The age a child starts school has changed a lot over the years. Nowadays it is more and more popular to send kids to school as late as possible. Some parents worry that if they send them in too young, they'll not be ready or may be behind some of the older kids in the class, as many kindergartens can have 3 year olds mixed in with 6 year olds in the first year.
There are many factors to consider when debating whether your child is ready for school or not. Not only their academic level but also their level in social skills, cognitive skills and level of independence are factors that need to be considered.
According to Kimberley Moran, a former teacher and education expert at weareteachers.com, believes kids benefit from not being rushed into school. She says that she has never met someone who regrets their child starting school later, but has met some who regret sending them to school too young.
There can be some tell tale signs that your child is not yet ready for school. For example, are they emotionally ready to leave you for hours a day? According to some experts, if you need to leave your child wailing and crying at the school gates, this is usually a sign they aren't quite ready.
To see if your child is ready to start kindergarten, it's not so much about teaching them to sit at a desk, learn letters and numbers, etc. Instead it's more about teaching them social skills and independence in activities like washing their hands by themselves, putting on their shoes, making friends, sharing, etc. This way, once they start kindergarten they'll be able to focus on the learning and academic side of school and not be distracted by having to pick up skills like those listed above.
One way to pick up the above skills and perhaps ease into the feel of school life, is by starting pre-K. Moran thinks a year in Pre-K has huge benefits for kids. "I basically think that Pre-K should be a requirement. We have to have something in place where kids learn how to play with each other, how to take care of their own personal needs like putting their shoes on, going to the bathroom by themselves, washing their hands by themselves, in an environment where they're not also being asked how to learn how to read and do all that," she says.
So, how can you prepare your child for school life?
One way is by having some sort of structural routine or schedule set up at home that might mimic that of a school schedule. Having a certain wake up time, some reading time, etc. will help them adjust to the idea of a set schedule and will help a lot once they start school.
Another thing parents can do at home to prepare their child is to teach them independence. Teaching them skills such as tidying up, getting dressed, washing hand, going to the toilet by themselves are great skills to already know before starting school.
Check out our previous article all about teaching children independence right here!
Frequently arranging play dates, sleepovers and other classes (art, dance, music, etc) will help develop great social skills like making new friends, sharing toys, how to deal with time away from mummy and daddy, listening to teachers (in those extra classes) that will benefit them greatly when they start school. They'll find it much easier to spend hours away from family if they have had experience in having short periods of time away before - and seen that mummy and daddy do come back to pick them up.
Another way parents can prepare their children is by reading together. Of course academic skills like reading and writing will be learnt in school. However, getting into the habit of reading and answering questions about the stories will help a lot as this is usually what is required of them in school.
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