“The first 5 years of life are a time of rapid learning and development that has profound and lasting effects. During this sensitive period, the developing brain is especially primed to create neural networks that support learning and development for years to come.” (Source.)
During the first five years of a child’s life, the brain grows from about 25% of the size of the adult brain to reaching 90% of its growth by age 5; nearly 1 million new neural connections are made every second during these formative years! Positive interactions are essential for healthy development as children use their senses to explore and interact with their world.
If your child is entering their preschool years, you may be wondering if kindergarten readiness really matters. Is it necessary for your child to attend a preschool or pre-kindergarten program? The answer depends on each family and their unique circumstances, but it’s all about providing our children with those positive experiences and a safe environment for exploration, hands on and sensorial learning to support the incredible growth they go through during their early years!!
We would encourage you to consider the following when deciding whether or not to enroll your child in a part- or full-time preschool program.
Does my child have self-care skills and the independence needed for kindergarten?
Kindergarten teachers list skills such as toileting independence (going by themselves, washing hands) and feeding independence as essential for their students success. Can your child open and close their lunch containers, open a packet of string cheese, peel the lid off of an applesauce cup, pack and unpack their lunch box? In snowy Minnesota winters, can they independently get their snowpants, boots, coats, hats, and mittens on? Do they store them back in their tote when they come back inside? Are they aware of when they need to blow their nose and do they take care of that need themselves? If they cough or sneeze, do they do it into their elbow to help inhibit the spread of germs? Can they tie their shoes, zip and unzip their coats, handle a pencil, pen and scissor?
These are basic things, but some surveys indicate that 69-77% of teachers of early elementary students found their students struggled with these tasks!
Our Montessori classrooms filled with tools and materials that not only do children love to use, but also aid in the development of independence, self-care and fine-motor skills! Our dressing frames include zippers, buttons, ties and buckles; our practical life activities develop shoulder, arm, hand and finger muscles all while encouraging independence. It is the little things that our teachers provide for the child: opening and closing activities, food preparation activities, and more! Our Montessori philosophy is to help a child “help himself” rather than doing things for the child. (You’ve seen it with your own children – how proud they are when they can do something for themselves!)
Does my child have the social and emotional skills for kindergarten?
In June 2024, the Education Week State of Teaching survey of pre-k-third-grade teachers, said that, compared to five years ago, 85-94% of early elementary teachers say their students have difficulty listening and following and instructions, and sharing and cooperating with their peers.
Learning is a social process, so a child’s social and emotional skills are vital to their academic success – in fact, studies show test scores are positively impacted by healthy social-emotional development!
In our classrooms, social-emotional development is supported first of through positive, nurturing relationships between our teachers and the children. The Montessori philosophy is based on a profound respect for the child and their individuality in personality, interest and development. The concept of helping a child “help himself” applies to social interactions in the classroom, where we role play social interactions (known as “grace and courtesy” in the Montessori world), give lessons on conflict-resolution (or peaceful interactions), and gently guide children who are finding it difficult to work out a situation themselves.
Does my child have the academic and language skills needed for kindergarten?
While kindergarten is intended to be a transition year before elementary school, children are benefited when they enter kindergarten with some basic skills, including:
Math
- Be able to recognize and count 1-10
- Begin writing and copying numbers
- Recognize colors
- Recognize patterns
- Understand more than/less than
- Recognize basic shapes
- Recognize units of time such as day, night, week, yesterday, today, tomorrow
- Comparison: taller/shorter, bigger/smaller, heavier/lighter, etc.
Language
- Recognize and write their own name
- Use clear sentences and express needs and wants
- Able to listen to stories and navigate books correctly
- Ask and answer questions
- Recognize rhyming words
- Recognize some of the lower- and upper-case alphabet, beginning to understand phonetic sounds
- Able to say full name and birthday
- Able to say parent/caregiver’s name and phone number
- Recite days of the week and months of the year
Science
- Talk about weather
- Use words such as night, day, sun, moon, stars, cold, hot to describe their environment
- Notice and describe seasonal changes
- Understand living and non-living (living things need food, water and air)
- Describe how things are alike or different
- Recognize parts of the body
In our classrooms, children explore all these and much, much more!
Does my child have the attention skills needed for kindergarten?
Self-regulation skills are often a better indicator of future academic success than grades or IQ! Very simply put, self-regulation is the ability to control one’s impulses. This means a child can stop doing something, if needed, and can do something, even if they don’t want to do it, if needed.
The structure and routine in a Montessori classroom supports a child’s independence and ability to self-regulate. Teachers are trained to observe and guide a child, with the goal of the child developing problem-solving skills rather than viewing the teacher as the problem-solver. Montessori also offers the children freedom of choice – with this freedom, the child develops decision-making skills while learning to work cooperatively with their friends.
Can your child control their behavior? Can they concentrate while completing a task? Are they self-motivated in their learning? Can they follow instructions? Are they easily distracted by others? On study correlates a child’s attention skills at age four to college graduation rates! (Source.) We support the development of a child’s attentiveness by respecting their concentration, avoiding constant stimulation, encouraging physical movement, offering open-ended, simple toys, allowing time and space for a child to problem-solve, offering increasing more complex materials and activities that require them to follow a step-by-step process, being mindful of interruptions, practicing silence, and allowing children the freedom to choose their activities and their length of time in working with an activity. Our early childhood programming can support your child’s development in attentiveness and self-regulation!
Benefits of Early Childhood Programming
Studies show that children who participate in early childhood programs are less likely to repeat a grade, more prepared academically for later grades, more likely to graduate from high school, and are higher earners in the workforce, according to a 2017 study. (Source)
To inquire about part- or full-time options for preschool, and to give your child the strong foundation for not only academic success, but for life, please contact us today! You’ll want to book a tour to visit our Children’s House (preschool-kindergarten) classrooms so you can see for yourself what Sonnet Montessori can offer you and your family!
