By Jollibee C. Angel, Master Teacher III, Guimba East

What do we expect for a Kindergarten class?
When you were a 5-year-old kid, did you ever remember that you were doing Math?
Reciting a poem? Or identifying planets? Sounds cliché’ right but unconsciously if you are a
parent, you might have started teaching your child ABCs to Numbers and Colors as early as
one. That must have been the standard of intelligence for some.
Building other skills is the key to have a smart and successful kid. A kid who knows that
school is a safe place to play, to interact with, to meet new friends and to nurture themselves as
an individual with unique qualities must be the goal of every parent and school for early child
development.
Starting school isn’t fine for some kids instead it’s one big step for them thinking that
they are in the “big kids’ stage already. How fun it is to just stay at home and have fun with Mom
and Dad but school, it serves other level of dishes.
The new environment, the new faces, the new classmates, and the new feeling of being
in school is all strange for a kid which make them uncomfortable rather than being excited.
With those few challenges a kid might encounter, it is best to start them in developing
their social skills, in developing themselves as someone who can mingle and make friends with
others. In other countries, as early as three or four years old, routine is best established rather
than academic intelligence. Routinary activities are keys for a disciplined kid, and it will be
brought even up to old age.
But how can we develop a socially skilled kid? It is most likely start with the school and
teacher.
First, the school must be a secure place for a kid. To avoid the crying and separation
anxiety for the kid, the parents must also prepare the child by exposing them to school. Tell
them what school is and what to do in school.
Second, take it slow. Even in encountering other students and kids, it must be slow and
fun. It must always start with plays and bonding moments to build that trust.
Third, although play is tricky at this age, they must feel that the school is a safe place to
play. Pretend play is nice too.
Fourth, social skills must be strengthened. Study shows that mostly girls are social
butterflies than boys. But boys show their social skills in physical way or in plays. Exposure and
frequent playtime might help.
Fifth, develop the basic skills like self-control and decision making. As early as one.
Children knows their choices in life and that must be strengthened and encouraged. And here
comes the maturity for kinder class.
In order for us to have kids who are skilled in life, we must take it with our key partners
and remember that academics can go after the social skills. Play more often and show those
qualities that they need to have in the future.