The Value of a Kindergarten Education
The first few years of education and preparedness in kindergarten/preschool classrooms (ages 3-6) are the most crucial for young learners to establish a deep love of learning and to nurture their innate curiosity. Too often, schools focus on rote learning and drilling the alphabet at ages too early for young minds to retain, only to be retaught at older grades. And by doing so, schools often crush young children’s innate curiosity rather than nurture this critical aspect of being a lifelong learner. There is no struggle with getting young children to explore their world. By incorporating foundational skills necessary for growth with their natural curiosity and exploration, children learn about the world on their own terms and truly internalize aspects of academic learning related to problem solving, numeracy, and literacy. Too often in the quest to push students towards academic learning, we ignore the most important tool for their learning – their innate sense of wonder, the thirst for learning and curiosity!
Canadian International School (CIS), a top school in Bangalore, offers an education from Pre Kindergarten (3-year-old) to Grade 12. What we know from research and from our own observations is that children are best prepared when their developmental readiness, or what they are able to learn at each age, is honored and strongly considered at each phase of learning. For early childhood learners, this means paying attention to what interests students and weaving opportunities for social-emotional learning, academic learning like numeracy and literacy, and problem solving skills into what they do each day. We also know that strong support for student curiosity at home supports students for their next phase of learning.
Families that ask questions, share in the joy of discovery, read aloud with their children regularly, include children in family planning, like making grocery lists and limiting screen time so children can explore their worlds and adapt to school and educational learning much more readily. As children enter Pre Kindergarten (3 years), they have greater control of their bodies, are toilet trained, and can eat and drink by themselves. Families that support this independence at home see much greater success as their children then move into Junior Kindergarten (4 years) where socialization continues to drive learning and more complex ideas begin to flourish. This helps students prepare for Senior Kindergarten (5 years) and then to Grade 1 (6 years) where students truly are able to take on more academically complex ideas related to language, literacy, mathematics, the sciences, and human interactions.
At CIS, we communicate with parents regularly to help them understand what is needed at each developmental phase and grade level. A set of prepared guidelines share most of the required skills that showcase personal readiness and independence by students at each stage that include the ability to eat and drink independently, focus, think logically, recognize important words, demonstrate some self control, and speak clearly. Ages for when children must be potty trained and need to be weaned away from the use of nappies and diapers are also included. Along with reading, writing, and counting, readiness also focuses on social and emotional development at each stage of learning. We have found that as we communicate expectations based on physiological, mental, and emotional development, parents become better partners in learning and help each child be ready and independent for each phase of early childhood they pass through.
Kindergarten/preschool readiness can be nurtured in every child through positive interaction with the Canadian International School (CIS) faculty, parents, and other school children. To learn more about our Early Childhood Program, visit our website here or call 08067594444 or email enroll@cisb.org.in.