„My child knows all the letters and numbers. Is he/she ready for school?”
Instead of a „yes”or „no” answer, what we should be really looking at, are the following:
1. Is my child resilient or has low frustration tolerance? What happens when things don’t go his/her way? Is the behaviour socially acceptable?
While dealing with a child who is throwing himself/herself on the floor in a pit of rage, might not be what preschool teachers signed up for, it is still considered „a moment” or even „a phase”. School is a different context.
2. Can my child stay focused on a given activity for 15 min? Not the cars he wants to play with every day, not the puzzle she wants to do every morning. An age appropiate activity. Can my child start it and finish it satisfactorily? Or does the child do „a parallel” activity, says „I don’t know” without trying or takes 15 min to start it?
3. Does my child know when she/he needs help versus when she/he can manage on his/her own? If they complete an age appropiate activity, but have constantly asked for help, or have given up….well, the result might be spectacular, but school readiness is all in the process. Give your child time, the time his/her brain needs to develop; school can wait.
4. Does my child have healthy boundaries? „Yes”, say the parents; „I’ve taught my child what not to accept from the others” That is all fine, but it is only half of the solution. The real questions are:
a. Does my child stop when another child sets a boundary or he/she has to be stopped by the teacher?
b. Does my child automatically do what other children do (good or bad) or he/she takes a few seconds to reflect?
5. Is my child confident and positive about learning? You can easily test this, by correcting a mistake. Be nice about it! Does my child give up, or says „I don’t know?” or on the contrary, is he/she confident that she/he has the ability to try again and do it right?
These are esential questions ,indicative of school readiness, as upon the answear, lay a whole array of school problems, that could have easily been dealt with, in preschool. As preschool teachers, we work for a whole year with a child, just for these extra seconds of critical thinking or these extra seconds in the attention span. It is neither easy, not little, as these seconds are the foundation of future academic success. So, do be patient and do give your child the time he/she needs, to be ready for school!
