Aspen Daily News – Growing Community
Ready for School?

Many of us were determined to be “ready for school” if we could say the ABC’s, identify colors and write our name. It was always more complicated than that, it starts much earlier than most people think, and we now understand so much more because of advances in brain research that focuses on young children.

Readiness for school, and in fact for success in life, is more about a healthy state of mind and less about academics than first thought. Children develop in different areas – physical, emotional, cultural, cognitive, language, and social. They also develop at different spans of time, so educators expect a range of skills at any age or grade level. The nugget for us all to remember is this: Healthy development, and with it school readiness, is the result of secure, responsive adult–child relationships. Author and Professor, Dr Dan Gartrell, asserts that readiness is a state of mind, formed with positive relationships and secure attachments to their family members. Children with secure attachments are better able to make friends, work with others, solve problems creatively, as well as handle frustrations and pressures that come their way.

Dr Gartrell makes a few key points, these are echoed by the experts at Zero to Three, and from those at Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child. The same thoughts are sometimes called ‘serve and return’ or developing self-control or self-confidence.

You probably know many of these concepts, the new idea might be that it’s all part of a child’s path to readiness, and it starts with babies.

• Notice where the child’s attention is focused, that’s the serve. When you return the serve it may be with words or following their lead. As the adult you might give it a name that describes a thing, a feeling, or what they’re doing. Give him or her a chance to respond – wait. Taking turns can be quick or go on for many turns. You both can practice endings and beginnings, again sometimes it might be saying ‘all done’ and maybe the child just moves away. To read more about how this supports brain development and readiness, go to www.developingchild.harvard.edu.
• Zero to Three has several ideas for school readiness skill building, starting at birth, then progressing as your child gets older. We love this systemic way of thinking about development. Beginning with sharing books with that tiny baby, copying the sounds that she/he makes, and having opportunities to do things over and over. That logically progresses as the child becomes a toddler, with more talking back and forth, following their interests and repeating favorite books and activities. A toddler can then understand limits, and you can label feelings to give them more control over those really big toddler feelings! Between age 2 and 3, they can take the lead with ‘reading’ books, talking about what they are seeing, and helping with routines.
• Keep in mind all these are developing skills, a work in progress. Watch for the progress, it can be pretty amazing! Some higher level skills take a lot more time and more work because they are just beginning to develop. Executive function skills like problem solving and reasoning begin at about age 3, but need support until adulthood for most of us. It helps to think of conflicts with your child as mistaken behaviors, not mis-behaviors, or even bad behavior. Remember, a 3 year old has only had 36 months of life experience. We might think they should know better, but maybe not, and that could probably apply to any of us.
• When children have conflicts, adults need to think of terms of teach, not punish. Research shows that punishment actually harms healthy brain development, it releases stress hormones, making it harder for children to learn. This can be difficult for adults if these conflicts have serious consequences. When we remain calm, are firm and friendly (not harsh or wishy-washy) and model that we care, children will gain that learning experience we want them to have.

Families and care-givers make mistakes and have conflicts. The bottom line from Dr Gartrell (and us) is this - As our kids get older, what do we want them to do if someone bullies them or pressures them to bully someone else, or (eventually) to experiment with alcohol, drugs, sex, or vandalism? If the answer is to come to us for guidance, then we get it. It’s hard to know how to respond to life’s tough questions, but good relationships with children, begun when they are infants, will see them through.

Shirley

Little Red Book Program

Raising A Reader is excited to welcome and register new families for our growing Bolsitas Rojas/Little Red Book programs. These outreach literacy and networking programs support children ages 0-5 years old and their parents  for hour-long sessions every week in the nine local public libraries from Aspen to Parachute. The Bolsitas Rojas Programs are free inclusive programs for families who might not otherwise have access to early literacy programming. Our bilingual staff model story time, provide preschool activities, and encourage parent engagement and networking support. These programs also include the weekly rotation of our Red Book Bag program. As an organization and through our programming, our mission is to empower families to develop, practice, and maintain home literacy routines that strengthen family bonds and prepare children for school success. The programs begin in late August and early September, so parents are encouraged to reach out to the program coordinators to register for these fantastic early literacy and learning programs!