Shaping futures – the importance of investing in primary education
The great Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, “Give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the man.” The early years of a child’s life are crucial to shaping the adults they will become and it’s for precisely this reason that I strongly advocate parents consider investing in their child’s primary education at The Froebelian School from the age of three.
Making a financial commitment to independent education requires serious consideration and for some families, available funds are finite. Rather than saving and waiting to invest when your child reaches senior school age at eleven, let me highlight some reasons why this might be a false economy.
It is widely known that young children are like sponges; they readily absorb new learning and do not have any preconceived ideas or attitudes towards school or education. They are like a blank canvas and these early years in their formative education are a prime time in which we can teach them some essential ‘learning to learn’ skills, also known as meta-cognition, and help them to develop a lifelong thirst for learning.
On a weekly basis, we celebrate key personal attributes which will be essential for their future lives such as the ability to collaborate with others, to take risks to build their resilience, to think strategically when problem-solving and to be curious about the world around them. We want our children to become independent and to take personal responsibility, to show determination when challenged and to explore their creativity.
Fostering positive attitudes to new experiences and opportunities allows our staff at Froebelian to ‘hook’ in children and expose them to a broad, rich and fulfilling curriculum in which their learning is fun and exciting. Our structured approach to learning, homework and daily reading mean that the children develop a strong work ethic and they are motivated to do well.
Children also need to be taught the skills of personal responsibility and organisation. From an early age, we support and encourage the children to become increasingly independent as they navigate their school day; teaching them how to forward plan, anticipate and prepare for lessons, extra-curricular activities, peripatetic music lessons and fixtures or trips. Daily routines are established and clear expectations are set and reinforced to help their day at school run smoothly with older children encouraged to anticipate challenges and empowered with strategies to handle these.
Positive attitudes towards learning, a strong academic foundation, a robust work ethic and well-developed personal organisation skills characterise Froebelian children and equip them for a smooth transition to their chosen senior school where they can thrive, be confident and enjoy success. There is no better springboard you could want for your child before they embark on their next steps in education and a life-time filled with learning. Why wait? Come and see how The Froebelian School can nurture and maximise your child’s potential from the age of three.