8th June 2022

​

Transition to school,

what is valued? 

​

So, I have been missing in action, as we had many changes once we arrived in WA. One of the biggest ones was enrolling Noah into pre-primary school, kindergarten in NSW. We were not expecting it, but legally he had to enroll this year.

​

There are many factors why parents choose to hold their children back a year, majority being they want to send them older and feel that they are just not ready yet.

​

Noah was always very social and made friends, but we just felt his concentration and I guess that typical play of wanting to be outside, building, digging, not in a classroom with more formal settings. Yes, he could write his name and recognise numbers etc, but Ive always valued that the more exposure to play based learning, the better.

​

Where am I getting at with this?  I was not sure how he was going to go; he was super excited and couldn’t wait. At the end of the day, his relief teacher said, “yes he’s very confident”. Ok so what does this mean? This could go so many ways. I can’t stress enough as educators, why we need to give families more information. What does confident mean? In your face, too loud and boisterous, or just that he did great and was confident in his environment.

​

I followed up in a couple of days with his permanent teacher and she clarified to say he is doing great, confident in his environment and she mentioned that he is making lots of new friends, which was wonderful.

​

It struck me, see that’s what’s important. She didn’t mention that he may need to be writing more or concentrating for hours at a time. She focused on his sense of wellbeing, his sense of agency and resilience and most importantly, his ability to be social and make friends. And really, at this age, they still value play based learning in the more formal setting anyway.

​

This is what matters!!!!!! And this is what we need to be telling our families. Be honest, let them know how important it is to have consistency in Early Childhood, allowing them to build friendships. To feel confident and if you are aware that this is something the child is struggling with, work on it. Make it a focus and learning goal for this child and help them achieve it. Remind families if they are worrying about reading and ABC, that we need to be focusing on achieving other milestones before focusing on that. Of course, if it’s a child interest, go with it, but do not push it.

 

To our amazement, since he has started, in only two weeks, he is writing heaps of numbers, writing his full name, drawing shapes and detailed people. And he wants to do it when he gets home. It was never pushed; it was all achieved in his own time. At his own pace, and clearly when he was ready.

 

Was it me holding him back? Was it my views as an early childhood teacher, that the older you send them the better? The research on how play-based learning is so much more valuable? Did travelling help? Or did he just need the extra 6 months (starting mid-year)? Who knows! But so glad the transition has been super successful! 

 

To finish off, here are some social skills that we need to build on when helping children transition for school such as asking for help, communicating clearly, resolving conflict, encouraging others, collaborating, sharing, accepting differences, and following instructions.

​

But never forget that “Play is the highest form of research” Albert Einstein.

​

Jen 😊

​

​