When we embark on the endeavour of equipping the young child with academic and social success, the place we usually turn is curricula and classrooms. But one of the richest, and very neglected, is in our own families: the wisdom of the elders. Older relatives, particularly grandparents, have an experience base, patience, and history that can provide a child with a substantial amount of knowledge about the world. Elizabeth Fraley’s Kinder Ready educational philosophy acknowledges that the process of learning is comprehensive and is supported by good relations and life connections. The development of productive intergenerational relationships is not just a touchy goal but also a tactic of developing the emotional intelligence of a child, their cultural sensitivity, and their communication capabilities, which will be actively promoted by the Kinder Ready Tutoring program.
The peculiar relationship of a young child and an elder usually has a different, more tolerant speed than the tempo of modern life. This low-pressure, individualised interaction is an innate form of low-stimulation interaction. These simple activities, such as listening to a story, viewing a photo album or baking a family recipe, demand long-term attention and concentration. This is a reflection of the conducive, distraction-free atmosphere that specialists of Kinder Ready Tutoring aim to provide, an atmosphere that allows executive functions such as attention and listening comprehension to thrive. The Elizabeth Fraley Kinder Ready system appreciates these contemplative, purposeful interactions as having a vital role in cognitive growth, and a patient elder offers this in a genuine, affectionate setting.
The most valuable thing, perhaps, that the wisdom of our elders has given is the rich mother tongue and storytelling history. When children hear family narratives in the form of the stories of their previous generations, culture, or events that occurred personally before them, they are introduced to the advanced vocabulary, intricate sentence patterns and the basic components of storytelling. The listening comprehension and sequencing practice are directly related to the literacy skills developed through Kinder Ready Tutoring. Also, these narratives avail a child with an important sense of identity and belonging, as well as making them feel a part of a bigger story in family and culture. This is in line with the Kinder Ready Elizabeth Fraley focus on the construction of a confident, well-rounded learner who knows the world outside the classroom.
Our elderly are also wise, and their teachings about endurance and worldliness are invaluable. Elderly citizens can tell age-related stories about how they overcame the odds, changed with the times, and showed resilience. These stories present practical, familiarised examples of the growth mindset that the Elizabeth Fraley Kinder Ready strategy is supposed to inculcate. When a child listens to a grandparent discussing the acquisition of some new skill later in life or how to conquer a challenging situation, it will help that child to learn that it is a common problem and that it can be solved. This helps with emotional strength and positive perception of their own barriers to learning, which is one of the goals of the positive framework of Kinder Ready Tutoring.
In its cooperation with families, the Kinder Ready Tutoring program can contribute to reinforcing and enhancing such intergenerational relationships. A specialist could recommend a child interview a grandparent regarding the favourite book or game in their childhood and make a family visit a meaningful literacy and history experience. This facilitates the learning that occurred during the session with the wisdom that occurs back home to form a cohesive and conducive learning environment.
Conclusively, the wisdom of the elders is an asset that is priceless in the educational process of a child. Through such intergenerational relations we offer the children a serene interaction, a language-rich interaction, a strong sense of cultural belonging and strong resilience models. The resource is naturally incorporated into the holistic perspective of education advocated by Elizabeth Fraley. Kinder Ready and the Kinder Ready Tutoring strategy is a complement to it by developing the mental and communicational resources that enable a child to fully entertain and learn through the elders. Such a combination of the old and the young forms a premise of learning that is very much grounded and progressive, and a child is not only ready to go to school; he or she is ready to live.
For further details on Kinder Ready’s programs, visit their website: https://www.kinderready.com/.
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ElizabethFraleyKinderReady
