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Some children look forward eagerly to starting school and enjoy it from the very first day. Many others; however, find the experience overwhelming, frightening, or simply disappointing, and may take longer to settle down.

During their first few weeks at school, it is quite common for children to show signs of strain. They may generally be irritable and ready to cry, have nightmares, begin nail biting, or return to thumb sucking or bedwetting. This is normally a short phase; if it persists beyond the early weeks the parents should see the child's teacher.

In very few cases the parent's reluctance to let go of a child may make it more difficult for them to adjust to this new way of life.

Preparing for School

Beginning school is one of the most important events in a child's life. Inevitable it entails significant changes in daily routine and there are several ways a parent can help a child with this big step. Preparation begins ideally at birth as a child from a secure and loving family background generally finds it easier to adapt to school life.

The preschool child should be encouraged to take an interest in a wide variety of topics. Parents can help by talking to them, reading stories, and taking time to answers questions with care.

In addition, children should be made aware of basic tools of the educational trade — books, pencils, paints, scissors and paper.

Playing with other children outside his own home helps accustom a child to being separated from his parents, and visiting school before becoming a fulltime pupil can be valuable, if it can be arranged. Otherwise, taking your child past the ate or the school yard may alleviate some of their fears and anxieties. Simple practical preparation can also be extremely helpful. The child should be able to dress and undress themselves and take care of and recognize their own possessions — labeling them with their name is not advised but perhaps with a patch of color.

The child should be able to listen to and carry out simple instructions, and should be familiar with the basics in road safety.

Structure

The traditional single teacher system is still most common for pupils in their first year at school. This system — in which one teacher is responsible for all the subjects taught to a class — gives young children an opportunity to develop deep relationships with another adult outside the family. A subject-teaching system, in which certain subjects are taught by different teachers allows older children to benefit from specialist teaching in different fields. A more recent development is team teaching, in which several teachers share responsibility for a group of children. Within this system a child with learning difficulty can receive individual attention.

Curriculum

The subjects in the daily curriculum vary from school to school. Though determined to some extent by the facilities available, the curriculum at any school is generally designed to cater as fully as possible for the needs of its pupils at different ages. In most schools, the traditional academic subjects such as math, language arts and sciences dominate the curriculum — with arts, technical subjects and sporting activities also included.

Teaching Aids

Mechanical teaching aids play an important part in modern education. Movies and programs on television and radio provide material about specialist topics and are used as a basis for further class teaching. Most schools nowadays have a computer lab, where children can benefit from an early start to this new technological age.

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