Get ready for primary

Moving from kindergarten to primary class can be made easier when parents and teachers help.

May 24, 2010 03:30 pm | Updated 03:31 pm IST

All set to enter newer environments. Photo: S. Subramanium

All set to enter newer environments. Photo: S. Subramanium

For many, the sweet old days of kindergarten and playschool are set to become a thing of the past as they stand on the threshold of entering Std I, and the start of a long academic career.

New atmosphere

For some the excitement of possessing fancy school accessories would be replaced by the bewilderment of an altogether new atmosphere. While for some children that adds to the excitement. For some others it would take time to get acclimatised.

“The biggest change will be that of entering regular school. We, however, see to it that children progressing to Std I from our kindergarten classes experience the same kind of atmosphere,” said Krishnakumari Nair, principal of Vidyodaya School, Thevakkal, where 150 students will be joining the first standard this academic year.

As part of maintaining that common ambience, the school maintains a similar timing of 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. as followed for kindergarten classes for students up to standard two. There will be no exams but regular assessment, which again would be done in a very informal way so as not to put the children under any kind of pressure, she said.

Vidyodaya is set to hold a meeting of parents of first standard students and teachers on May 29 to give an overall idea about the academic year that lies ahead. Parents would then be given an opportunity to visit the class rooms set for their children to get a feel of the atmosphere in which their children would be studying.

Roopa P., who runs a playschool in the city, feels that moving to Std I from playschool and kindergarten could be a painful experience for children if left to untrained hands. “I had to change the school of my daughter mid-way through first standard when it became clear that her teachers there were too harsh for children of her age. She was so reluctant to go to school after teachers meted out excessive punishments for even small mistakes,” she said.

Enter textbooks

While many parents were against any kind of teaching at the playschool and kindergarten level out of love for their children, it could sometimes work against them. A little bit of learning in an interactive way at the kindergarten or even at playschool level would only help children with their confidence level and listening skills, Ms. Roopa felt.

“The introduction of textbooks will be an entirely new experience for first standard students. Till then they had to go through mainly picture books on objects and animals which many parents employ as a tool for feeding them or for their instinctive learning,” said Seema, the mother of a five-year-old. She has already started introducing textbooks to her child to ensure that he is not taken by surprise completely once at school.

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