As our child is developing, you probably want to make sure you’re keeping track of how you can contribute to their having the best time possible according to their phase. This is also true when you’re wondering what age to start kindergarten, specialty since the answer changes according to your location in the U.S.
Keep reading to make sure you’re equipped with enough tools to comprehend what is beneficial for a child at the kindergarten-ready age!
What is the recommended age to enroll children to kindergarten?
First things first: how old do you have to be to start kindergarten?
This answer might change according to the state, since local regulations can make a difference. In general, 5 years old is a popular age to have children enrolled in kindergarten. It might be required that the child turns 5 years old before a specific time of the year – August or September.
See how the mandatory age to begin school changes according to the state: 6 years old are required to begin school in Colorado, Florida and Georgia. In Washington, school is mandatory when the child is 8 years old.
As important as following the local regulations is making sure you, as a parent, are equipped to understand the benefits of having your child in kindergarten.
What is the appropriate age to enroll children to school?
Kids can start to participate in a communitary and educational environment when they’re as young as 1 year old (or even younger than that). Having your child exposed to different people and social settings adds to their future, as they become more accustomed to different stimuli.
When it comes to kindergarten, parents should pay attention to some indications that the child is apt to integrate and take as much advantage as possible of the activities they’ll enroll in.
It’s important that the child:
- Can communicate if they need something or see something that’s wrong;
- Has sufficient motor skills to perform basic activities (like holding a brush or making a drawing);
- Can interact with other children and enroll in social activities with other children;
- Knows how to receive and follow instructions from a caretaker or teacher;
- Is able to sit down and perform a more cool down task (listening to a story or drawing something).
Advantages of having children in school on their early age
The early years of our lives can make a great impact in the upcoming experiences we’ll have. Being exposed to different social and cultural backgrounds can expand your worldview. Interacting with active children can help you find great pleasure in practicing sports.
Children who have the opportunity to go to school early also start to learn early: they can find great pleasure in learning because they’ll be used to doing it and not correlating study time to something negative.
Little schoolers can also make friends early in their lives, learn how to coexist with people other than those from the family household; who knows, these friendships can last for life!
What is developed throughout kindergarten?
Time spent in school is supposed to be valuable and teach something, right? So what can you expect your children to develop while they’re in kindergarten?
Studies in kindergarten represent the early contact with basic elements that are part of any educational routine: the alphabet, numbers, basic geometry and word structure.
In addition to that, kindergartens learn through play! Simultaneously, while the little ones are interacting with other children and learning how to share objects, how to use their imagination as part of the playtime, and so on, an usual playtime at kindergarten means interacting with elements of nature and learning about plants, animals, planets, the weather…
What is the impact of early education in adult life?
As you can see, the smoother the process of learning and interacting with school, the better experience you can expect your child to have.
Adults that have their social skills developed, that are not afraid to explore and learn, that take pleasure in learning, are likely adults that had people encouraging them in their early years.
Interacting with other people trains your social skills; your social skills make you more empathetic and open to fostering significant relationships. It’s also likely you’ll be a collaborative adult because you’re used to having shared projects and adapting to different people’s needs.
What are the consequences of delaying kindergarten?
You might have heard of a term called “redshirting”. It’s the practice of delaying the beginning of your child’s education in kindergarten.
As always, there are people who encourage this educational delay, and others not so open to the idea. We’ll choose to emphasize the not-so-good part of this choice.
- It’s more expensive, since delaying kindergarten means more costs in daycare;
- Levels up your children differently: your child can become of the oldest in their future classrooms and not see eye to eye with the rest of their group in cultural terms;
- Might not interact with children the same way the rest of the group does because delayed kindergartens can affect your social skills;
How to prepare children for kindergarten?
By this time, you’re probably convinced that kindergarten and early education are important steps towards growing your child to a happy, functional, curious and socially skilled adult.
But how can you make sure that you help your child be ready for this adventure?
As much as knowing at what age to start kindergarten is important, other factors also count when preparing children to this moment of their lives.
- Stimulate your child to interact with other children – neighbors, park friends, your close friends’ children of similar ages;
- Encourage your little one to know their body and its limits;
- Create playtime that involves patience and dedication (i.e. a drawing challenge in which you need to draw all animals you saw in a day);
- Introduce your child to the letters that are part of their name; encourage the child to color the letters and become acquainted with their names written.
These are all ways to stimulate the child to develop motor and social skills, which will play a big part in your little explorer’s routine in kindergarten activities.
Here’s how the AEA’s program works!
Amazing Explorers Academy is based on STEAM, an educational curriculum that stimulates autonomy, collaboration, creativity and problem solving skills while children are having fun.
Toddlers, babies and infants are welcome into AEA’s family! There’s a whole world waiting to be explored.
Our schools have their doors open for you and your family. Visit the nearest location and make a positive change towards your little explorer’s life!
