It seemed that until recently you carried your baby in your arms, were always there and helped in everything, and your baby needed your support and protection, and today your son or daughter is so big and independent and ready to enter a new and important stage of his or her life that is going to school in the first grade.
Adaptation in the first grade is a special and difficult period in the life of every child: children master a new social role of a pupils, a new type of activity that is educational activity; the social environment changes, school, classmates, teachers appear as a large social group in which the child is included; finally, their way of life changes. It takes not a day, not a week for the kid to really get used to school. As a rule, this period lasts about 5-6 weeks and maybe longer. The main indicators of a child’s favorable psychological adaptation are the formation of adequate behavior, establishing contacts with classmates, a teacher and mastering the skills of educational activity.
By joint efforts, teachers and parents can facilitate this period for the child. A lot of support and understanding is required from parents during this period. Support the child’s desire to become a schoolchild. Your sincere interest in his or her school affairs and concerns, a serious attitude to your child’s first achievements and possible difficulties will help the first grader to confirm the significance of his or her new position and activity. Discuss with your son or daughter in advance the rules that he or she will meet at school. Explain their necessity and expediency, and then it will be easier for your child to accept them. He or she goes to school to study. It is important for you to remember that when a person learns, he may not get something right away, this is natural. The child has the right to make a mistake. Make up a daily routine together and monitor its compliance. Children love consistency and predictability. Also, do not miss the difficulties that a child may have at the initial stage of mastering educational skills. If a first grader, for example, has speech therapy problems, try to cope with them in the first year of study.
And, of course, support your child in his or her desire to succeed. In each work, be sure to find something to praise him or her for. Remember that praise and emotional support can significantly increase a person’s intellectual achievements. And if you want a calm and confident person to grow out of your child, be sure to praise your son or daughter. Support and do not scold for twos and dirt in the notebook. All these are trifles compared to the fact that your child will lose faith in himself from endless reproaches and punishments.
Teaching is hard and responsible work. Going to school significantly changes a child’s life, but it should not deprive it of diversity, joy, and play. A first-grader should have enough time for playing activities.
It is better not to send the child to the first grade and some section at the same time. The very beginning of school life is considered a severe stress for 6-7-year-olds. If the baby does not have the opportunity to walk, relax and do homework without haste, he or she may have health problems and neurosis may begin. Therefore, if music and sports seem to be a necessary part of your child’s upbringing, start taking him there a year before the start of school or from the second grade.
Remember that the child can concentrate no more than 10-15 minutes. Therefore, when you do lessons with your son or daughter, it is necessary to interrupt every 10-15 minutes and be sure to give the child a physical discharge. You can just ask him or her to jump on the spot 10 times, run or dance to the music for a few minutes. It is better to start performing recommendation tasks, if there are any, with a letter. You can alternate written tasks with oral ones. The total duration of classes should not exceed one hour.
