School is a rite of passage for both parents and teachers. It’s hard to imagine our tiny tots in shiny shoes and socks swimming with the bigger fish in the bigger pond!
Parents of children who have birthdays in the first half of the year have the added responsibility of deciding whether their children should start school when they are 5 turning 6 or 6 turning 7 in their grade 1 year. Children need to develop a wide range of skills by the time they start school to ensure their success. This article describes just a few that you can use to guide your decision, and also to consider what you can do between now and the time your child starts school to prepare him or her. If your child is already at school, monitoring these skills will also promote your child’s continued success.
Academic Skills
Your child should:
1. Be competent in all areas covered by Grade R, including recognising letters, writing his or her name, understanding basic number concepts and being able to do age appropriate puzzles.
2. Able to follow a series of instructions. For example draw a circle in the top left hand corner.
3. Understand basic concepts such as bigger, smaller, last, middle, behind.
4. Have adequate visual, spatial and perceptual skills. This refers to the ability to recognise and reproduce shapes.
If you or your child’s teacher is concerned about any of these aspects of school readiness, an Educational Assessment by a Psychologist will be able to determine whether your child is reaching age appropriate standards, or if a referral to an Occupational or Speech Therapist is required.
(Next week, Anwen will continue to discuss the core academic skills that children need to function healthily at school as she looks at some of the social skills and emotional maturity levels that are required.)
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This article has been written by Anwen Cunningham, a qualified Child Psychologist who practices in the Durban area.