Preschool Education

Children usually begin their acquaintance with society at the age of three, when they enter kindergartens. As a rule, preschools are opened on the basis of elementary schools and function in their classrooms. Or they are founded as a separate institution similar to Russian kindergartens. Parents usually have to pay a lot of money for the services of preschools, because almost all preschools in the country are private. However, low-income families also have the opportunity to send their child to kindergartens – for this purpose there is a program Head Start. It is aimed at paying for kindergarten services if parents are unable to do so themselves.

Sometimes migrant children who do not speak English well, orphans, and children of military personnel go to kindergartens for free. In kindergartens kids usually attend for three or four hours, but there are institutions where parents can send their children for the whole day or even on a boarding basis.

Kindergartens in the United States usually have a large waiting list for places, because there are more people who want to put their child in a preschool than there are places. Sometimes you have to apply at least a year in advance to get your child admitted in time.

As a rule, children spend two years in preschool institutions and go on to elementary school at age five. However, parents often prefer to postpone this moment, so the average child can become a schoolchild between the ages of five and eight.