreat into your shell — and to come back out when you’re ready.
It was the first day of preschool in the Otters classroom at El Nidito, a bilingual child care program at The Family Center in Fort Collins. The little boy and his 11 classmates are among 40,000 children enrolled in Colorado’s universal preschool program this year. The $349 million program offers tuition-free preschool — typically a half day — to all children in the year before kindergarten.
Now entering its third year, Colorado’s preschool for all program has smoothed out since its rocky rollout in 2023. At the time, application system errors, glitches in the state’s preschool matching algorithm, and last-minute reductions in preschool hours for some children caused widespread confusion and frustration.
A national early childhood group recently ranked Colorado third in the country for the share of children served by state-funded preschool. Around 70% of the state’s 4-year-olds are enrolled in the program, which generally covers about $6,000 a year in preschool costs per child.
But wrinkles remain. The state is still fighting two lawsuits brought by religious preschools that objected to non-discrimination rules protecting LGBTQ children, families, and employees. Both suits are pending in federal appeals court. And the national early childhood group found that Colorado meets only two of 10 benchmarks meant to ensure that preschool classrooms are high quality.
Currently, the “universal preschool” label doesn’t indicate anything about the caliber of classroom a child will join. Rather, it simply indicates the state is paying for 10 to 30 hours of class time. Of about 2,000 preschools participating in the program, some have the state’s lowest rating and meet only basic health and safety standards.
Others, including El Nidito, which has been around for 25 years, have the state’s highest rating.
A morning in Johnson’s classroom makes it easy to see why. She and her co-teacher, an experienced sub named Maria Chavira, are warm, cheerful, and organized. Their young charges are curious, silly, and always in motion.
During breakfast, two boys held bananas up to their ears like phones.
“Ring, ring, ring. Hi, Henry,” one said as the other burst out laughing.
Nearby at the sensory table, as one little boy poured dried pinto beans through a cardboard tube, he said, “Did you ever watch ‘Boss Baby?’ The baby is a bossssss. Babies can’t be bosses!”
Meanwhile, the little boy who’d struggled to leave his mother was getting braver, slowly testing the waters of group play. One minute he crouched next to a little girl in front of a tree house play set. Later, he tried out bear and leopard hand puppets as the Boss Baby skeptic threw Tucker the Turtle up in the air next to him.
Johnson, who switched from a sales and marketing career to early childhood education in 2007, seems to have a sixth sense for detecting imminent meltdowns, skirmishes, and rule-bending.
She quickly peeled away from a conversation with a visitor when a little girl dressed in head-to-toe pink accidentally got a squiggle of red marker on her new cowboy boots.
“Your mom can get that out. The markers are washable,” Johnson said as tears welled in the preschooler’s eyes.
Then she averted the crisis with five words: “Do you want a hug?”
Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
The Role of Parents in Reinforcing Preschool Activities
Preschool is often a child’s first formal step into the world of structured learning. While teachers play a vital role in introducing young learners to letters, numbers, social skills, and cultural values, the role of parents in reinforcing these preschool activities is just as important—if not more. Learning doesn’t end when the school day does; in fact, home is where children consolidate, practice, and make sense of the skills and lessons they experience in preschool.
When parents actively support and engage in preschool activities at home, children develop faster, feel more confident, and enjoy learning. Let’s explore why parental involvement is so significant and how parents can effectively reinforce preschool activities in daily life.
Why Parental Involvement Matters in Early Learning
Consistency in Learning
Preschool teachers introduce important concepts like colors, shapes, numbers, and basic literacy. When parents repeat or extend these lessons at home, it provides consistency. This consistency strengthens the child’s memory and builds a strong foundation for future learning.
Emotional Security
When parents take interest in their child’s activities, children feel valued and supported. This emotional security boosts self-esteem, making them more willing to explore, ask questions, and participate both in school and at home.
Positive Attitude Toward Learning
Children who see their parents enjoying and participating in learning activities develop a positive mindset toward education. Instead of perceiving learning as a task, they see it as a fun, shared experience.
Bridging School and Home
Preschool introduces children to social norms, cultural events, and group participation. Parents can bridge the gap by connecting these school activities with home routines, festivals, or family traditions, making the learning holistic and meaningful.
Practical Ways Parents Can Reinforce Preschool Activities
1. Strengthening Cognitive Skills
Play simple puzzles, memory games, and sorting activities at home.
Encourage problem-solving during daily routines, like figuring out where to store toys or deciding which clothes to wear.
Read picture books together, ask your child to guess what happens next, and discuss the story afterward.
2. Building Literacy and Language
Set aside time for daily storytelling. Narrating stories improves vocabulary and listening skills.
Practice recognizing letters and sounds in everyday contexts—like pointing out the letter “A” on a signboard.
Encourage conversations at the dinner table. Asking open-ended questions helps children practice forming sentences.
3. Encouraging Math Readiness
Count objects while shopping, cooking, or playing.
Introduce basic patterns with toys, beads, or kitchen utensils.
Use playtime to compare sizes, shapes, and quantities (“Which ball is bigger?” “Who has more cookies?”).
4. Supporting Social and Emotional Skills
Role-play situations like sharing toys, greeting guests, or helping others.
Acknowledge and name emotions (“You look upset because the toy broke”). This helps children understand and manage feelings.
Praise efforts, not just results, to teach resilience and persistence.
5. Cultural and Festival Activities
Participate in cultural celebrations introduced at preschool. For example, if children celebrated Diwali or Christmas in school, involve them in preparing decorations, sweets, or songs at home.
Share family traditions and stories that align with classroom themes. This strengthens identity and cultural awareness.
6. Encouraging Creativity
Provide art supplies at home and let your child explore freely—drawing, painting, or crafting.
Engage in pretend play. Role-play as shopkeepers, doctors, or teachers.
Play music, sing songs, and dance together. This boosts both creativity and motor skills.
The Parent-Teacher Partnership
Preschool works best when parents and teachers collaborate. Regular communication between parents and teachers ensures that both are aligned in supporting the child’s growth. Parents should:
Attend school events and parent-teacher meetings to understand classroom progress.
Discuss challenges openly—whether behavioral, academic, or emotional.
Share observations from home that might help teachers understand the child better.
When teachers and parents form a team, children receive consistent guidance and encouragement, which leads to stronger development.
Creating a Learning Environment at Home
Parents don’t need to turn their homes into classrooms, but they can create a nurturing environment where learning is natural and enjoyable. Here are a few tips:
Designate a learning corner with books, puzzles, and art supplies.
Limit screen time and encourage interactive play instead.
Model curiosity—show enthusiasm when exploring new things, reading, or solving problems.
Make routines fun—turn bedtime into a story session, bath time into a counting game, or cooking into a lesson on textures and colors.
Overcoming Common Challenges
Many parents worry about not having enough time or resources to reinforce preschool activities. The good news is that everyday interactions can be powerful learning opportunities. Simple activities like grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, or gardening can all be turned into engaging lessons.
For example:
Sorting fruits by color builds classification skills.
Measuring ingredients while cooking introduces math concepts.
Planting seeds and watching them grow teaches responsibility and science.
It’s not about spending hours on structured lessons—it’s about making the most of daily moments.
Long-Term Benefits of Parental Reinforcement
When parents consistently support preschool activities, the benefits extend far beyond the preschool years:
Children develop stronger academic readiness skills.
They gain confidence in expressing themselves and interacting with others.
They cultivate curiosity and independence, which fuels lifelong learning.
The parent-child bond deepens, creating a supportive foundation for future challenges.
Conclusion
The role of parents in reinforcing preschool activities is essential for a child’s overall growth. Teachers may light the spark of learning, but parents nurture and fan that spark into a lifelong flame. By engaging in simple, everyday activities that complement preschool lessons, parents create consistency, emotional security, and joy in learning.
Ultimately, when parents and teachers work hand in hand, children flourish—not just academically, but socially, emotionally, and culturally. The investment parents make today in reinforcing preschool activities will shape their child’s confidence, curiosity, and love for learning for years to come.