Is Your Child Ready for School? Independence

Have you been wondering if your child is ready for school? Getting ready for school is such an exciting time, for both children and their parents! There’s nothing quite like the excitement (and nervous anticipation) of purchasing school supplies, heading to orientations, and watching your child prepare to navigate the world of higher education. 
 
One of the biggest questions parents often ask when it comes to their pre-school aged children, is ‘How do we know that they are ready for big school?’  

It’s easy to become overwhelmed when considering the skills your child may need to have mastered by the time that they start school. The most common skills that parents assume their child needs include reading, writing, counting, or spelling. However, while there is absolutely a place for these skills, there are many other, arguably more important areas of development that should also be investigated while establishing school readiness.  

Independence  

Your child will become much more independent once they start primary school, however there are some things to look out for that may give you a good indication of whether they need a little more practice in this area. 

Their attention span and ability to complete a task is a very big factor in their independence. The ratio between educator and child is very different in a school setting, than what they may be used to in a daycare or preschool setting. Are they able to sit and attempt tasks on their own before seeking help or guidance?  

What happens if your child doesn’t know how to complete a task? Are they able to try something different on their own, or do they keep trying until they can complete it successfully? Perhaps they are not at this level of problem solving yet, and may require more intense assistance from their educator.  

If you're wondering what you could do to help your child's independence, some ideas might be:

• Encouraging them to take care of their own belongings
• Allowing them to complete tasks themselves (without you jumping in to assist)
• Practise packing their own bag
• You modelling persistence
• Praising when they have attempted a task, even if it didn't work out as planned

What's Next?

As you can see, there really is so much more to school readiness then whether your child can pick up a pencil and write a story, or read a written story independently.

The most important thing is to look at your child as an individual, as opposed to comparing to others – and if you need a little extra support or guidance, look to a qualified speech pathologist to help you on your way.

If you would love to assist your child in getting ready for school, then my Kick Start Kindy program would be perfect. Otherwise, download the free School Readiness checklist to see if your little one is ready for big school!