When a child goes to school for the first time, it is an important event for the baby. Unfortunately, many parents do not spend enough time preparing for this event, believing that the school will teach them everything. Others, on the contrary, make preschoolers spend hours writing and reading, which discourages all desire to learn. What is the most correct preparation of children for school? This question is answered by child psychologists who have spent decades developing special methods.
Methods of preparing children for school
Your child’s future performance depends largely on his or her first days at school. If he sees that other children are able and know much more than he knows, then the baby can always put himself in the ranks of losers, deciding that he is worse than others. What should I pay attention to? Remember that school preparation is a long process that involves not only teaching writing and reading, but also psychological support. What should a child be able to do before the first grade?
To read by syllables, to be able to write;
Count to 20, add and subtract;
Know the seasons, days of the week, months;
Know how to draw geometric shapes;
Translate short text, have a clear speech;
Be independent: know how to tie your shoelaces, dress, keep order;
To distinguish between inanimate and inanimate objects;
To communicate with peers, not to be aggressive.
This is not the whole list of necessary skills that a child going to school should possess. Naturally, before school preparation of children for school does not begin a month before the first of September.
At what age should the training begin, prep for gre?
The sooner, the better. Parents must explain to the child at least from the age of five what school is. In addition, it is at this age that children begin to take a particularly strong interest in learning, in communicating with other children, to strive for self-affirmation and parental approval. It is important to make sure that the child is not afraid of school, so in no case should be intimidated by “twos”, homework and lack of free time.
One of the main problems of first-graders is indiscipline. If a child is used to playing when he wants to, it’s too late to wake up and not sit in place for more than ten minutes – you may have problems. A few months before classes gradually need to adapt your baby to the new regime.
Both you and your child will be much easier if, even before school, you teach him to get up at about the same time, dress up and make the bed yourself. A good solution would be a game. Arrange in advance with the child how many minutes he will spend on lifting, washing, eating breakfast, etc., and then record the time and compare the results. Remember that this should be fun! You shouldn’t scold your child if he doesn’t have time to – it’s better to plan together the next morning to make sure it fits. With this system, you can unobtrusively teach your child to be organized and get rid of the problems associated with the daily fees.
Even at 3.5-4 years of age, children are happy to play in school. You can also give “lessons” sometimes, changing places with your child – let him or her be the teacher. The main thing is that the school does not cause negative associations. Gradual preparation and playful learning will help you give your child the right skills and knowledge without stress and pressure on the fragile child’s psyche.
How do you know if a child is ready for school?
The first thing to do is to make sure that your child has an idea of what school is and why children go there. Talk to him, ask him to draw his future class and first teacher, find out why he wants to go to school. You can turn this into a game by planting his or her favourite toys around the child and having each of them “tell” what the school is all about. Learn something new, communicate and play with other kids, learn to read and write well – come up with a story for each character, and then ask the kid whose story he liked more.
Before going to first grade, any child is interviewed by the school psychologist, who determines if he is ready for school. The questions are standard, so you can prepare your child for the “interview” yourself, so that he is not confused and can calmly and clearly answer all the questions. It will also help to find out if there are gaps in his or her knowledge and what to look for. Below is a list of the questions that are always asked at these meetings.
The name of the child and parents, home address and date of birth – this is the child’s first and last name without hesitation;
Names of months, times of year they refer to;
Identification of an extra item in a row (fruit in a row of vegetables, bird in a row of animals, etc.).
Professions – a child should name at least a few professions that he or she knows and also say what his or her parents work as;
Compiling a story from a picture, a clear description of what he sees.
Also, the child may be asked to circle the image (attention is drawn not only to how he copes with the task, but also whether he holds the pen correctly), write letters and syllables, read a few words.
Such a pre-school testing you can well conduct at home to learn the level of training of your child and in time to correct all the shortcomings.
Touch math right away
For preschoolers, it is necessary to hold regular classes during which they learn to count, subtract and add. Usually, when preparing children for school, mathematics is given the hardest because of mistakes made by parents, which make kids solve boring problems. Your goal is to make sure that your child sees it as an interesting game and is not tired. Classes should last about 15 minutes, then the baby needs time for active games.
How touch math? Use familiar objects for your child – toys, pencils, fruit. To begin with, he should learn to count them, then you can switch to special counting sticks, which can be purchased at any stationery store. At school, they will also be used, so if a child learns to count with them in advance – it will be easier.
To learn how to subtract and add a special system. Use pairs of numbers, and in one class, learn only one pair. Let your child learn the numbers 1 and 2 in the first lesson, remember that 1+1 will be 2, and from two take one away – you will get one. He should not just memorize, but understand. Show it in the subjects.
At school, the child should know what geometric shapes look like and be able to depict them. You can approach this question creatively – draw a circle and show how you can turn it into a sun, balloon, snowman. Let your baby find round objects in the house, point at them and count.
Start each lesson by repeating the material you have learned and don’t forget to think up a reward for your success.