Education begins in the family from birth, and until children reach the age of 3, they continue the education, rules and achievements they received in the family in kindergartens after this age. Kindergarten is the place where 3-6 year old children can express their colorful worlds most freely after home, provided that they comply with certain rules of society. The main purpose of kindergartens is to prepare children for primary school, and they are also places where they help children learn, explore, take responsibility, say "we" instead of "I", and reveal their inherent talents and creativity. Children reveal their colorful world with the most beautiful game. In these places, children interact with their peers, play group games, take responsibility, learn to share, protect their own rights, respect the rights of others, and compromise. They learn to take care of their own needs, gain responsibilities such as eating and tying their shoes. These activities greatly support their development. Kindergartens are a stimulating feature for children, children greatly improve their language skills such as expressing themselves and expression in classroom and friend environments.
Children in kindergartens learn to use their language more accurately, colors, shapes, acquisition of a second language, professions, They are involved in various activities that include artistic and physical activities and games such as countries, flags, painting, music, and these types of activities contribute greatly to their physical, cognitive and psychological development.
Another characteristic of kindergarten is that the teacher at this age They are places where children's psychological and developmental problems can be detected early and solved with a counselor who knows their children's needs, knows their development levels, has pedagogical formation and can receive psychological guidance. The starting age for kindergarten is generally around 3, 3-5 years old. At this age, children gradually get used to being apart from their parents and begin to spend more time with their friends. Some children have difficulty separating from their parents, and kindergartens help to integrate such children into society and socialize them with their peers.
Kindergarten children's first There are certain criteria that determine whether children are ready for preschool education, as well as preparing them for school education. In this article, information will be given about the developmental processes of preschool children and attachment theory, and information will be given about whether children are ready for kindergarten, as well as what the criteria are for choosing the right kindergarten.
Things to Consider When Choosing a Kindergarten
Choosing the right teacher:
Many studies show that the earlier education is started, the more enterprising and proactive one is in later academic life, social life and contribution to society. He argues that there will be willingness. (Eser, 2010; Şahin, 2010; Tezcan, 2011, Kıldan, 2012). Therefore, education and the quality of education at these ages are of great importance. The fact that the first years of life play a decisive role in people's cognitive, behavioral and emotional development highlights the impact of pre-school education teachers on children. Preschool education teachers must have high qualifications. Only highly qualified teachers can fulfill the responsibilities of such an important and critical period (Gürkan, 2005). The biggest responsibility in this regard falls to pre-school teachers, after the family. Preschool teachers should be experienced people who can communicate well, play with children, sing with them, empathize with them, sing with them, and learn with them as much as they teach them.
Preschool teachers are appropriate to children's needs when necessary. He is the one who knows how to give the answer. Since children at this age spend the most time with their teachers after their parents, the first person they will look up to after their parents is their teacher. Therefore, preschool teachers should be people who have knowledge of child development and psychology and provide them with versatile support when necessary.
Preschool teacher. When children ask him questions, he should answer them without getting bored. In addition, he should further examine children's curiosity, conduct experiments with them, help them take responsibility, help them work in teams with other children and help them think critically. The warm and reliable attitude of the teacher creates a safe connection with the child. � should contribute to the child's relationships by establishing If the child has a safe relationship with his teacher, he will be able to socialize more easily with other adults.
Supervision and Guidance:
All quality institutions and organizations need their performance to be evaluated and Inspection is the most common method used to measure the success of schools. (Yavuz, 2010).
Supervision and guidance are one of the most important dynamic factors that increase the quality of education. It also has an important role in repeating learning and teaching activities in the classroom. As well as institutions, teachers working in that institution also need feedback to be supervised and to measure their own performance. In this regard, teachers should gain more academic and practical knowledge by getting external support.
Another important issue in kindergartens is guidance. Students need a psychological counselor in case of any problems or issues that families and teachers need help with. These people should be experienced experts who understand child development and psychology. Children attending kindergarten may experience psychological disorders such as aggression, bedwetting, incontinence, and eating disorders. In such cases, the best thing to do is to consult a specialist.
Environment, Classroom Environment, Open Space and Number of Children: strong>
According to Loris Malaguzzi, ''The environment is the third teacher.''
Steiner explains the effect of the environment on learning with the following words: “The child He can only reach his true potential in a learning environment equipped for his development. For this reason, it is necessary to adopt a design approach that gives importance to affective diversity in designing suitable spaces at early ages.” Therefore, adventurous, colorful environments that will stimulate the child's colorful world even more, such as children's, contribute significantly to education. It allows children to use their physical and mental abilities at the right potential.
Some studies have revealed that there is a relationship between building conditions and student success. The importance of space in child-environment relationship studies, especially in early childhood education plays an important role in the team. (Biçer, 1993; Akgül&Yıldırım, 1995; Aydın, 2000; Şener, 2001; Uludağ&Odacı, 2002; Terzioğlu, 2005; Steiner, 2008).
Research shows that playgrounds are only physically It has been revealed that it is important not only for strength, but also for the development of mental, social and emotional skills. The play area should include different types of play, such as creative games, games with natural elements, water and sand games. The child must experience various places in order to form spatial awareness and stimulate perception and motor development. In order for the child to have a sense of space, he/she must learn various concepts such as above-under, inside-outside, open-closed, right-left, near and far. Repetition of shapes, textures, colours, designs and sounds is important to enable children to learn. A playground provides the child with information about shape, size, number, relationship between pieces, etc. It should help to develop concepts.(Dönmez, 1992; Wilson, 1996; Aral, Gürsoy&Köksal, 2000; Tekkaya, 2001; Yılmaz&Bulut, 2003; Tuğrul, 2005; Güler, 2009; Duman, 2010; Gülay, 2011). strong>
Talking about the classroom environment, the class size should be maximum 12-15 people and there should be two teachers. Tables, chairs, toy and material cabinets should be within reach of children. Tables should be positioned in different areas (art, science, board games, reading and writing). There should be imaginative play areas such as post office, coffee shop, spaceport, boat. There should be posters, visuals and applications related to behavior and classroom management. The daily flow should be visualized in a way that children can understand. There should be boards with children's works where visuality is important.
Nutrition:
One of the most important factors that directly affects the child's physical, emotional development and social behavior depends on his age and gender. Nutrition is one of the most important factors affecting growth and development in childhood. (UNICEF 2002). There is also a lot of research suggesting that nutrition is related to intelligence. Preschool age children are more interested in the environment than food. They also start to choose food, so it is a right decision to feed children when they are hungry, introduce them to foods, and explain their benefits and the vitamins they contain, instead of forcing them to eat.
The purpose of nutrition in the preschool period is; Ensuring growth and development with sufficient nutritional diversity. In this period when the growth rate is slow and motor development occurs rapidly, the goal should be to plan nutrition, develop eating behavior and acquire positive eating habits throughout life (ADA 1998).
Game :
As children play, their fine and gross motor skills develop. Sand, clay, water, dough, cutting, gluing, drawing, painting, etc. Games help develop children's small muscles; throwing a ball, building a tower, jumping rope, etc. Games make significant contributions to the development of large muscles. These types of games contribute significantly to the development of hand and eye coordination in children. At the same time, children have the opportunity to try the skills necessary in daily life through games. (Sevinç 2004, Koçyiğit et al. 2007).
Children can express their feelings such as joy, hatred, search for love and aggression through play. Children learn social rules, interpersonal relationships and communication in the easiest and harmless way through play. People learn to take turns, share, respect the rights of others, respect rules and restrictions, acquire order and cleanliness habits, listen to what is said, express their feelings and thoughts, establish empathy, and communicate effectively with others during play, which is one of the most effective tools in preparing for social life. (Seyrek 2003).
Program and School Readiness:
The program to be used is parallel to the child's developmental level, multiple intelligence principles. It should be at a level that will contribute to the development of children prepared accordingly.
The programs that need to be implemented should activate multiple sensory organs of the child and give the child experience.
Another purpose of these programs is to ensure that the child is ready for school. The ability to be ready for school affects the child's entire educational life.
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