How to help a child become a student? The Day of Parental Competence at KBSU

130 parents of future first-graders from different regions of the republic visited the next Day of Parental Competence at the Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after H.M. Berbekov to discuss the problem of the child’s psychological readiness for schooling.

The lesson was conducted by employees of the Parental Advisory Center as part of the KBSU, which provides free services to parents under the grant of the national project «Education».

The head of the center, candidate of psychological sciences Rimma Bagova spoke about the psychophysiological foundations of school maturity.

The child’s brain is still being formed, so many future first-graders have insufficiently developed processes of self-control, regulation of their activities, they still have low mental performance. Therefore, parents and teachers need to know the methods of involving children in joint activities, be able to create a positive, supportive emotional atmosphere,

— said Rimma Bagova.

The center’s consultant, candidate of psychological sciences Budimir Nagoev analyzed the child’s psychological readiness for school from the standpoint of attitudes and expectations. The psychologist emphasized that going to school is a significant and turning point in the life of both the child and the parents, so it is important to form the correct attitude of the child to the school, and this is significantly influenced by the position and attitude of the parents themselves towards the school.

Budimir Nagoev explained to the parents that it is important to form the motivation of the future student to obtain knowledge, and not “chase” for grades. The conversation also touched upon the issue of the relationship between parents and the teacher: what position should parents take in order to maintain the authority of the teacher in the eyes of the child.

What should a future first grader be able to do? What components are included in the psychological readiness of the child for schooling? The guests were looking for answers to these questions together with Rakhima Malkarova, Candidate of Psychological Sciences, consultant of the center.

Psychological readiness for school is the level of development of the child, necessary and sufficient for mastering the school curriculum in the conditions of learning in a peer group. A child can be called psychologically ready for school if the motivational, volitional, communicative, emotional and cognitive components are sufficiently and evenly developed,

– said Rakhima Malkarova.

The program of the Day of Parental Competence was completed by the training seminar «Parents’ readiness for the child to enter school», developed by the consultant of the center, candidate of pedagogical sciences Rimma Kumysheva.

The author of the training proceeded from the questions: how ready are parents to become intermediaries between their children and the school? Do they know all the components of a child’s readiness for school and are they ready for their formation?

A survey of guests showed that most parents are not ready to arouse and support a child’s desire to learn; assist in the preparation of an oral response; contribute to the mental development of the child, many of those present will not be able to instill responsibility and commitment in their children, to establish a regimen for their activities and rest.

Tasks for parents were focused on developing in children the ability to analyze a text according to a given scheme and construct its summary; express your opinion and argue it when solving simple mathematical problems; group and classify words according to the difference in their meanings. Especially for parents, Rimma Kumysheva developed situational tasks for optimal communication with children; time management task. Parents considered it extremely important to learn how to plan the time of the child, taking into account the many of his new responsibilities and the need for his full development of outdoor games, walks in the fresh air.

In the reflective part of the training, parents noted the usefulness of the tasks they completed and generously shared their experience of interacting with children. Their speeches were interpreted from a scientific point of view and supplemented by Rimma Kumysheva.

The participants of the event expressed satisfaction with the organization of the work, noted the relevance of the issues discussed, the novelty of the proposed exercises and tasks, and expressed their readiness to use them. Most parents said they leave more prepared for the new status of their children.