I’m sure we all have a memory we can refer to where we were stressed out due to a project, a deadline, a bad grade, low report card, etc. It never feels, good, it instills a sense of failure even in some cases. And even when you get past it as we all do, that memory lingers. Yup, that one you’re thinking about right now.
I can tell you some of my memories will be 3rd grade math, high school exams, and work presentations. Although many would consider me successful right now, I can very clearly remember crying in my dad’s office trying to learn fractions in 3rd grade. And this did not happen once, this was my ongoing saga for that year of elementary.
Now, did my dad think that 3rd grade math would ruin me for life? Doubtful, and I got past it but I won’t forget that.
Now let’s bring that on an even younger level such as preschool learning. This will include the alphabet, counting, patterning, sequencing, vocabulary IDs, fine motor skills and so much more. Although we all want our children and students to start off strong, to start off on the right foot, to get one foot in in the door if you will, it may not always be the most important thing for the time.
I know your intentions are well meaning and sent with love. We all want our children to do well, however the pressure of concrete academia is slowly becoming a thing of the past as other forms or learning are being incorporated. Now, this does not mean it’s not important, it most definitely is!! It simply means that there is a time and a place and preschool might not warrant the weight you’re attributing to it.
Let’s take a look.
Why You Should not Pressure Academics on Your Preschoolers Just Yet…
1. Pay attention to their environment.
The first thing we need to keep in mind is your child’s learning environment. This will most likely be a new preschool setting or a class or group of some sort. This will differ from their home space and therefore call for a difference in routines, boundaries, people, activities, and expectations. Although it can be familiar, it will not warrant the same comfort and coziness they attribute to their home setting. Therefore their behaviors, including learning behaviors, will differ as well.
Think about it, they are in a new setting, or at least a different setting from home, which is their safe space. If we relate it to our adult lives, we set up our work space to be as comfortable as possible. We do this so we can focus on whatever deadlines we have or projects that need to be done. Well your child, being a preschooler of course, doesn’t have that know how just yet or the freedom to change their space as it relates to the efficiency needs they have.
The teachers set up the classroom in the most engaging and comfortable way possible, but it’s still always going to be a heavily varied space. Other preschoolers are working in the space, teachers are moving around, and distractions are at a high with all the exciting material. The preschool space will always be a consistently moving variable and your child needs to learn for how to work within that.
And when you want to work on teaching a new concept, skill and so forth, those tasks can sometimes fall to the wayside for your 2 or 3yr old. This is not by any fault of their own. They are simply working to hone their attention and focus abilities in such a lively environment. As that develops the easier time they’ll have working on the lessons before them in the space they are put in. But in the mean time, don’t worry about it that much. There’s a lot of other learning that is going on at all times.
2. The Buddy System.
The other factor that you wouldn’t think plays too much of a role in preschool but certainly does, is your child’s peer relationships.
Why is this so important? Well as your child is growing and learning through everything being taught in the classroom they are also absorbing social, casual, and outside experiences too. This includes everything that they are seeing, hearing, feeling, and experiencing.
And at this age visual modeling is huge. Much of your child’s learning will occur by what they are seeing first. This is also why, as educators, we try and provide as many visual aids in connection with our lessons as possible. This can be a great tool, but also a little bit of a speed bump in some cases.
If a child is perhaps more enthralled but what their peer is doing next to them, that could lead to a level of distraction. Or perhaps, their peer is more engaged in being silly than the actual task and then your child copies. This would pull them away from the actual academic item at hand. But do not worry, this works in your child’s favor as well! If they see their friend participating and being engaged, they can follow suit and I can promise you it tends to be this way more often then not.
This is all to say though, that learning is still occurring in same way or form, and just because your child couldn’t attend to a task just yet does not mean they won’t in the future with the right peer and adult models to help.
3. Are they developmentally ready?
This will be an area that differs per child more than any of the others. Each child as we know, develops at an individualized rate. Although we may have general milestones we want and expect them to hit, there are always going to be outliers just as there are in anything else. And this is okay. Parents, I promise this is okay.
Students will develop along a spectrum for the most part, however the rate at which they develop should not be taken as seriously during early childhood as it should once reaching elementary school age. Ever hear of the late bloomer? Well this is an actual real thing!! Some students may not be making a connection to learning concepts all year, but all of a sudden in late spring something clicks and there you have it!
You have to be able to attend to the developmental stage your child is in. And when they show an inkling to reach higher, scaffold them to get there. But do not overtly push as this can lead to academic stress, which is so needless during the preschool years.
And parents please note that just because your child might not be saying the alphabet yet does not mean that they are not learning in other ways. Remember what I said previously about learning through experiences, not just through task and skill building work.
4. You are not engaging their natural curiosity or instincts.
I would also like to note that there is something to say about a child’s natural curiosity. This is something we discuss at length during our curriculum planning for the school year and something that directly affects how we plan and implement all lessons. You have to play off your child’s natural curiosity as much as possible. If you want to create a highly engaging and interactive learning framework, including your child in their own learning is the best way to do that.
So if you see your child is struggling with some preschool academia, look at the environment they are in. Take everything else into account that we discussed above and make a real valuation of the areas that need support. Do no stress them. Observe, reflect, and resolve. Then take it from there as much as you need with their input included in appropriate and meaningful ways.
5. Help them through your own parent scaffolding and support!
As I just mentioned above, one of the best ways you can help spark your child’s connection to their preschool learning is scaffolding them with the support that they need. Just keep an eye on how they’re doing in school. Talk to their teachers and see how their progressing. Usually the teachers will have a very good sense on the developmental track your child is on and if there is an actual need for concern. If there is not, then do not worry about it.
Your child’s learning will blossom naturally, it almost always does. Do not stress it too much. Let them engage with it as necessary but it will come. And you need to let go of that stress as a parent as well. Let a little bit of their instinct for learning take over.
6. Remember that your child is always learning, academics is just on part.
Another thing to keep in mind is that learning is not a construct of the classroom only, especially in preschool and early childhood. As I discussed previously, learning happens all around us and your child is more astute to those ongoing interactions than we usually tend to be as adults.
Their experiences will still lend them the skills to progress developmentally as needed. So even if their academic prowess is still growing at a more gradual rate, their learning is still occurring. Hopefully with in an appropriate timeline their academic endurance will increase as well but you do not need to sound the alarms just yet if they don’t know the whole alphabet or can’t count past 10 right now.
*Summary
Alright parents, I hope I was able to ease a few of the concerns you may have when it comes to your child and their preschool work. Remember, every child learns at different speeds. Your child’s teacher will continue to teach and scaffold them each and every day just as you will support them at home. And if all that is happening, the academic advances will come. But remember, learning is happening regardless if it’s in the classroom or not. There are a variety of factors that may be the cause but none of them important enough to cause serious concern on your end. This is preschool. It’s their starting point, their jumping off point, not the end point.
And as always, If you have any questions, comments, or ideas please share them in the comments section below with your fellow parents! And definitely subscribe to the newsletter for updates and ongoing happenings at TylekTeaches.com. The subscription link is just on the right hand side of this post. See you there!
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