Early Childhood is Not School Readiness

"Many children who enter kindergarten are not ready for formal academic classes and the kinds of behaviors needed to pursue these activities,” writes Frances Wardle, in his popular new book, Oh Boy! “This ‘readiness concept’ is an even greater issue with younger children, because developmentally, young children exhibit such a large range of maturity and experience. Early childhood programs—especially those serving children birth to kindergarten—should not be viewed as the first rung of the educational ladder (formal education should begin in the first grade)…

Instead, programs that serve children birth to age six should focus on the view of school readiness popular before the current focus on academics, and characterized by the idea of developing social competence as a major goal for preschool.  The foundation for this approach is the belief that each individual child’s natural development and predispositions to learning should be at the center of everything we do. This should be supported and embraced by a nurturing environment with educated, sensitive, and well-trained staff. It’s an approach that is directly guided by the developmental profile of each child.

The main purpose for this paradigm shift is to enable young boys who currently struggle in our programs to be viewed as successful children progressing though the normal and appropriate stages of growth, development, and learning…For young boys to thrive and succeed during these early years, programs should focus on play, exploration of the arts, creating a classroom community, extensive use of the outdoors, movement, and the use of integrated approaches to learning.”

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