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Strollerderby
Teaching Self-Control in Kindergarten
Here’s an interesting question: What is kindergarten for?
People’s beliefs about that pretty much fall into two camps: It’s either to learn through play and exploration, or it’s to prepare children through pre-academic activities for first grade and beyond.
An interesting article in the School Issue of the New York Times Magazine, published yesterday, dives into the different views of both camps. It also discusses an emerging school of thought that holds that self-regulation skills are the most important things to teach children in those early years. Educators working in a program called Tools of the Mind are using things like directed pretend play to help children learn to think. The idea is that by learnign to avoid distractions, order their thoughts, process information coherently, and hold relevant details in their short term memory, they can tackle harder and more academic tasks effectively.
Most kids, after all, are not born with oodles of self-control to say the least. But proponents of the Tools of the Mind approach say that the ability to control one’s impulses is strongly correlated with success in school.
The whole article is very well-written and in a lot more depth than I have space for here. But if you’re interested in the ways that children learn what actually goes on in those little heads, it’s absolutely worth a read.
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Ali commented on Sep 29 09 at 9:49 pmLearning self control comes with age. You cant rush it if their brain is not ready.
GP commented on Sep 30 09 at 12:39 pmI read the chapter in “Nurtureshock” on this, though not the article, yet, and I have to say, by “self-control” it seems to mean something different that what I think of when I first think of children and that phrase. It’s more about sticking with a project or play thing they’re doing rather than bouncing around. It’s about coaching them to stay focused. Not sure how I feel about that. I think its probably healthy and developmentally normal for 2-3 year olds to bounce around from thing to thing…but the program reads well and has had good success, from what the book says.
AJ commented on Feb 12 11 at 3:37 pmChildren are able to develop self-control at the pre-school age with proper guidance. Their ability to take turns/sharing, attend at circle, wait their turn, raise their hand, and communicate their needs to their peers all aid in self-regulation. These are important tools that a good early childhood and kindergarten curriculum will instill and foster in pre-school age children. These are basic skills that lay the groundwork for future learning to take place. Inherently, the majority of children are able to learn self-control but it takes work from the parent in conjunction with their teachers to scaffold these skills. Early childhood educators know the importance of these skills at an early age–for each child and class as a whole. Yes, children should be moving from one activity to another as they are very much in need of movement but it’s whether the “moving” around is taking place in the appropriate setting and within limits ie running around a restaurant vs the park or moving from activities in a school or home. Sometimes, we don’t realize that children are so capable, that we do not set the necessary expectations that they crave and need.
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