Making Sure Schools are Ready for the Children
Published May 2018 in the Other Paper, South Burlington, Vermont. Written by Ellen m. Drolette
The fact is that children will develop best when their transitions from program to program are limited, and they can spend their first five years in a program or with a relative that can meet their individual needs as they develop. “The development of the brain is influenced by many factors, including a child’s relationships, experiences, and environment.” (Zero to Three, 2018)” “My child is turning three, and they NEED to be kindergarten ready. Therefore I must remove them from the caregiver they have known since infancy because they need to learn.” Playing is not a break from learning, PLAY IS LEARNING for young children. Learning happens through the rich activities and relationships that have been built over the years either in a high-quality, child care programs, with a nanny, at home with a relative or with Mom or Dad. It is not where a child lands but more what the experiences they are having. It is that time of year when parents of children in the Three to Five age range are starting to feel the angst. Kindergarten and now the increasing Pre-kindergarten registrations across the state are ramping up as are the anxiety levels. Is my child ready? Does my child know what they are supposed to know? What if they aren’t reading and writing? Why? It is because society has placed expectations on young children that may not be reasonable for their age. Families don’t come equipped with a handbook about developmentally appropriate practice, and any parent will do all they can to make sure their children are “kindergarten ready.” I, give you a different perspective. What if schools choose to be child ready? What if as parents, grandparents, and caregivers we focused on the whole child? Body, mind, and spirit.
Free play fosters opportunities to create with no limit on time or space. When children are given small bursts of times and quickly moved on to the next activity, they can not fully explore an idea.
When children have multiple days to experiment, they do lots of trial and error and sometimes pick up where they left off and continue.
These are our next architects, engineers and construction workers.
“My child is turning three, and they NEED to be kindergarten ready. Therefore I must remove them from the caregiver they have known since infancy because they need to learn.” Playing is not a break from learning, PLAY IS LEARNING for young children. Learning happens through the rich activities and relationships that have been built over the years either in a high-quality, child care programs, with a nanny, at home with a relative or with Mom or Dad. It is not where a child lands but more what the experiences they are having. The fact is that children will develop best when their transitions from program to program are limited, and they can spend their first five years in a program or with a relative that can meet their individual needs as they develop. “The development of the brain is influenced by many factors, including a child’s
relationships, experiences, and environment.” (Zero to Three, 2018)”
The National Association for the Education of Young Children is a strong proponent of play and the value it plays in the role of readying children for life. “Play is simple and complex. There are many types of play: symbolic, sociodramatic, functional, and games with rules-–to name just a few. Researchers study play’s many aspects: how children learn through play, how outdoor play impacts children’s health, the effects of screen time on play, to the need for recess in the school day.” (Bongiorno, 2018) Vermont’s Early Learning Standards starts with
the first domain being “Approaches to Learning.” The first statement, “Children engage in play to understand the world around them.” (Vermont.gov, August)
I have purposely changed my language to talk about children being “life ready” rather than school ready. Being life-ready means that a
child has had time to play and learn in an unhurried style their first five years of life. Kindergarten is preparedfor students rather than students be prepared for Kindergarten.
Take these moments in a child’s life and hold them dear. There is no other time in one’s life when playing is all you have to do
to learn.
“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood. ”
References:
Bongiorno, P. L. (2018, April). NAEYC.
Retrieved from NAEYC.org:
https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/10-things-every-parent-play Three, Z. t. (2018). Zero to Three. Retrieved
from https://www.zerotothree.org/espanol/brain-development Vermont.gov. (August 2016). Vermont.gov.
Retrieved
