"My Child Is Ready because..."

After being in childcare for a while I am hearing and seeing this a lot. What am I talking about?

Parents rushing their child into education. Let me say this first: Kindergartens and Primary Schools absolutely have "assumed knowledge" expectations just like every other learning institution.

Kindergarten and Primary school is not like childcare where the teachers meet the child where they're at. So If little Johnny hasn't learned these skills yet it doesn't matter that "he's 4 or 5 years old" he will flounder. 

Everyone seems to think their child is exceptional but what they think is exceptional may in fact (meaning more than likely) be average, or even below average. Because many parents don't give average kids enough credit.

I'm sorry if you think your toddler is totally gifted and ready for primary school RIGHT now (yes I have had a parent of a barely three year old tell me this recently) but...

If he's not competently using the toilet yet guess what- Kindy teachers (and 1 in 20 primary school teachers) are NOT paid to toilet learn them or change them and this means they are taken away from their class of say.. 20 children, leaving 19 children either unsupervised or "under" supervised depending on whether or not they have a teachers aid. To deal with an issue the child should be able to handle themselves. (And the child who is pulled out of class multiple times per day also gets behind rather quickly) 

If he can't count to at least 20 and use scissors he won't feel very confident about participating for fear of being wrong and or ridiculed and will have to learn such basic things before he can learn the actual lessons (thus pushing him/her further behind) 

This means that we as parents (and educators) need to know how to spot a child who is "ready" and know how to help them achieve this "readiness" BEFORE we transition them to the next step. Age is only a tiny factor and there are even studies supporting children beginning formal education later rather than earlier. The reality is that children don't suffer from being a bit older. Really and truly starting a child before they are able to communicate well and have the basic life skills down pat will only cause the child added stress and starting a new school is hard enough.

So as a Early Childhood Educator here's a few key things to look for before starting your child journey, I've listed them for Kindergarten and Primary School

Kindergarten:
  

• child is at the very least 3.5 years old
• is toilet trained for the most part
• can use scissors
• can count to ten
• can sing their ABC's (a little mix up is okay but mostly "there")
• knows their colors
• can recognize their name in print
• can hold a pencil
• doesn't become inconsolable when their parents are not present
• can listen to and follow basic instructions
• shows an interest in a structured learning environment (kindergarten is not mandatory)

Primary School:

• child is at the very least 5 years old (and 6 is better)
• is 100% toilet independent
• can count to 50 (100 is better)
• can write their name- even if it's mis-spelt or shortened
• can communicate well enough that their teachers understand them*
• child can get their own lunch and drinks out
• is confident when parents are not present
• is able to sit attentively for periods longer than half an hour
• is able to listen and follow more complicated instructions**

 So now we know some of what we need to look for what do we do as educators (and parents are the primary educators in their child's life) when we notice that a child isn't "ready" for the next step?

Well, we should encourage development of these skills by giving the child lots of opportunities to practice them, allow them to get it "wrong" and learn from it without belittling their efforts or making them feel foolish. And we keep an eye on it.

As a paid educator if I feel a child is just not up to going to the next class I will tell the parents. Gently, but in no uncertain terms that putting them up at this stage is not a good idea.

Sadly teachers are rarely listened to and so we are forced to watch again and again as the children who continue on "half done" come up against brick wall after brick wall in regards to their learning and we listen wearily, sadly and some what irritated to their parents when they see us in the supermarket and tell us their woes about how little Johnny has turned into a misbehaving bully or just simply isn't thriving in his new environment. We listen as they blame the teacher and the curriculum and in some ways it is the curriculum but not in the way they expect- it's that the child isn't ready to learn the curriculum because of assumed knowledge they just don't have.

Please parents, from a parent who purposefully waits for her own children to be education ready and who teaches young children. Make sure they can do at least the above before you enroll them. It could be the difference between school being a fond memory or a nightmare.

* not being able to communicate effectively is one of the leading causes of a child becoming a bully or misbehaving in class.

** It's perfectly okay if a child asks for help with a more complicated instruction. more that they need to be able to follow instructions that are more than one sentence long.