Is your toddler ready for the step from group 2 to group 3, or is your child going to continue toddlers for another year? It's that time of year again when the trade-offs are made. Whether a toddler is ready for group 3 can often differ and not everything has to do with age alone. When your child has started in kindergarten and how he/she develops, of course, plays an important role. Sometimes it is a difficult choice to continue or not. Because what if your child is not ready yet?
The entry moment of a child in group 1 does not determine whether or not he moves on to the next group. Of course you often see a kind of average in that. Children who start in group 1 as a 4-year-old in the autumn period, usually start again in group 1 the following school year. If a child develops faster, it may just be that he moves on to group 2. Some take six months longer than others. A school year is simply different from a life year.
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There can therefore be an 11-month difference between the youngest and oldest child in group 2. And at that age that is also a difference in development. For example, it is quite exciting for some students - or actually more for the parents - whether the transition to group 3 is too big or not. Is your child ready or is it in your child's best interest to continue preschool?
Nowadays quite a few tests and tests are applied to these little ones to determine their development. Difficult at that age, because it is a snapshot. The Education Inspectorate also prefers well-founded reasons to 'let a child sit', in order to keep the percentage of 'stayers' low.
Much more important, in my opinion, is that the child itself is mainly looked at! A good teacher is perfectly capable of assessing whether a child is sufficiently developed for the step to group 3. It sometimes happens that a child, given the age, should be ready for group 3, but it simply isn't. Do you have to force a child? Even if the Citoscore is high, a child may not be ready for the transition socially and emotionally. Or vice versa, the Citoscore is not sufficient, but this snapshot is at odds with the results that are given in practice.
A lot is expected of a child. Being a toddler is still wonderfully playful and carefree. I found the transition to group 3 quite a bit. From playing in the house corner (or doll corner as I remember it) or in the schoolyard, doing crafts, coloring and painting to learning to read, write and count in one school year.
Do you want to force a child into it who is not ready yet? There is a chance that a child will hate learning and will not enjoy going to school. Becomes insecure about his or her abilities. Personally, I'd rather have my child go to kindergarten for another year than run into a wall in group 3. My oldest (from April) started in a so-called 0 group to start the next school year in group 1. For her, a sensitive , playful and sociable child, that continued toddlerhood was fine.
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Her sister turned 4 the day before the big holiday and started at the same time as the school year. She'll be just 6 when she moves on to group 3. Where the oldest can sometimes feel homesick for childhood, this lady is a doer. She enjoys doing chores and that fits perfectly with group 3. For me, going to school should be fun. That every child developsat his or her own pace and every child has the right to appropriate education.
Image used via Shutterstock
