Going to school at 5 is a topic that has become increasingly more debated amongst researchers and academics more willing to admit that many children are not ready, especially our boys.
In July 2010 the Government extending funding to 5-year old children in New Zealand, in order for families to have the choice of remaining in preschool.
It is sometimes difficult to swim against a strong tide and culture, and within New Zealand, we have always believed in the notion that children go to school on their 5th Birthday ready or not. After all family members, and some schools believe school at five is right, even though we do know that children are not legally obligated to attend school until they turn 6. We almost begin to think we are doing our children a disservice if they do not start school on their 5th Birthday, perhaps with the misguided belief that they will fall behind peers if formal learning does not begin immediately.
Teaching children to read from age 5 (or younger) is not likely to make children any more successful at reading than a child who learns reading at a later age of 7. In 2007 the ground breaking Psychology PhD research, conducted by Dr Sebastian Suggate on one international and two New Zealand studies, each one backing up the conclusions of the other stated, that there is no difference between the reading ability (from age 5) and late (from age 7) readers by the time these children reach their last year at Primary School (www.otago.ac.nz/news)
The time-honoured tradition of starting school on your fifth birthday is not always in the best interests of the child, university lecturer and neuro-science / brain development expert Nathan Mikaere-Wallis says.
“Research shows that the majority of children are disadvantaged by starting school at age 5 and the children’s brains need them to be physically active as the neuroscience shows that movement and learning go together.”
What then can our Montessori environment provide? A key element of the Montessori classroom is the homogenous 3-6-year groupings. There are numerous benefits to this essential element of a Montessori education where children of various age live and learn together. Much like they do in a home environment.
First, it exposes the younger children to the work of the older children and helps them aspire to one day master the same activities. Little ones look up to the “big kids” even more than they look up to adults. Second, it encourages mentoring and leadership skills from the older children that helps reinforce the skills they already know. By “teaching” the younger children, they increase and consolidate their own understanding of concepts. The leadership of the older children has remarkable impact on the health of the three-year community they help lead. It allows the oldest children in each cycle to stand tall with confidence during an uncertain time, while internalising the work of the first two years by sharing their knowledge and expertise with the younger children in the class.
The Montessori cycle places children at the culmination of a three-year cycle during which they experience “ah ha moments” and “I can do that!”. It is a time where everything starts to make real sense. When children leave Montessori before they have had the time to internalise early concrete experiences, their early learning often evaporates because it is neither repeated nor supported. In many schools, children do exercises and fill in worksheets with little understanding. There is a great deal of rote learning. On first glance it may seem that children are learning the material. However, all too often a few months down the road little of what they “learnt” will be retained and it will be difficult for children to translate worksheet learning into new situations. Learning to be focused organised and display initiative, is as important as any academic work.
Maria Montessori noticed that children tend to go through a social and emotional growth and transition period during their 6th year prior to further intellectual surges in their 7th and 8th year. She found that maintaining the same environment during this critical transition enhanced their readiness for academic challenges in the first year at school. Clearly, the full benefit of the educational programme accrues to our children in the third and final year, where they have consolidated skills they have garnered for two years.
I believe that here at Courtyard we can offer children the gift of ‘time’. An individual, child centred learning approach that protects and respects each child’s learning stage while preparing children for that transition and adjustments to the new experiences; physical, social behavioural and academic challenges of Primary School.
Also see: What 3 to 7 year olds need to learn – Nathan Mikaere-Wallis