Getting Kids Ready for School

I am in the midst of looking for a childcare development center for Ariel here in Corvallis, just so that she could get some social interaction and experience some structured playtime. In a small community like ours, it's a lot harder than I thought. All the good childcare centers here have a long indefinite wait list, up to almost a year. From what we heard from the various center directors, many parents start booking a year in advance. Many women start looking for infant care while they are pregnant.

One of the reasons for this is due to the strict state regulations here. These regulations range from the need to have a 1:4 teacher-student ratio for the toddler groups, to the maximum number of children to be allowed within a specific floor area. School are thus kept small for easier management, I guess?

Many a times, I ask myself, "Am I being too Kiasu over here? Do 18 month-olds really need the social interaction? After all, at this stage, they are still not playing together right?" To make myself feel less stress, I would also tell myself, "Maybe I can wait till Ariel is 2 years old..."

However, having visited a top childcare center today, I am very much convinced that my worries are not unfounded. After going through a tour of the center, and understanding the childcare's philosophy on education, I was really inspired! (and of course, praying that Ariel can get into a center as such) Here's what the very experienced center director told us:

"According to many kindergarten teachers, these are the factors that help kids get ready for kindergarten/school:
1. Are they able to settle into a classroom routine?
2. Are they able to socialize and make friends?
3. Are they able to follow multiple instructions?
While literacy and academic competency may give a kid an advantage, the above are factors that are more crucial"

I was also particularly inspired by an example given by the director and the center's philosophy on developing a child's social and emotional skills:

"One cannot run away from 'bullies' in school. What happens when a child meets a bully? Is he/she able to stand up and tell the bully that he/she is wrong, or does she go running to the teacher? Sometimes, there's really little the teacher can do.."

I thought about this, and am truly convicted. In Singapore, we'll always tell kids, "If other kids bully you, just go and tell teacher!" Now, as I think about it, are we helping children to develop socially and be independent when we ask them to go get help from somewhere else? We need to teach them to stand up for themselves! And this is very much an important part of social skills development, which could only be practiced when kids are by themselves, without the parents in a school environment!!

As what Daniel Goleman says about EQ, EQ is really what marks the difference in a person. While IQ cannot be nurtured, EQ can. And as a parent, I am ok with my girl having an average IQ, but I would certainly hope she has a high EQ ultimately! I'm still searching and hoping and praying that somehow, I can help Ariel get into a childcare center, such that she can learn to be independent, develop her social and emotional skills, which I believe are much more important than academic competency.

P/S - By the way, I've read an article in babycenter, about how young children socialize, which I found rather useful. Here's the link: http://www.babycenter.com/0_toddler-milestone-socialization_11742.bc