The child is going to first grade. This event is both joyful and exciting. A new road opens up before the baby. How correctly a small student takes his first steps depends on his future. Of course, the crumbs can not cope on their own. Proper adaptation of children to school is the task of the teaching staff, as well as parents.
What is adaptation?
The very concept implies getting used to new conditions. A child who until recently attended a preschool institution, had a floating daily routine, spent a lot of time in games, will have to reorganize in a different way. You will need to learn to listen to the teacher, do your homework, find a common language with classmates. This, in fact, is the adaptation of the child in school. Grade 1 in an educational institution is rightfully considered the most difficult. It is especially difficult for children who have not previously attended kindergarten. You also have to face the difficulties of socialization.
Adapting children to school is a real stress for some parents. To a greater extent, mothers are worried that they will not cope with their duties, that the child, through their fault, will lag behindclassmates. A really difficult task falls on fragile shoulders. It is necessary to help the child adjust himself to other conditions of life. At the same time, in no case should a mother show her feelings to her son or daughter! And what you definitely shouldn't do is raise your voice to a little schoolboy who can't read or write.
The success of a child's adaptation may depend on many factors. First of all, this is the temperament of a small student, as well as a model of family relations. If a child likes to be in the center of attention, does not tolerate loneliness, he will surely be able to quickly get used to a new team. Also, if harmony and mutual respect reign in the family, the baby has no complexes, adaptation will take place with minimal losses.
However, socialization is only a small part of the whole process. It is not enough to get used to the new team and teachers. The adaptation of children to school is, first of all, the presence of interest. The kid must understand that he attends school not because it is necessary, but because here he will be able to learn a lot of new and useful information. To interest the child is the task of parents and teachers.
Degrees of adaptation
Two identical people do not exist. So children have their own psychological characteristics. For some, just a few days are enough to get used to the new conditions, while someone will feel uncomfortable in a strange team even after a month. Psychologists traditionally divide children into three groups. The first is babies with a mild degree of adaptation. This includes the guys who are pouring in as quickly as possiblein a new team, make friends. Such children perfectly find a common language with teachers, all their attention is directed to learning new subjects.
The second group of guys is considered the most common. This includes kids with an average degree of adaptation to school. The period of getting used to new conditions is longer for them, it takes from several weeks to two months. At the initial stages of education, children do not accept the conditions in which they had to get. In the classroom, they can talk with their comrades, not listen to the teacher's remarks. These guys initially do not show interest in learning. Especially often this group includes children who did not attend a preschool institution. The adaptation of children to school will be faster if parents have an appropriate conversation with the children long before September 1. It is worth explaining to the baby that interesting changes are coming in life that will benefit. If necessary, a psychologist can work with the child.
The third group are children with a severe degree of adaptation. The child has negative forms of behavior, he does not listen to teachers, offends classmates. The opposite manifestation is also common - a small schoolboy closes in on himself. The child behaves very quietly, does not talk, does not answer the questions of the teacher. In most cases, these guys practically do not learn the school curriculum. The problem of a child's adaptation to school most often has a reason. This is either a psychological trauma, or discord in the family. Without a specialist in this situationget by.
Difficulties still to be faced
Successful adaptation of a child to school is not an easy task. Even if a son or daughter belongs to the first group, that is, he easily establishes a common language with a new team, shows interest in learning, you should be prepared for the fact that you will have to face difficulties. The most common complaint of most parents is the laziness of the little student. In fact, the child is not to blame for anything. He just lost motivation. He is not interested in attending this or that lesson, doing homework on a specific subject. Surely, many parents noticed that children are happy to attend such lessons as singing, physical education, drawing. Because they can be fun. The task of teachers and parents is to interest the student in attending the subject in which interest has been lost.
Verbilism is another problem that many parents of first graders have to face. The problem is that many mothers and fathers from the early years of the baby pay great attention to the development of speech. A poem about a bear performed by a two-year-old child is tender. The kid is admired, which increases his self-esteem. At school, it turns out: all that a student can do is talk beautifully, speak clearly, and clearly pronounce complex sounds. At the same time, the processes of thinking are rather slow. The program (adaptation of children to school is a difficult path for every first grader) must necessarily include subjects that stimulate productive activity. This is drawingmodeling, construction, mosaic, etc.
Chronic academic failure
Each child is a clean slate at the start of learning. Why does it happen that one kid turns into an excellent student, and the other into an inveterate loser? Blaming a child for poor learning is stupid. Chronic underachievement is primarily a shortcoming of parents, and only then of teachers. What is going on? A small student does not cope with the task assigned to him, his mood decreases. At the same time, many parents only exacerbate the situation, begin to scold the baby. The self-doubt of a small student grows at times. He does not want to continue training, so as not to experience negative emotions again. Thus chronic underachievement develops.
During the period of children's adaptation to school, parents should be patient. Moms and dads need to be prepared for the fact that many tasks for the baby will not work right away. If you properly encourage the child, encourage him for the successful completion of the work, the student will want to attend classes again and again.
Every year, domestic methods of education are being improved. Many educational institutions have now decided not to grade the work of children in the first grade. The results are already visible. Adaptation of children to school conditions is less painful.
How can a teacher help a child?
The first teacher is the person with the help of whom the baby gets used to new conditions. According to a special program, the child is adapted to school. Methods are developed taking into account the psychological and age characteristics of students. The teacher can judge the degree of adaptation thanks to special tests that can be carried out at one of the classroom hours. To get a clearer picture, testing should be done at the end of the first quarter of training:
- Paint technique. The teacher distributes felt-tip pens or paints to the children, as well as sheets of paper on which objects related to certain lessons are depicted (number - mathematics, pen - writing, brush - drawing, accordion - singing, etc.). Students are encouraged to color the drawings. If the baby paints a certain object in a dark color, this indicates possible difficulties associated with it. The technique allows you to determine the progress of each child in one direction or another.
- Methodology "What I like about school". The teacher offers to draw a picture on a given topic. The image can be used to judge the psychological state of the child. You should pay attention to the guys whose drawings are far from school life. A teacher with a pointer, a school board in the images can indicate a high level of learning motivation.
- Methodology "Sun, Cloud, Rain". The students are given leaflets on which the described weather phenomena are depicted. The teacher offers to describe the state at school, at home, with friends. The child circles the drawing they like. Thus, the teacher determines which children have already fully adapted to school life (the sun is circled).
After the firstquarter, you can conduct a small survey. Answering the questions will help to identify the level of adaptation of each child in the class. Questions might be:
- Do you like school?
- If you were told that everyone didn't have to come to class tomorrow, would you come to school?
- Do you like your classmates?
- Would you like another teacher to work with you?
- Do you get excited when classes are cancelled?
- Are you friends with many classmates?
- Would you like recess to be longer and lessons to be shorter?
To get honest answers to questions, the questionnaire should be offered to the children to fill out at home, together with their parents. Having identified the level of adaptation in the classroom, the teacher chooses a further work strategy. Practice shows that by the end of the first quarter, 90% of the children have already fully adapted to the new conditions.
Game as a way to adapt
For children who are just adjusting to new conditions, it is important to present new information in an interesting way for them. It is no coincidence that the first lessons in many educational institutions are held in the form of a game. The most difficult task for any first-grader is to sit the whole lesson in his place. 40 minutes seems like a real eternity. The game "Diligent student" will come to the rescue. The guys are offered to portray high school students who know how to behave at school. And to make the game interesting for kids, it is desirable to include a competitive moment. At the end of the lesson, the teacher indicates the most diligent students who are awarded with prizes.
Psychological adaptation of the child to school will be easier if the baby is familiar with classmates. Therefore, the school team is recommended to hold an interesting event in an informal setting before the start of the school year. The ideal option is a hike. During fun games in nature, kids will be able to get to know each other. Parents, in turn, will have the opportunity to communicate with the teacher.
What can parents do?
A child who is just starting school needs moral support. The adaptation of a small student to new conditions depends on how well moms and dads behave. It is worth supporting the baby in any of his endeavors and in no case scold him for failures. Never compare your child to other students. It is necessary to make sure that the student is guided by his own result. For example, if today the son made only two mistakes in homework, and yesterday there were three, this is already a real success, which is definitely worth celebrating!
What else should parents do? Work on the adaptation of children to school is based on the formation of a certain daily routine. It is necessary to teach the crumbs to go to bed on time so that they can get up in the morning without any problems. Hurry is an additional stress for the baby. The child must know exactly the procedure. School in the morning, homework in the afternoon, sleep on time in the evening, and on weekends you can have fun with your parents.
Motivation of the kid to study school subjects also partially falls onparents' shoulders. Mom should explain why it is worth learning English (“Learn it and we will travel without problems”), math (“You can count how many toys you have”), reading (“You can read the biggest fairy tale on your own”).
Medical advice
Adaptation of children to school affects the functioning of the immune system of students. It is especially difficult for children who have not previously attended a preschool institution. Kids often get sick, skip lessons. This also affects psychological adaptation. Frequent absences lead to the fact that the child does not have time to establish communication in the team. How to deal with it? A pediatrician will help solve the problem, who will prescribe a suitable immunostimulating drug. Self-medication is not allowed.
It will be possible to reduce the incidence rate if the classroom for first-graders in the school is placed in a separate block, where children contact only with teachers and peers. The daily routine also affects the state of he alth. If a separate room is allocated, it will be possible to reduce the lessons in the first term to 35 minutes. Classes must be held in the morning. At this time, the guys are very active. The possibility of organizing daytime sleep is a huge plus. For children 6 years old, rest during the day is still very important. Thus, it is possible to restore brain activity, as well as physical activity.
Signs of successful adaptation
How to understand that the adaptation of children to school is going well? About it cansay the following signs:
- the child comes home from school cheerful, talks about his impressions of the day;
- baby has new friends;
- homework is done without tears and stress;
- baby gets upset if for some reason he has to stay at home instead of going to school;
- the child sleeps well, falls asleep quickly, wakes up in the morning without any problems.
The presence of at least a few of the listed signs indicates that the child's adaptation to school is going well. Grade 1 can be full of vivid impressions and memories. But, unfortunately, not all guys have a cloudless adaptation. If the baby does not sleep well, comes home tired from school, complains about the lack of friends, it is worth consulting with the teacher. Children with a severe degree of adaptation need the help of a psychologist.
Summarize
Pedagogical adaptation of the child to school will be quick and painless with the right interaction between teachers and parents. Success largely depends on the emotional state of the baby. A pleasant team at school, warm communication with the family - all this will lead to the solution of the task. The child adapts to new conditions as quickly as possible and accepts the educational institution as part of his life.
