What can you do to help?
As you can see, things have changed quite a lot. Children are expected to pursue their own understandings: they are no longer expected to be passive and just accept what the teacher presents to them. They are expected to ask questions, to be challenged and to challenge the information given to them, and to check for the relevance or truth of what they are being taught. Children in this environment need to be a lot more independent and actively engaged in their education.
Preschools often run orientation programs in preparation for beginning school. The children come to visit their school, classroom and teacher late in the year before they begin school. Parents are often invited to join their children for this day. These programs work extremely well, allowing the child the opportunity to meet and explore the school and its staff with the support and assistance of the preschool teacher and parents.
If your preschool does not have such a program in place there are a number of things you can do even before your child begins school:
•Drive by the school frequently and tell your child that it is their school.
•Build excitement by talking about all the fun things your child will get to do at school.
•Hide your own anxiety because the child will sense it and become anxious too.
•Visit the school and walk around the grounds with your child, pointing out classrooms, toilets, office, staffroom, library. (Do this at the end of the day when children are leaving school to give your child a sense of how busy school is. It will also be less conspicuous and you won’t interrupt the school day for students and teachers. Schools tend to be a bit suspicious of people lurking in school grounds during the day for safety reasons.)
•Use the toilets at school while you are there. Check your child can lock and unlock doors and manage the taps.
•Find out which will be your child’s classroom and visit the room. Looking in at the windows is a beginning; walk in if you can (after school).
•Arrange a time to visit your child’s teacher and have a conversation with them and your child. (Make an appointment for this—just as you would to visit the doctor—and don’t just turn up. Teachers also have many responsibilities and are very busy.)
•Let your child play on the equipment in the playground when you visit.
The following chapters are designed to help you prepare your child for school. There is a checklist at the end of most chapters to help you see where your child is already achieving and where you can continue to develop their skills and abilities. Within the chapters are suggestions as to how to develop the skills or knowledge. There are lists of activities you can do, suggestions for continuing from each step and ideas about what to develop before beginning school and even after your child has begun school.
Education is a life-long process. Don’t think that you can afford to stop teaching and learning once your child has begun school. Your active involvement in your child’s education is one of the key ingredients for success.
Good luck, and remember to enjoy and celebrate the process as well as the achievements!
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