Inaugural Parent Teacher Interview
Had my inaugural parent-teacher interview this morning at Big Kindy. In a nutshell, A is an enthusiastic group member who gets on well with all his classmates, musically talented, loves participating (except when it comes to painting - Daddy, you have a lot to answer for!!), the teachers think him absolutely delightful and are pleased with his progress. I was told that he had come a long way from the highly excitable (probably a euphemism for distractable) little boy to the little man of today. He has to watch his pencil grip though - Wow, kindy is real serious stuff!
When enrolling A into kindergarten, I half expected it to be a kind of glorified daycare, but with more structure. Thankfully I was quite wrong.
It still is all fun and games at Big Kindy (as opposed to Little Kindy which is A's word for daycare) , but there is a definite difference. Like other kindergartens, it has a play-based educational programme facilitated by the teacher and her assistant but often directed by the children themselves. Since the beginning of the year, A has learnt about all sorts of things, from parts of the body (such as pupils!), to native Australian fauna, to plain good manners. Several other key differences to daycare I believe are the structure, emphasis on participation (at daycare, kids don't have to participate if they don't want to), better supervision(I find that at daycare, the older kids are very much left to their own devices as the staff are often busy with younger children, whereas if there is any unacceptable behaviour at kindergarten, the teacher is always very quick to intervene), and the socialising with similar aged children (unfortunately, A has learnt a lot of undesirable regressive/aggressive behaviour from younger kids at his daycare) .
I should emphasise that whilst I must sound critical I am still very happy with A's daycare. He just loves going and has certainly learnt a lot there as well, particularly from a social aspect. Maybe I shouldn't be comparing Big Kindy with daycare anyway because whilst not compulsory, Big Kindy is school after all.
Over the last few months both T and I have noticed a change in our Little Man - a certain maturity evolving in his thoughts and behaviour. Sure, this may just be part-and-parcel of growing up (and yes, A still has a long way to go!!) and assuming his role as big brother to V, but I do think his experiences at Big Kindy are very much contributory. I am sooo glad A has fitted in easily and I just love the way he always visits the nature corner where he has his shells (picked up from Miami Beach) proudly on display and puts one to his ear (even if it is a flat scallop shell!!).
Kindergarten - place to broaden his horizons, where everything is his size - I can understand why A loves going to Big Kindy.
(No pics still - the problem is not the battery.. uh-oh)
When enrolling A into kindergarten, I half expected it to be a kind of glorified daycare, but with more structure. Thankfully I was quite wrong.
It still is all fun and games at Big Kindy (as opposed to Little Kindy which is A's word for daycare) , but there is a definite difference. Like other kindergartens, it has a play-based educational programme facilitated by the teacher and her assistant but often directed by the children themselves. Since the beginning of the year, A has learnt about all sorts of things, from parts of the body (such as pupils!), to native Australian fauna, to plain good manners. Several other key differences to daycare I believe are the structure, emphasis on participation (at daycare, kids don't have to participate if they don't want to), better supervision(I find that at daycare, the older kids are very much left to their own devices as the staff are often busy with younger children, whereas if there is any unacceptable behaviour at kindergarten, the teacher is always very quick to intervene), and the socialising with similar aged children (unfortunately, A has learnt a lot of undesirable regressive/aggressive behaviour from younger kids at his daycare) .
I should emphasise that whilst I must sound critical I am still very happy with A's daycare. He just loves going and has certainly learnt a lot there as well, particularly from a social aspect. Maybe I shouldn't be comparing Big Kindy with daycare anyway because whilst not compulsory, Big Kindy is school after all.
Over the last few months both T and I have noticed a change in our Little Man - a certain maturity evolving in his thoughts and behaviour. Sure, this may just be part-and-parcel of growing up (and yes, A still has a long way to go!!) and assuming his role as big brother to V, but I do think his experiences at Big Kindy are very much contributory. I am sooo glad A has fitted in easily and I just love the way he always visits the nature corner where he has his shells (picked up from Miami Beach) proudly on display and puts one to his ear (even if it is a flat scallop shell!!).
Kindergarten - place to broaden his horizons, where everything is his size - I can understand why A loves going to Big Kindy.
(No pics still - the problem is not the battery.. uh-oh)
posted by stav at 8:37 pm
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