Kindercare salmon creek: Salmon Creek KinderCare | Daycare, Preschool & Early Education in Vancouver, WA

Why are we addressing this topic? What’s so terrible about a child going to school until the age of 7? He will grow up and is it a lot – a difference of 2-4 months? As a specialist with 17 years of practice, I will answer: YES! Because for your child the difference will not be 2-4 months, but a YEAR! Exactly a YEAR (or even more) of the difference between him and some of his classmates. nine0021

And a YEAR of deferment from school can significantly change the next 11 years of his life and yours!

That is why it is necessary to weigh all the “pros” (such as: all the guys from the kindergarten group are going, and we are going; the older child is already at school – we will give the youngest, it will be easier with time; the child already knows everything – why keep him in the garden; a good teacher is recruiting this year, but what next is not clear, etc. ) and “against” – more on that below.

Now let’s talk about the arguments “for” and why they should be considered, as they say, under a microscope with the highest magnification in order to see everything that is hidden under seemingly simple and understandable things:

1. “Everyone is going, and we are going…”. Most often this happens when in kindergarten a child falls into group not by age, but by year of birth . And in this case, the parents have the illusion that since he copes with the load in kindergarten, then he will cope with the school – after all, there is half a day less, only 3-4 lessons.

But parents, please understand that the difference of even six months in children at this age is a lot. Children significantly differ in the level of attention, perseverance, needs, interests, organization and everything that determines the readiness of the child for school. This does not mean that your child is somehow different, that something is not developed in him or that he lags behind others. It’s just that his nervous system has not yet fully matured, and this is a physiological process that a person cannot stimulate and adjust! nine0021

Also, let’s look at the class as a whole. What age do you think the teacher will rely on when conducting a lesson or determining the amount of homework? If now in the first grade the age range is from 6.5-8 years and the number of children is from 30-40 students.

And how then to explain to the child why he cannot do his homework so quickly and accurately, understand and write something in the class, like his friend, who is a year older than him (and this is not a figure of speech – in the class there are often children with Difference MORE than a year!). nine0021

2. “He can write, read, count…” The presence of writing, counting, reading skills is not the basis, on which we speak of the child’s readiness for learning.

The key to successful adaptation of a child in school is largely determined by physiological and psychological readiness, and these are:

• arbitrariness of behavior , that is, the child’s ability to subordinate his behavior to external rules. Do not what I want now, but what I need to do. It’s about perseverance and care. nine0043
• emotional maturity , that is, the child’s ability to cope with emotions in situations of loss, fatigue, conflict, when something does not work out. The ability to express one’s state and feelings safely for oneself and others. It’s about expressing your emotions.
• motivational-volitional component or “internal position of the student” , that is, the formation of the need not only for the game, but also for learning. It is about the desire to learn and learn something new.

nine0038 the ability to establish social contacts and “take a punch” . After all, a class is not a kindergarten team and not a group in developmental classes. There is more competition in the class and you need to win “your place in the sun.” It’s about communication and interaction.

3. “ If you don’t go now, then he will be bored later, because he already knows and can do everything . ..” One of the main misconceptions of parents is that in the first grade the child will be taught to count, read and write from scratch !

No! Now the level of requirements for future first-graders is quite high. Children come already with a lot of knowledge: they can write block letters, read by syllables, count within 50, etc. In addition, the pace of learning is increasing, educational programs are being updated and improved. You can always choose a gymnasium or find a more difficult program. The child will definitely not be bored! In addition, a huge amount of energy in the first class is spent on adaptation. Many parents note that the child in the first grade began to sleep again during the day, which he did not do from the middle group of the kindergarten. nine0021

4. “ What will the child think if all the children go to school and he does not” . Dear parents, agree that this is YOUR thoughts and YOUR feelings about what is happening. The child cannot make a decision at this age. And the way we present this decision to him, how we beat him and offer the child, this is how he will relate to this.

In my practice, there was no case when a child tormented his parents with whining: “They didn’t give me back a year earlier! I would have studied better then, I would have done my homework faster, but now I am sitting here overgrown and suffering from the fact that I am so big and smart! nine0021

At the same time, more real thoughts and doubts arise in children who come to the first grade and begin to understand that they are not doing very well according to the program, that they need more time for lessons, etc. And if they are the smallest in height in the class (especially boys), this can become more important than all the other experiences combined. For each child, this is certainly individual. There are guys who are worried about high growth, but this, again, is not a reason to send the child to school before he is ready for this. And here the child has an obvious question, the answer to which seems to me more difficult to find than to explain why we are not going to school this year. nine0021

5. “It is more interesting for him to communicate with older children, and familiar children come from the kindergarten.” Guys really go to school mostly for communication – to talk, play and show off. But school is not an interest club or a circle, it is the education system. And there is a competitive environment, assessment of the result of activity, situations of presentation of one’s abilities, there is no right to choose. Which child do you think will have more resources to deal with these situations? nine0043

Even if a child goes to school at the age of 7, this does not mean that he will not have difficulties. They will arise in any case, but such a child will have more resources / opportunities to cope with them. Even for purely physiological reasons.

6. “What should I do with him for another year, he has already passed this program”

The kindergarten program is a convention. If a child repeats what he has gone through, he finds himself in a situation of success, which contributes to the psychological comfort of the child. Crafts, classes, holidays, second graduation party. – for the child this is not a problem, it worries the parents. And these questions can be solved individually in each case. nine0021

You can leave him in the same kindergarten, but just change the team and teachers. You can, in principle, change the kindergarten or recruit developmental activities and circles. It is clear that the child will have stress, as this is a change of team, a change of teachers. But compared to school, it may be the lesser of two evils.

7. “This is a strong teacher, he has discipline, academic performance is at a high level ..” The most difficult and, perhaps, contradictory argument is a teacher who recruits a class that you really want to get into. nine0043

Let’s go back to the number of students in the class, the need to complete the program and compare this with discipline and academic performance. Especially if the issue of discipline is relevant to you in connection with the behavior of your child. His behavior (plays around, is not attentive, often distracted) is a consequence of his development, age characteristics, immaturity. What is solved only by time. And believe the experience, strictness and anger to maintain the discipline of the student here will play a disservice, and is unlikely to contribute to the formation of RIGHT learning motivation. And motivation is very needed in middle and even more so in high school. Motivation is educational, the formation of which is the most important task of a teacher in elementary school. nine0021

And almost the last, BUT very important!

These are the factors, the presence of which suggests that it is better to wait another year:

• The child did not go to kindergarten
• If you have a boy (even tall, strong and brave)
• There are speech therapy difficulties
• There are neurological features
• Chronic diseases (especially those that weaken the immune system)
• The child is often ill

nine0038 It is difficult for a child to find a common language with children, he does not show initiative when interacting, it takes a long time to get used to children

• The child experiences failures very emotionally and does not know how (or with great difficulty) to cope with losses, criticism
• Hard to endure unexpected events, last-minute changes in plans
• Emotionally reacts to any events
• Anxious child

Dear parents, think again, weigh all the pros and cons. nine0021

After all, I repeat, the school is not only the 1st grade, which is mostly in the adaptation mode, but also the next 10 years! And it is important not only how the child will cope in the first grade, but also further, in the 4th grade, in middle and high school. And the period of comparing ourselves with classmates in adolescence, with a difference of a year or more, can become so important and decisive for a teenager that now, from the position of a parent of a future first grader, it’s even hard to imagine! nine0021

If you have not yet decided exactly or you are tormented by doubts, then consult with educators, teachers from circles, come to a meeting / consultation with a psychologist, where you can take a test for school readiness. Collect opinions, views, form a complete picture of what is happening.

If you have definitely decided to send your child to school until the age of 7, go through the diagnostics of psychological readiness for school, which takes into account the psychological development, the characteristics of the child’s mental processes.