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Parenting and Behavioural Issues
: School Readiness, Pre-School and Kindergarten
What is school readiness?
School readiness, a term used frequently in the in pre-school
and kindergarten setting, means that a child is ready to enter
a social and educationally based environment. In other words,
the child is ready to start the process of learning how to do
things independently. To do this, a child should have the
ability to:
Work independently
Attend or listen to what someone else is saying
Get along with other children of the same age
Learn and participate in structured situations such as play and
story reading
Focus or key in and listen to one central person in the classroom
Learn (have the necessary social skills/ability) in a co-operative
learning environment where children learn from teachers and form
one another
Play with other children (wait their turn in line and so on)
Parents' role in school readiness
Parents are usually a child's first teacher and can act as role
model when it comes to teaching their children to interact socially
with others and to do such simple things as understand to wait
in line or wait their turn. Parents can also help their children
develop organizational skills at home by:
Teaching them to pick up their clothes
Teaching them to put their toys away and
In older children, assigning simple household chores
Children should learn that they are sharing the home with others
and they are not the only person in the home. This concept applies
to the school environment. These are important skills because
at school children will be asked to organize their desks put things
away and wait their turn. Having learned and practiced these skills/concepts
at home will give them an edge once school starts.
Another helpful pre-school activity that parents can practice
is giving their children the opportunity to listen to and learn
language through story telling. One of the best ways to prepare
children for school entry is to read to them. Not only does story
reading offer a one-on-one quiet time with children, it can help
develop children's listening and language skills. Today, research
suggests that pre-school age children watch TV for 3-8 hours a
day. Although educational TV programs are also helpful, they should
complement and not replace the one-on- one reading time, which
is also an opportunity for children to interact with their parents
in a calm quiet setting and get used to communicating to each
other.
What is the role of pre-school?
The role of pre-school is to foster learning in a fun environment.
Basically pre-school should be play in a structured environment.
Activities include promotion of children getting along with others
and experimenting with new material under the supervision of qualified
pre-school teachers. Also, children attending pre-school have
a chance to:
Develop their language and talking skills
Listen to stories
Experiment/play with sand, paper, clay (and so on)
These activities help prepare children for to the process of learning.
What is the role of kindergarten?
Kindergarten is where the psychological process of learning is
prepared, including:
Memory
Organizational skills
Social interactions and
The experimentation of new processes, such as new, more advanced
paper/pencil tasks.
Kindergarten prepares children in a more structured "academic"
environment. In most schools the alphabet is taught and mastered
by January. Generally, by the time they are ready to enter Grade
1, kindergarten graduates will have a good knowledge of the alphabet
and an understanding of the concept of reading.
Other Parenting and Behavioural Issues
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The information provided in this site is
designed to be an educational aid only. It is not intended to
replace the advice and care of your child's physician, nor is
it intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. If
you suspect that your child has a medical condition, always
consult a physician.
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