Succeeding in the Primary Years

Teaching children from Pre-Kindergarten through the Third Grade can be both challenging and very rewarding. While some parents find these the easiest grades to teach, they often demand the most patience.

Teaching Pre-K through Grade 3

Because of the young age of the student and because of the introductory nature of most of the material, the experience will be most successful if you are sensitive to your child’s attention span, and allow your child to master basic concepts before proceeding to the next level. This will build confidence in your child, and make this energetic age level smoother for you to teach. At this level, it is usually best to have several short lessons rather than one long lesson.

In these grades, as in every grade, it is unnecessary for your students to complete every exercise in every book, but they need to master all the concepts.

Establish discipline early

The first thing to realize when teaching the primary levels is the value of discipline. Establish discipline early. If you don’t establish discipline in young children, you may struggle with disobedience when they are older. If they don’t learn to obey you immediately when you tell them to open their Math book for addition and subtraction, they won’t open up their Geometry book ten years later.

One of the most common questions we are asked is, “What do I do when my child will not do any work unless I am sitting down right beside him? If I turn my back or go put in a load of laundry, when I come back, he is playing rather than doing his work.”

A child who likes to play when you are not around is not unusual, nor is it a terrible thing. In the primary levels, children are still being trained to be self-disciplined. At this age, this is one main goal you are working towards.

Set realistic expectations

Remember, if you keep yourself in good emotional health, avoid becoming frustrated, and set realistic expectations for yourself, your peace and tranquility will be reflected in your child. One of our favorite stories to tell moms of preschoolers is that of the child who said to his mom after a so-called “disaster” occurred, “It’s OK, mom. Accidents happen.”

This is the attitude you want to strive for, both for yourself and your child. Be calm and decide upon which things to expend your time and energy. You have many things you could do each day, but remember, you may not get everything done, and that is fine.

Goals and motivation

You want to set realistic goals to keep your child on track. These can include setting time limits, or determining the amount of work to complete. For example, you could set a timer for so many minutes in which to complete an assignment, or you could ask your child to complete the next two pages of the workbook.

Find the system that works best for you and for your child. Once your child learns to read and work independently, 15-30 minutes of concentrating on a book each day is a great way to develop further reading skills. This will also help instill self-motivation, self-discipline, and a love of learning.