Beauty

When preparing a child for the first grade, parents often focus on one direction. Some pay more attention to the basic academic knowledge of future first graders. Others, in order to make it easier for children to get used to the team, prepare them psychologically for school. In fact, both directions are closely related.

Without socialization, even the smartest child is lost in a large team. A kid who, before school, was a «ringleader» in his yard, may have a complex due to a lack of any knowledge. Therefore, we will first talk about what knowledge children need, and then we will tell you how to emotionally prepare a child for the first grade.

What a future first grader should know and be able to

All the necessary skills the child receives in kindergarten. That is what the system of preschool education is for. Your task is to check how well the children have learned everything. If there are gaps in knowledge, they will, of course, teach at school, but it is much easier for children to learn when there is basic training.

Below we have published the minimum requirements. Test yourself.

Maths

• Count up and down to 10.
• Knowledge of geometric shapes: square, triangle, circle, oval, rectangle.
• Spatial orientation: left and right, forward and backward, up and down, behind, in front, between.

ABC

• All letters of the alphabet.
• Know sounds and understand how they differ from letters.
• To be able to isolate letters from words — to answer which letter the word begins or ends with.

natural history

• Seasons: winter, spring, summer, autumn.
• Natural phenomena: snow, rain, hail.
• Common trees: birch, oak, maple, spruce, pine, etc.
• Common animals: cat, dog, cow, horse, etc.

How to prepare a workplace for a first grader

Three basic things should be provided for at home:

• Child chair. It should be picked up under the table. The child should sit so that the arms are on the table and bent at the elbow at about 90 degrees. In this case, the legs should be on the floor or on a stand, with the feet fully resting on the surface. The chair should be comfortable enough so that the child does not get tired and at the same time uncomfortable enough so that it does not fall apart in it like in a chair.
• Table. The child must have a separate study place. You can even install an ordinary adult desk, provided that you pick up a chair-growth for it. It is better to set the table sideways to the window so that the sun does not blind your eyes, but shines on notebooks and books from behind your left shoulder.
• Lighting. Light from the main room lamp, as a rule, is not enough. Prepare your table lamp. Even if the child often works with electronic textbooks on a computer or tablet. Good lighting is the key to healthy vision.

Even in the first grade, children will need a lot of supplies — they told in a separate article how to assemble a backpack for a first grader.

How to mentally prepare your child for school

It is becoming fashionable to send children to first grade not from the age of 7, but from the age of 6. However, in addition to age, it is necessary to take into account the emotional readiness of the child. A good sign of maturity is that the baby himself is waiting for the moment when he grows up and often raises this topic for discussion.

If the child does not show interest in learning, all attention is paid to games and his perseverance is questionable, consult with the teacher, psychologist and future first teacher. Perhaps you should go to school next year.

We will give some practical advice on the moral preparation of the child for the first grade:

• Take your kid to summer school camp. In the fall, when you come to study, you will find yourself in a familiar environment. If you’re lucky, you’ll end up in the same class as the kids who were at summer camp with you.
• Take your children to school with you when you go to apply or complete any other paperwork. Such trips will be a positive experience.
• A couple of weeks before the first of September, begin to adhere to the regimen of early rise and bedtime, which will be at school time. This will help reduce stress levels.

You can make it much easier to adapt to school, but no matter how hard you try, in the first grade, the child will still face stress: a new daily routine, stricter requirements, homework instead of games. In any case, he needs your attention and support.

If you manage to find time for joint games in your work schedule, the children will thank you. We wish you success in preparing the future first-grader for the new academic year.

Sincerely, the GRIZZLY team.