What does it mean to be ready for school?
Parents should understand that readiness for school is not an indicator of the development of their baby, but, first of all, a certain level of his psycho-physiological maturity. Yes, he can already be able to read, write and even solve problems, but not be ready for school. For a better understanding, let's correct the phrase "school readiness" for "readiness for learning." So, readiness for learning consists of several components, and it is impossible to say which of them is the most important - it is in the complex that they determine the readiness itself. The specialists defined these components as follows:
• The child wants to learn (motivational).
• The child can learn (the maturity of the emotional-volitional sphere, sufficient intellectual level of development).
Many parents ask: "Can a child want to learn?" At a certain stage of development, as a rule, by the age of 7, the child has a cognitive or educational motive, a desire to take a new position in society, to become more mature. If by this time he has not formed a negative image of the school (thanks to the "caring" parents who repeat every kid's mistake to the end: "How are you going to study at school ?!"), then he wants to go to school. "Yes, he really wants to go to school," almost all parents say at the interview. But it is important to know the child's own ideas about the school in order to understand why he wants to go there.
Most of the children respond like this:
• "I will play at the changes" (the motive prevails);
• "I will manage many new friends" (already "warmer", but so far too far from the educational motivation);
• "I will study" (almost "hotly").
When a child "wants to learn," the school attracts him the opportunity to learn something new, to learn to do what he does not know yet. Experts meet on consultations and such children who in general have no idea what they will do in school. This is a serious reason for parents to think about whether the child is ready for school .
What is the maturity of the emotional-volitional sphere
It is important that parents not only understand, but clearly realize that learning is not to play, but to work. Only a very professional teacher can create an educational game environment in which the child will be comfortable and enthusiastic to learn. In most cases, it is a constant need to pacify your "want" and do what is right. Maturity of the emotional-volitional sphere implies the presence of this ability, as well as the child's ability to hold attention for a long time.
To this should be added and the child's readiness to learn certain rules, act according to the rules and obey them as necessary. The whole school regime is, in its essence, continuous rules that often do not correspond to the desires, and sometimes the possibilities of the baby, but their fulfillment is the key to successful adaptation.
The success of a child in school depends very much on the level of his "social intelligence". This refers to the ability to correctly navigate in social situations, interact with adults and peers. According to this parameter, they are referred to as "risk group" shy, timid, shy children. Painless adaptation to the school is directly connected with the independence of the child - here in the "risk group" almost certainly fall hyper-educated children.
"He's very clever with us - he'll cope with everything!"
Often parents under the intellect understand a certain level of knowledge and skills, which in one way or another were invested in the child. Intellect is, first of all, the ability to use your knowledge, skills and skills, and even more accurately - the ability to learn. Indeed, children who read well believe that in the first grade they look more successful than peers, but such an "intellect" can only be an illusion. When the "preschool reserves" are exhausted, the child from the successful one may become laggard, because untimely accumulated knowledge prevented him from working at full strength and developing his learning abilities. Conversely, children who do not have such a baggage, but who are ready and can easily learn, catch up with interest and zeal, and afterwards overtake their peers.
Before you teach a child to read fluently, you need to determine whether the child knows how to listen and tell. As meetings of psychologists with future first-graders show, many of them do not know how to reason, have a small vocabulary and can hardly retell even a small text. In addition, most children have difficulties in the field of fine motor skills, and in fact the first class is a letter and a very large load on the hands and fingers.
How to help your child
• Form a positive image of the school ("find out a lot of interesting things there," "you'll be just like an adult," and of course: "we'll buy a beautiful portfolio, a form" ...).
• Introduce the child to the school. In the truest sense of the word: bring him there, show class, dining room, gym, locker room.
• Pre-accustom the child to the school regime (practice in the summer to get up on the alarm clock, make sure that he can independently fill the bed, get dressed, wash, collect the necessary things).
• Play with him at school, always with a change of roles. Let him become a disciple, and you - a teacher and vice versa).
• Try to play all games according to the rules. Try to teach the child not only to win (he knows how to do it himself), but also to lose (to treat adequately his failures and mistakes).
• Do not forget to read stories, tales, including about the school, to the child, let them retell, reason together, fantasize about how it will be with him, share your personal memories.
• Take care of his summer rest and the health of the future first-grader. A physically strong child is much easier to bear psychological stress.
The school is just a stage of life, but on how your child will stand up to it, it depends on how successfully he will be able to overcome it. Therefore, initially it is very important to determine the child's readiness for school and correct the existing shortcomings.