Kindergarten Readiness – Kindergarten is a child’s first significant educational transition from toddler exploration to school-age expectations.
Kindergarten Readiness – Kindergarten is a child’s first significant educational transition from toddler exploration to school-age expectations. It is a bittersweet emotional event for both parent and child. It comes with significant changes – no naps, more structure, more expectations, and letting go of your 5-year-old can be hard.
Kinder readiness is more than just academic preparedness. Even students who have attended preschool may not be used to a more structured academic setting. The step-up can be intimidating. “Beginning long before school entry, a child’s early experiences play a role in kindergarten preparation. Their social and emotional skills are just as important as their early cognitive skills. “
The Montessori Primary classroom is designed as a three-year cycle. This timeframe allows the teacher to know each child exceptionally well. There is no time lost in developing new relationships every year. No slipping through the cracks! The first two years are preparation for the kinder year where everything the child has learned falls into place. Read More at Benefits of Mixed Age
Third-year students (kinder students) in a Montessori classroom are ready to skyrocket into more complex learning and discovery. Children build upon previous years’ work and experience rapid academic and social growth. “…from the age of three till six, being able to now tackle his environment deliberately and consciously, he begins a period of real constructiveness.” (Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind, pg. 152) Skill levels dramatically increase when the children are given the opportunity to consolidate their knowledge in a Montessori classroom.
When it comes to independence, no one does it better than Montessori. By design, every part of the Montessori curriculum prepares the children to take ownership of their development. The teachers are trained to step back to give children the opportunity to grow and even make mistakes. Giving children the gift of independence lets them know they are valued and capable. Independent children grow up feeling empowered and safe in their abilities to make sound choices. An independent child is a self-confident child, ready for any new adventure, especially Kindergarten.