Benefits of Mixed-Age Group

  • Fosters a natural and family-like setting: contributes to a sense of community.
  • Provides an opportunity to build relationships with peers, teachers and families for an extended period of time.
  • Meets developmental needs of individual children at all the various developmental levels.
  • Affords the opportunity for children to experience being one of the youngest and oldest children in the classroom.
  • Offers chances for older children to learn to become more nurturing with younger children.
  • Allows children to interact at different social levels.
  • Creates a more diverse peer group for children.
  • Encourages teachers to remain working at the same center, because of deeper attachments to the children in their care.
  • Facilitates peer modeling: older peers are able to model classroom routines and expectations for younger peers.
  • Limits the likelihood parents will compare children, and enables parents to understand developmental differences among children.                          
  • Encourages parents to develop sustained relationships with teachers and other parents.