Preparing a child for school is a very stressful and crucial moment in the life of each parent. Many ask what exactly needs to be done and what steps to take to adapt children to new conditions as a student. If you combine all the advice to parents on preparing children for school, then there are three main indicators.
Overall development
The first indicator is the overall development of the child. By the time the baby sits at the desk, his general training should have a certain level. This applies primarily to intelligence, memory and attention. Advice to parents on preparing children for school of 5-6 years old is mainly aimed at identifying the child’s knowledge and any ideas about the world around him, as well as his ability to perform actions in the mind and think.
Arbitrary control
The second indicator is the arbitrary control of oneself and one’s thoughts. Preschoolers have a very bright perception, excellent memory and easily switched attention, but they are not able to fully manage all this. It is very difficult for a child to remember something in all details and for a long time if it is very interested in him, but it is very difficult to concentrate on what does not cause him any interest.
It is imperative to develop and focus on this skill before entering school. Tips for parents on how to prepare a child for school clearly indicate that he should be able to do not only what he wants, but also what he needs, even at a time when it is not at all interesting.
Motives
The third indicator is the formation of motivations in the child, encouraging him to learn at his desk. Here we are not talking about the natural interest that all parents sin: communication with peers, games, etc., namely, deep motivation that guides and causes the desire to acquire knowledge in school. All three of these indicators are extremely important for starting a successful child's education.
School readiness factors
There are several main factors that indicate the degree of readiness of children for schooling:
- Physical. There are certain standards for the physical development of preschoolers, which are determined by such indicators as weight, height, eyesight, hearing, motor skills, muscle tone, nervous system and overall health.
- Intellectual factor. Many advice to parents on preparing a child for school recommend focusing on this indicator, but here, the main thing is not to overdo it and not discourage the young student from studying. This may include: the general horizons of the child, vocabulary, the level of knowledge of the world (thinking and logic).
- The social factor. By the beginning of the educational process, children should already have a personal picture of everything that is happening: a social and moral position for communicating with peers and adults (What is “good” and what is “bad”).
- The emotional factor. Teachers, giving advice to parents on how to prepare a child for school, consider this factor to be formed if the student is able to set goals, outline any plans, make decisions and make efforts for their subsequent implementation.
In the aggregate, all these factors show the degree of readiness of the child for the educational process.
Preparedness criteria
In addition to factors affecting the future educational process, we can distinguish some criteria for the child’s preparedness:
- Physical development and coordination - the willingness of the hands to perform small and varied movements (possession of a pen, pencil and brush).
- The prerequisites for the motivation to learn are attitudes toward learning, as an important and inalienable life process, and interest in studies.
- Behavior - the ability to comply with the school regime and simple organization during the lesson.
- Mental activity is the ability to observe objects and to indicate their qualities, properties and sides, along with logic and meaningful memorization of the material presented.
- Independence - attempts to find different ways to achieve the goal, ways to solve a particular problem and the ability to do without outside help.
- Social - advice to parents on how to prepare a child for school is to develop the child’s ability to listen to teachers and friends, that is, to work in a team.
- Labor is the knowledge of what labor is, and the desire to do it not only for oneself, but also for others, realizing the responsibility of the tasks entrusted.
- Ability to navigate - the student must have an idea of time and space, units of measurement (hour, day, far, close), as well as the ability to perceive these indicators.
Many recommendations to parents on how to prepare a child for school prove that for all children, already 6-7 years old, all cognitive organs begin to work. It is during this period that the initial volume of knowledge and skills is formed - logical thinking, imagination and memory develop, which allows you to direct the attention of the child in the right direction: to listen, remember, analyze and draw conclusions.
What should a preschooler be able to do?
Before you sit down at your desk, the child must possess some knowledge and skills.
- Attention. Within 15-20 minutes to be able to perform assigned tasks - focused and not distracted. Find more than four differences in objects, solve simple examples on the model. Be able to copy simple objects - patterns or movements.
- Memory. Read from memory children's poems, memorize six to seven pictures and repeat exactly the voiced sentences of two or three lines.
- Thinking. Folding puzzles and mosaics. To be able to explain obvious discrepancies in the pictures, to find “extra” items among the proposed ones, analyzing and explaining your choice.
- Maths. To be able to correlate the number of objects with numbers, count in the direct and reverse order to ten. Add and subtract using arithmetic characters. Have a concept of the length of objects, navigate in time.
- Speech. Be able to compose stories from pictures or from your own life for at least five sentences. Pronounce sounds correctly and divide sentences into words.
- Motility. Possession of a pencil, pen and brush. To depict in the figure several objects united by a common plot. To be able to paint, stroke, without leaving the outlined contours. To know about the proportions of the subject in the picture (elephant and mouse) and have minimal skills in working with exercise books in a cage and ruler.
The world
The recommendations to parents on preparing a child for school, given below, are ignored by many or simply forgot to concentrate on them. But the child must clearly understand and know his surname, name and patronymic, as well as the names of the parents, the name of the city where he lives, the streets, the capital of his homeland, days of the week, months along with the sequence and belonging to the seasons, species of flora and fauna ( predators, herbivores, trees, bushes), as well as the name of the planet where we live, and its satellite.
Not all advice to parents on how to prepare a child for school is suitable for specialized institutions, but the quality of answers to the above questions about the world is estimated approximately the same. The criteria for the correct answer to the questions are: dad works as a doctor, mom's name is Smirnova Svetlana Alekseevna, instead: dad works at work and mom's name is Sveta. According to the answers to such simple questions, you can determine the level of preparedness of a preschooler.
How to prepare your child for school - tips for parents
In order for the child to be prepared for the educational process and happily go to first grade, it is worth paying attention to the following recommendations.
Do not demand too much from the child. It makes no sense to ask about everything at once. Remember that your efforts in preparation should correspond to the general level of development of a preschooler, so it makes no sense to teach him some additional skills from high school.
Such necessary qualities as accuracy, responsibility and diligence are never formed immediately - it takes time and effort. Very often, a child needs simple support from an adult.
Mistakes and daily routine
Children always have the right to make mistakes - this is common to all people, without exception. It is very important that the child is not afraid to make a mistake. Many parents scold their children for this, which leads to a decrease in the self-esteem of the preschooler and the fear of taking the wrong step. If the child made a mistake, he just needs to be pointed out and offered to correct. A prerequisite for working on bugs is praise. Even for small success or achievement, children must be rewarded with encouragement.
Pay attention and, if necessary, balance the child’s nutrition, daily routine, rest time and classes. Adjust to the future rhythm of the school and try to stick to it.