QUESTION: Can you expect a 4-year-old or 5-year-old to be able to concentrate in the classroom?
Is it true that a childs' first 7 or 8 years should mainly concentrate on physical developement rather than trying to get them to read and concentrate in class from 4-5 year-old as what is common in the Western World? Emmanuel.
ANSWER: Can you expect a 4-year-old or 5-year-old to be able to concentrate in the classroom?
During a child’s first 6 to 8 years, parents should concentrate on the physical, character, cultural and religious development of their children. Leave formal school learning until these areas have a solid foundation. Today school teachers are seeing children who are burned out on school by second or third grade. They were forced into formal academic learning when they were too young. The percent of children with reading problems is rising, also, despite—possibly because of--all that early schooling and too much exposure to the visual media.
Relatively recent research in child development has shown that physical and mental develoment go hand in hand. Children need vigorous physical activity in order to develop to their maximum potential intellectually. Playing outdoor games with other kids also helps develop their social skills. So turn off your TV and computer, and go to the park to play. Don’t be fooled, all those computer programs for toddlers mainly benefit the producers financially. They are not necessary or good for your child’s development.
Provide a rich cultural and religious environment for your children. Read to them a lot, watch educational videos/DVDs, play outdoor games every day, have fun with crafts, explore nature, socialize with other families, learn Bible stories and Bible verses, go to church each week, and limit exposure to TV and computers to no more than one hour a day.
If you delay formal schooling until 7 or 8 years of age, you will discover that most children readily “catch up” to their classmates who started at 4 or 5 years. Furthermore, they are eager, enthusiastic learners. I know a young man who did not try to read until he was almost seven-and-a-half years old. He simply wasn’t interested in reading until then. But when he became interested, he learned rapidly and within a few months was reading everything – the Bible, the National Geographic, the newspaper, and the encyclopedia. He is now a National Merit Scholar in college. On the other hand, I know children who taught themselves to read before they started kindergarten. It wasn’t their parents pushing them – they learned on their own. Such early reading appears to require both high intelligence and early neurological development.
The best foundation for your child’s intellectual future is strong physical and character development, a strong bond with you, and a rich cultural and religious heritage. You won’t be sorry you resisted the crowd and allowed your child to develop the way God intended.
Answer provided by Donna J. Habenicht, Ed.D., professor emeritus of educational and pyschological counseling psychology at Andrews University.
QUESTION: How can I stop my kindergartener from talking in class?
I have a 5 1/2 year old daughter in kindergarten and I am really having a hard time getting her to understand the importance of not talking in class. She is smart and has figured out that she will have time to complete assignments even if she is talking. Sometimes she gets so distracted by those around her that she doesn't hear the teacher's instructions or she is unable to complete her assignments. What can I do to help her?
ANSWER: How can I stop my kindergartener from talking in class?
Learning to be quiet in school and not talk with the kids around you is a big learning experience for all five-year-olds. Obviously, your daughter is friendly and chatty, but maybe somewhat distractible. She has a hard time ignoring what is going on around her when she is supposed to be working. Practice “quiet times” at home (maybe coloring or looking at books), beginning with 2 minutes, gradually increasing the time until she can be “quiet” for 10 minutes (a long time for a talkative child), but probably long enough to complete most assignments for a child who works fast. Provide incentives for being “quiet” (something she especially likes to do). Make a “big deal” about moving on to more quiet time (3 minutes). Put up a chart, add a sticker every time she can be quiet during the assigned time.
Practice sticking with a project – like setting the table or putting her toys away – until it is done. Add stickers to her chart every time she sticks with it to the end. Be sure the projects are five-year-old size.
Ask the teacher for suggestions. Work together. If the teacher doesn’t have any extra interesting things for kids to do who finish early, ask if you can send something for your daughter to do when she has finished her assignment. If it’s something she really likes to do, it may motivate her to finish quickly. She isn’t a child who is going to sit quietly with hands folded until everyone else is finished!
Your daughter’s gift for friendliness is a wonderful asset. Be sure to encourage this gift. Give her plenty of opportunities to play with other children and to be friendly with your adult friends.
Answer provided by Donna J. Habenicht, Ed.D., professor emeritus of educational and pyschological counseling psychology at Andrews University.
QUESTION: My six-year-old is bored in class. What can do to challenge him?
My question is my six--year-old son is in the first grade and he seems to be bored in class. He outbursts when he doesn't get enough attention from his teacher. She states he is way above his math skills and he more than capable in doing second grade math? How can we challenge him academically? Will this aid in his outsurst in class? Thanks. ML.
ANSWER: My six-year-old is bored in class. What can do to challenge him?
If your son is in a multigrade class, does the teacher think he should be in the second grade math section? This might be more of a challenge mentally. Is he advanced in all the subjects or only in math? Does the teacher think he should really be in second grade? If so, this is something you might seriously consider, but only if his social development is adequate for being with kids in the next grade. Ask the teacher if there are some more challenging activities he can do while others are still working on an assignment.
You can provide more challenging informal learning at home. Find activities to enrich his learning. For example, he can use math for everyday activities, such as cooking, carpentry, model-building, crafts, or making change at the store. Informally he will be challenged to learn the math he needs for these activities. Borrow educational videos/DVDs from your local library – history, science, nature, etc. Watch these together. Ask questions to bring out what he has learned. Maybe he will want to create an activity related to the topic of the video/DVD.
I have worked with children whose outbursts were related to not being challenged, but there might be other causes, also. Is there a new baby in your family? Or have you just started working outside the home or have a new time-consuming job and are very busy when he comes home from school? More one-on-one time with mom and dad every day will help your son feel more secure and less inclined to demand teacher’s time. It doesn’t have to be a long time. Ten to fifteen minutes of one-on-one time every day, doing what your son wants to do, will most likely help a lot.
Is your son an only child? Is he used to being the center of attention at home? Or is this his first experience in a group learning situation? Learning to share teacher’s attention with others is part of social development in kindergarten and first grade. You can help at home by encouraging him to play by himself for short periods of time – 5 to 10 minutes at a time.
Set a timer for the allotted time, and lavishly praise him for achieving the goal. You can also teach him to respect your need for private time. Explain that you need some time alone for 5 minutes.
Start by quietly reading a book or working on a project for five minutes. If he doesn’t bother you, thank him and give him a hug at the end of your “time alone”. Gradually increase your “time alone” to 15 to 20 minutes. Always thank him and give him a hug at the end if he has not interrupted you. This will help in two ways: respecting an adult’s need for uninterrupted time and learning to play quietly by himself. It will likely spin off on his relationship with his teacher, also.
Answer provided by Donna J. Habenicht, Ed.D., professor emeritus of educational and pyschological counseling psychology at Andrews University.