The first bell
Why we remember the first bell?
It is a reference point for many stories and unforgettable moments of childhood. It opens a huge chapter, a new level of challenges and experiences. Let us not let the child who starts school be emotionally alone in such an important moment - let us be with him. Pre-school education is focused around fun, the school is associated with duties. The child senses this greatly, enjoying the fact that he is already big enough to meet them. This natural, sincere joy is an expression of the desire to discover a world that is rooted in the nature of the child. This joy and curiosity should be constantly awakened. This is both the task of the school and parents. We will not change the system overnight, but we can help the child find himself in the school reality and its specificity. It is also worth showing the content and methods of learning to the child, which are interesting and motivating for us - then we will be a natural example for them.
School realities
Scaring or coloring?
Scaring is the first mistake before the start. It gives birth to the belief that school is not completely safe. Surround your child with care in this initial period and tell him a lot about his nice school adventures, about the opportunities it brings, about trips, friends, colleagues, games and balls.The fact, how you prepare your child to fit a student is a good part of success and a good ground for further travel in the school walls. Of course, it's not about coloring, but authenticity with a positive attitude. Remember that everyone experiences the school period in their own way, which is why your and your child's experiences can vary widely. It is worth listening carefully to everyday tales, asking with interest. Without assumptions, we know what school life looks like. Being honestly committed and up to date, we have access to the world of experiences of our little explorer.
Teacher
An important figure
When the bell rings on a September morning, stay calm and smile, start the adventure - let the child know that you are next to and enjoy the moment. Then, day by day, the teacher will be an increasingly important person in the life of a young student. In order to keep watch over the learning process and the situation in the classroom, it is good to work with it, jointly support your child in school and social challenges.Remember that the teacher becomes an authority in the children's circle. To maintain a child's sense of security and mutual respect, avoid challenging the teacher's opinion, expressing opinions about her to the child. You can always resolve your doubts directly between adults. It is worth getting to know the teacher better and support her positive image. From the trust of the child depends largely on whether he will open to development, overcome difficulties, and if necessary, will seek help in crisis situations.
Competition
Good or destructive?
When school requirements begin, competition will naturally start as well. Better and worse students will emerge, who will be joined by a shared bench and ... sometimes a favorite toy. Do not fuel this competition. Its presence to some extent is inevitable, but it would be worth being balanced with the ability to work in groups and endure defeat. These experiences are extremely important. Listen carefully to how your child reacts to the successes and failures of himself and others. What are these situations causing feelings and comments? It is a good opportunity to support positive self-esteem and empathy. The second one is easiest to build in a child, citing his own feelings and emotions from various social situations. Therefore, listening carefully to the child's story not only supports a close bond, but also provides hints for explaining to the child the social world using examples from his own life.
Regularity
A valuable skill!
The rhythm of the day and the time to do homework are an important point at the beginning of school struggles. Regularity is worth cultivating and suggesting how to organize your time yourself. At the same time, remembering to take step by step, the management of your time was taken over by the interested person. Sometimes it means failure to perform the duties but letting the sense of the consequences of your own choices, in a safe framework, is a valuable lesson. These are small, important steps to build independence.
Praise
A lot, but qualitative.
Praise is a magical bag of messages that must not be forgotten in practice. We know perfectly well how great it is to be praised for the task, for the way, creativity, quality, diligence, innovation. Let's find strengths in the work of your child, let him know what exactly he did well. Vague terms like nice, good, good, do not give any information about the quality of the work done. That's why all the definitions, specific praise and particulars are welcome - it works on the ears of children, like the driving force! The encouraged child will perform the task even better next time and it will be interesting if you notice his efforts. DefeatsHow to put up with them?Failure is a normal thing, a consequence of trying new things. Such interpretation of difficult moments will help your child to get used to them, do not just bend motivation for further attempts. Let us be with the child in the face of failures, never as dictators, but also supportive and help in dealing with emotions and drawing conclusions. The lost defeat rises to higher heights and makes success taste better. This is what we show in practice to our child and together celebrate with him success, no matter how long it was to reach the top. School friendsBuilding your own environmentColleagues are really important people for a child. Could childhood be so joyful without peers? Let the children have their childish fantasies, games and inventions. Keeping an eye on their course and a bit of common sense, we will provide the child with a lot of joy and healthy social development. We teach children the principles of partnership and respect for everyone. Remembering that words are important, but the best example is your own attitude. The first school bell is a shared experience of the child and his parents and let it be so. This, regardless of the circumstances, will ensure a good start for all first-year students.
Bibliography:
BOŻENA MUCHACKA „STYMULOWANIE AKTYWNOŚCI POZNAWCZEJ DZIECI W PRZEDSZKOLU”
IWONA CZAJA – CHUDYBA „JAK ROZWIJAĆ ZDOLNOŚCI DZIECKA?”
KRASZEWSKI, B. NAWOLSKA „DZIECKO I NAUCZYCIEL W PROCESIE POZNANIA I DZIAŁANIA”
Silence, Mozart, white wall- truths and myths about effective learning
Break every thirty seconds, looking out the window, sitting over a blank page for an hour? Your child does not come to the desk at all, because he associates with endless lesson? Or maybe he is learning eagerly but inefficiently, and you feel that he could do it faster? There are many ways to help your child work more effectively.
Children, especially at the beginning of school, face an important task: they must learn how to learn. Some teachers willingly guide children through the process of organizing their own learning, but sometimes this obligation falls on parents. So, let's get to know some simple methods that improve our memory processes and tell them to a toddler who will struggle with homework.
Make a tailor-made study
Often you can hear that nothing improves learning results much better than removing everything that distracts you. When the desk is pushed close to the white wall, and only a notebook and a pen lie on the table, it is impossible for the child to become a small Einstein.
Indeed, sometimes such methods are used to deal with learning difficulties, but this is not a strategy that can be proposed to everyone. This solution is recommended, for example, to children with ADHD with high attention deficits. Do not rearrange your home when your child goes to the first class and do not organize a "science corner" from which you can remove anything that might distract you while learning the poem by heart. Your child may or may not be the person who achieves the highest results in conditions of minimal stimulation. Some children find it easier to focus when something is happening around, and the silence and lack of stimuli from the outside will make them believe. Encourage your schoolboy to look for an environment in which he teaches himself best.
Good and bad soundsWho has not heard of the "Mozart effect"? Would not it be great if, after hearing “Eine kleine nachtmusik”, our IQ would jump up several points? Unfortunately, modern psychology proves that listening to the Viennese classics does not permanently affect the functioning of our brain. Under certain conditions, it may have small effects in the area of performing intellectual tasks, but this is a very short-lived phenomenon and is rather related to emotional processes (stress reduction, relaxation) - because they affect our cognitive abilities (e.g. memorization). Where else is more interesting ...In the notebook, eight tasks for fractions, and behind the window, colleagues play football. You do not have to think for a long time to find out what is more interesting? Moving the desk to the other end of the room is symptomatic. Removing an obstacle is making it easier for a child to have a job he is working on - but it will not help him if he finds himself in such a situation in the future and there will be no father or dad next to him. So, what instead? Support for the self-regulation process. Naming what's happening with a child will help him to consciously pick up his own reactions and emotions. It is not worth forcing the child to stay in the chair if there is no urgent need for it. It is better to help him organize his activities in a conscious way - to indicate that he can take a short break, walk to the window and see what is happening behind him. The Internet is full of recommendations for children's learning - but it is worth remembering that the main source of knowledge about effective strategies is the main interest. Depending on your needs and temperament, your child will successfully learn in a variety of conditions, with different help. It is worth for the parent to accompany him in the difficult art of building a suitably stimulating environment.