Adaptation of children to school. Difficulties in adapting first graders

The child goes to first grade. The event is both joyful and exciting. A new road opens in front of the baby. The future depends on how correctly the little student takes the first steps. Himself, of course, the crumbs can not cope. The correct adaptation of children to school is the task of the teaching staff, as well as parents.

What is adaptation?

The concept itself implies getting used to new conditions. A child who had recently visited a preschool, had a floating regime of the day, spent a lot of time in games, has to reorganize in a different way. You will need to learn to listen to the teacher, do homework, find a common language with classmates. This, in fact, is the adaptation of the child in school. Grade 1 in an educational institution is rightfully considered the most difficult. It is especially difficult for children who have not previously attended kindergarten. We also have to face the difficulties of socialization.

Adapting children to school is a real stress for some parents. To a greater extent, mothers worry that they will not be able to cope with their duties, that the child, through their fault, will lag behind classmates. On fragile shoulders lies a really difficult task. It is necessary to help the child to adjust himself to other living conditions. In this case, the mother should in no case show her feelings to her son or daughter! And what definitely cannot be done is to raise a voice for a little schoolboy who cannot read or write.

The success of a child’s adaptation may depend on many factors. First of all, this is the temperament of a small student, as well as a model of family relations. If a child likes to be in the center of attention, does not tolerate loneliness, he will surely be able to quickly get used to the new team. Also, if harmony, mutual respect reigns in the family, the baby does not have complexes, adaptation will take place with minimal losses.

However, socialization is only a small part of the whole process. It’s not enough to get used to the new team and teachers. Adaptation of children to school is primarily the presence of interest. The kid should understand that he attends school not because it is necessary, but because here you will be able to learn a lot of new and useful information. To interest a child is the task of parents and teachers.

Degree of adaptation

Two identical people do not exist. So children have their own psychological characteristics. Some people only need a few days to get used to the new conditions, and someone in a month will feel uncomfortable in someone else's team. Psychologists traditionally divide children into three groups. The first is babies with a slight degree of adaptation. This includes guys who quickly join the new team, make friends. Such children perfectly find a common language with teachers, all their attention is directed to the study of new subjects.

The second group of children is considered the most common. This includes children with an average degree of adaptation to school. The period of getting used to the new conditions is longer, it takes from several weeks to two months. At the initial stages of education, children do not accept the conditions in which they had to endure. In the lessons, they can talk with friends, not listen to the teacher’s comments. These guys initially do not show interest in learning. Especially often, this group includes children who did not attend preschool. Adaptation of children to school will be faster if parents will conduct an appropriate conversation with the children long before September 1. It is worth explaining to the kid that interesting changes are coming in life that will benefit. If necessary, a psychologist can work with the child.

The third group is children with a severe degree of adaptation. The child has negative forms of behavior, he does not listen to teachers, offends classmates. The opposite manifestation is also common - a small schoolboy closes himself. The child behaves very quietly, does not talk, does not answer the teacher's questions. In most cases, these guys practically do not learn the school curriculum. The problem of adapting a child to school most often has a reason. This is either a psychological trauma or a family disorder. Without a specialist in this situation can not do.

Difficulties still to be faced

Successful adaptation of a child to school is not an easy task. Even if the son or daughter belongs to the first group, that is, he easily establishes a common language with the new team, shows interest in learning, it is worthwhile to be prepared for the fact that you will encounter difficulties. The most common complaint of most parents is the laziness of a small student. In fact, the child is not to blame for anything. He just lost motivation. He is not interested in attending a particular lesson, doing homework in a particular subject. Surely many parents noticed that children are happy to attend classes such as singing, physical education, drawing. Because you can have fun on them. The task of teachers and parents is to interest the student in attending the subject for which interest has been lost.

Verbilism is another problem that many parents of first graders have to face. The problem is that many mothers and fathers from an early age of the baby pay great attention to the development of speech. A poem about a bear performed by a two-year-old child is tender. The kid is admired, which increases his self-esteem. At school, it turns out: all that a student can do is to speak beautifully, speak purely, and pronounce complex sounds clearly. At the same time, the processes of thinking are quite slow. The program (adaptation of children to school is a difficult way for every first grader) must include subjects that stimulate productive activity. This is drawing, modeling, designing, mosaic, etc.

Chronic failure

At the beginning of training, each child is a blank sheet. Why is it that one kid turns into an excellent student, and the other into an avid loser? Blaming a child for poor learning is stupid. Chronic poor performance is primarily a fault of parents, and only then teachers. What is going on? The little student does not cope with the task assigned to him, the mood decreases. At the same time, many parents only exacerbate the situation, begin to scold the baby. Uncertainty in their own abilities in a young student grows significantly. He does not want to continue his studies so as not to experience negative emotions again. Thus, chronic poor performance develops.

In the period of adaptation of children to school, parents should be patient. Moms and dads need to be prepared for the fact that many tasks for the baby will not be obtained immediately. If you properly encourage the child, reward for successful work, the student will want to attend classes again and again.

Every year, domestic educational methods are improved. In many educational institutions today it was decided not to give grades for work to first-class children. The results are already noticeable. Adaptation of children to school conditions is less painful.

How can a teacher help a child?

The first teacher is that person with the help of which the kid gets used to new conditions. According to a special program, the child is adapted to school. Methods are developed taking into account the psychological and age characteristics of students. The teacher can judge the degree of adaptation thanks to special tests that can be carried out at one of the classroom hours. To get a clearer picture, testing should be done at the end of the first quarter of training:

1. Methodology "Paints". The teacher gives children felt-tip pens or paints, as well as sheets of paper on which subjects related to certain lessons are depicted (a figure - mathematics, a pen - writing, a brush - drawing, accordion - singing, etc.). Students are encouraged to decorate the drawings. If the baby paints a certain object in a dark color, this indicates possible difficulties associated with it. The technique allows you to determine the performance of each child in one direction or another.
2. Method "What I like at school." The teacher suggests drawing a picture on a given topic. The image can be used to judge the psychological state of the child. Pay attention to the children whose drawings are far from school life. A teacher with a pointer, a blackboard in the images can talk about a high level of educational motivation.
3. Methodology "Sun, cloud, rain." Students are given leaflets depicting the described weather phenomena. The teacher offers to describe the condition at school, at home, with friends. The child outlines the drawing you like. In this way, the teacher determines which children have already fully adapted to school life (circled the sun).

At the end of the first quarter, you can conduct a small survey. Answers to questions will help to identify the level of adaptation of each child in the class. Questions may be as follows:

1. Do you like school?
2. If you were told that tomorrow everyone does not have to attend classes, would you come to school?
3. Do you like your classmates?
4. Would you like another teacher to work with you?
5. Are you happy when the lessons are canceled?
6. Are you friends with many classmates?
7. Would you like the changes to be longer and the lessons to be shorter?

To get honest answers to the questions, the questionnaire should be offered to children to fill out at home, together with their parents. Having identified the level of adaptation in the classroom, the teacher chooses a further work strategy. Practice shows that by the end of the first quarter, 90% of the guys are fully adapted to the new conditions.

Game as a way of adaptation

For children who are just adapting to new conditions, it is important to present new information in an interesting form for them. It is no accident that the first lessons in many educational institutions are held in the form of a game. The most difficult task for any first grader is to sit a whole lesson in its place. 40 minutes seems like a real eternity. The game “A diligent student” will come to the rescue. Children are invited to portray high school students who know how to behave in school. And to make the game interesting for kids, it is advisable to include a competitive moment. At the end of the lesson, the teacher indicates the most diligent students who are awarded prizes.

The psychological adaptation of the child to school will be easier if the child is familiar with classmates. Therefore, it is recommended that the school team conduct an interesting event in an informal setting before the start of the school year. The ideal option is a hike. During fun games in nature, kids can get to know each other. Parents, in turn, will have the opportunity to communicate more closely with the teacher.

What can parents do?

For a child who is just starting school, moral support is very important. The adaptation of a little student to new conditions depends on how mum and dad will behave correctly. It is worth supporting the baby in any of his endeavors and in no case do not scold him for failures. You should never compare your child with other students. It is necessary to make the student focus on his own result. For example, if today the son made only two mistakes in the homework, and yesterday there were three, this is already a real success, which is definitely worth noting!

What else should parents do? The work of adapting children to school is based on the formation of a certain daily regimen. It is necessary to teach the baby to go to bed in a timely manner, so that he can get up in the morning without problems. Hurry - additional stress for the baby. The child must know the exact procedure. In the morning - to school, at lunch - homework, in the evening - time to sleep, and on weekends you can have fun with your parents.

The child’s motivation to study school subjects also partially rests with the parents. Mom should explain why it is worth learning English (“Learn, and we will travel without problems”), mathematics (“You can count how many toys you have”), reading (“You can read the biggest fairy tale yourself”).

Medical advice

Adaptation of children to school affects the work of the immune system of students. It is especially difficult for children who have not previously attended a preschool. Kids often get sick, skip classes. This affects psychological adaptation. Frequent omissions lead to the fact that the child does not have time to establish communication in the team. How to deal with it? A pediatrician who will prescribe a suitable immunostimulating drug will help solve the problem. You can not engage in self-medication.

It will be possible to reduce the incidence rate if the first-graders' office in the school is moved to a separate block, where the children only contact teachers and peers. The health of the day is also affected. If a separate room is allocated, it will be possible to reduce the lessons in the first quarter to 35 minutes. Classes must be held in the morning. At this time, the guys are very active. The possibility of organizing daytime sleep is a huge plus. Children 6 years old are still very important rest in the afternoon. Thus, it is possible to restore brain activity, as well as physical activity.

Signs of successful adaptation

How to understand that children's adaptation to school is going well? The following signs can talk about this:

• the child comes from school cheerful, talks about impressions for the day;
• the baby has new friends;
• homework is done without tears and stress;
• the baby is upset if for several reasons he has to stay at home and not go to school;
• the child sleeps well, quickly falls asleep, wakes up without problems in the morning.

The presence of at least a few of the listed signs indicates that the child’s adaptation at school normally proceeds. Grade 1 can be full of vivid impressions and memories. But, unfortunately, far from all guys have a cloudless adaptation. If the baby does not sleep well, comes home from school tired, complains about the lack of friends, it is worth consulting with the teacher. Children with a severe degree of adaptation need the help of a psychologist.

Summarize

The child’s pedagogical adaptation to school will be quick and painless with proper interaction between teachers and parents. Success largely depends on the emotional state of the baby. A pleasant team at school, warm communication with family - all this will lead to the solution of the task. The child as quickly as possible adapts to new conditions and will accept the educational institution as part of his life.