German Tots Learn to Answer Call of Nature

“IDSTEIN, Germany — Each weekday, come rain or shine, a group of children, ages 3 to 6, walk into a forest outside Frankfurt to sing songs, build fires and roll in the mud. To relax, they kick back in a giant “sofa” made of tree stumps and twigs.

The birthplace of kindergarten is returning to its roots. While schools and parents elsewhere push young children to read, write and surf the Internet earlier in order to prepare for an increasingly cutthroat global economy, some little Germans are taking a less traveled path — deep into the woods.”

Recently I registered Ben for kindergarten and was amazed as I listened to the other mothers in line. Many of them were planning on forking out the $350.00 a month to pay for enrichment kindergarten, which means the child will be in school all day long. A few parents I talked to were planning to do half days, but these other moms were so focused on a “whole day of learning” and how some of the teachers claimed it was better for the child academically. I just sat there marveling. After watching my four older children develop, I am convinced my job as a mother is to protect my childs right to PLAY until he or she is eight years old. This creative non organized/non scheduled time is crucial for them to develop imagination and a sense of self.
Ben will be one of our only children to attend school from kindergarten to high school and I am very curious to see how it all goes. If I feel that he is being harmed by the intensity of the academics, we’ll pull him out and homeschool. He will be almost six when he starts in the fall, and with only half days, it will be like glorified preschool. He is very excited to attend school like his big brothers and sisters do. But I have qualms about him having too much academic pressure. I loved reading about these german schools that are so relaxed and fun.
This quote from the article claims that a debate is taking place.

“Mimi Howard, a director at the Education Commission of the States, which advises states on policy from Denver, says some U.S. teachers feel pressure “to push academics earlier and earlier.” The federal No Child Left Behind law introduced standardized testing for reading and writing by third grade, but some studies recommend more “open-ended learning experiences” for young children. “We’re in the debate phase,” she says.”

These educrats would not have to work so hard teaching children the basics if they would just dump whole language reading curriculums and use phonics to teach all of the children. I feel a very gentle and unstructured introduction to reading is best for the child, with an ideal being fifteen minutes a day of reading and writing practice with Mom starting when the child can hold a pencil. Maria Montessori belived it was best to teach a child to write and then the reading would come naturally. She believed five year olds were “wired” to want to learn how to write and read and handle the frustrations inherent in the process. I have really observed this with Ben as he has happily started writing notes to his Dad and wants to show everyone how well he can write his name etc…
Jenny Hatch