What is a mixed age group
This is a group in which children differ from each other in age and development. Most often, such groups are taught in kindergartens. To create a multi-age group, it is not enough to simply gather children from 3 to 7 years old in one place. The group requires a special educational program: children study the same material, but older ones study at an in-depth level. Teachers also delegate some of the household and pedagogical tasks to the older children: the elders help the younger ones get dressed, put away the dishes, and explain tasks. Most often, multi-age education is used in kindergartens working according to the Montessori approach or within the framework of Waldorf pedagogy.
What does it mean?
A combined kindergarten is an institution that combines groups of various types. This means that, along with healthy children, those who have certain health problems can study in a preschool institution. For example, in such kindergartens there are speech therapy, rehabilitation and general development groups.
The institution is indicated for the following categories of children:
- gifted;
- ordinary;
- with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy;
- with speech defects;
- with poor vision, hearing;
- allergy sufferers;
- those lagging behind in mental and physical development;
- with weak immunity;
- with a low level of adaptation.
Whether a child needs a combined type of kindergarten can be determined by a pediatrician after an examination and analysis of his morbidity over the past year. The doctor will be able to determine which group the baby should be sent to. The main purpose of a combined kindergarten is adaptation to the environment and preparation for further proper development.
Such educational institutions help children with various disabilities to function at the level of an average person. Groups are formed, as in a regular kindergarten, according to age.
Mixed-type kindergartens have the material and technical base that is necessary for the education and training of healthy children and those who have certain diseases.
What are the pros and cons of different age groups?
Accelerated development
. In a mixed-age group, younger and older children help each other communicate and learn. The younger ones develop faster, catching up with the older ones. The elders learn responsibility, and also “consolidate” knowledge and skills by helping the younger ones in everyday life and with tasks.
Model of society.
A group of children of different ages more closely resembles the real world - a child already in kindergarten understands the principles of communication in real life.
Development of emotional intelligence
. In such groups, children see a huge range of emotional reactions: some are upset because of the absence of their mother, others are happy about their first victories. Children learn to empathize and develop empathy. Many gain experience of communicating with peers other than their peers, which an only child in the family cannot get.
Minimum conflicts
. Peers may have more conflicts than children of different ages. In addition, children of different ages react differently in conflict: if a three-year-old is stubborn and does not share the toy, then a six-year-old will give in to the younger one or offer another way that will suit everyone.
Difficulties in adaptation
. In groups of different ages, it is more difficult for newcomers than in groups of peers. In such groups, some of the children leave the kindergarten, and new ones arrive at the beginning of the school year. They have to integrate into the existing structure of the group and much depends not on the children themselves, but on the attention of the teachers.
Little attention from teachers
. Some educators may place too much responsibility on older children and not pay enough attention to younger ones. Or, on the contrary, pay attention only to the younger ones, thinking that the older ones will cope on their own.
Advantages and disadvantages
Many parents do not know whether to send their child to a combined kindergarten. To make the right decision, you need to understand what advantages and disadvantages such an institution has. According to reviews from mothers and pediatricians, mixed-type kindergartens have many advantages.
Among the positive aspects of studying at the institution, it is worth highlighting the following:
- It is believed that children, being in a combined kindergarten, recognize each other’s characteristics. This gives them the understanding that everyone is different;
- psychologists say that children with physical and psychological disabilities adapt faster and develop better when they have the opportunity to observe healthy children;
- children with a low level of adaptation learn to quickly adapt to new conditions;
- use of individual programs. Regular kindergartens are aimed at healthy children. Children with physical and mental disabilities have a hard time in such an institution. The child may face rejection by his classmates and teacher. In a combined kindergarten, the pupil is treated taking into account the individual characteristics of his development;
- the child does not feel like an outcast in society. This allows him to grow up to be a full-fledged, self-confident person, to have a normal personal life and career;
- The institution creates a special staff of educators trained to work with children with certain disabilities. All of them are required to have a medical or pedagogical education. The staff includes speech therapists, speech pathologists, immunologists, rehabilitation specialists, psychologists, psychotherapists;
- children in a combined kindergarten receive more attention than in a regular preschool;
- the conditions necessary for the growth and development of a child with certain needs are provided;
- The characteristics of the baby’s reaction to certain foods are taken into account. For children with gastritis, allergies to certain foods, a special diet is selected;
- Physical and mental defects are eliminated or significantly reduced.
The disadvantages of combined kindergartens are as follows:
- problems may arise when registering a child in a regular secondary school;
- the enrollment process involves going through a number of stages;
- difficulties in registering for such a preschool institution;
- a combined kindergarten may be located far from your place of residence. This creates certain inconveniences when visiting it;
- In order for such an institution to help a child with certain needs develop correctly, it is necessary to maintain a special attitude towards the baby at home.
How to organize work in groups of different ages
Maintain age symmetry
. Mixed-age groups work effectively if they include peers for everyone. Ideally, there should be an equal number of children of each age in the group. This rarely happens in practice, but it is important that one six-year-old does not study in a group with three-year-olds. Such a group would not be considered truly diverse in age. Balance helps everyone find communication partners.
Arrange the environment
. Children of different ages have different play and learning needs. Therefore, it is important to create a developmental environment that suits everyone. The Reggio or Montessori approach is best suited for these tasks. It is zoned and children can go in small groups or individually to different corners. In the common area they can communicate with each other and play group games.
Experiment with the mode
. Most often, the daily routine suits all preschoolers at once, but the younger and older ones may not agree on small details. Younger children need a little more time to sleep, so older ones may need to be woken up later. Also, younger children need more time to dress and eat.
Learn to work in small groups
. Moreover, it is advisable to constantly change the composition of these groups, adhering to only one rule: each group should contain children of different ages. Working in small groups helps children communicate effectively. Also, in microgroups, older children better convey their experience to the younger ones.
Use rituals
. Although small group activities are effective, preschoolers should not forget that they are a group. Rituals help with this: a common circle at the end of the day, a password that must be said to enter the group, chants on the way to your site. Almost anything can be a ritual: for example, you can read fairy tales before bed, which the children choose in turn.
Pay attention to everyone
. You cannot shift responsibility to older children. It is important that everyone, both junior and senior, receives care from the teacher. Otherwise, older children gradually take on responsibility and demand power commensurate with it.
How to get into a correctional group?
Getting into the correctional group of a combined kindergarten is not easy. To do this, it is not enough to sign up and wait your turn. Parents will have to go through a number of stages with their child.
First you need to make an appointment with your pediatrician. It is necessary for the doctor to examine the baby and refer him for a commission.
You will need to obtain the opinion of narrow specialists: for example, a defectologist, a neurologist, a psychologist, a surgeon and a number of other doctors. It all depends on what disorders there are in the baby’s development. Based on the conclusion, it is determined which group of mixed kindergarten the child should be enrolled in.
Usually, parents try to send their child to a preschool located near their home. But combined type kindergartens are less common than general developmental ones. In addition, some establishments may not have space. With the received conclusion, you should join the electronic queue.
To enroll your child in a mixed kindergarten, you must provide the following package of documents:
- photograph size 9x12;
- voucher issued by the education committee or recruitment commission. It should be drawn up on the basis of the conclusion and recommendations of a psychological, medical and pedagogical commission for children who have deviations in physical and mental development;
- a copy of the child's birth certificate. It is certified by the head of the educational institution based on presentation of the original. Kept in the child’s personal file;
- a statement written by the parents;
- baby's medical record;
- a copy of the parents' passport pages. Certified on the basis of the provided original.
This is an approximate list of documentation for enrolling a child in kindergarten. Combined preschool institutions may require different packages of papers. You should familiarize yourself with the list of required documentation by visiting the educational institution or by calling the administration. The recruitment of a mixed kindergarten is carried out on the basis of a federal order.
The child must meet the age category. It is determined individually by each institution. It all depends on the material and technical base and staff of the kindergarten. As a rule, a mixed educational institution accepts children who are three years old.
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Tips on how to choose a good kindergarten:
Thus, combined kindergartens consist of groups of different directions. They can accommodate average children, those with developmental disabilities, and gifted individuals. It's not easy to get into such an establishment.
You need to go through a series of doctors, get a conclusion, and stand in line. But we must remember that such institutions have many advantages. Thanks to them, a baby with certain characteristics can grow up to be a normal, full-fledged person.
Indications for placing a baby in a combined group
If you yourself want your child with special needs to be raised and educated in a combined group, and there is one in the kindergarten, then you submit an application for admission addressed to the head. In addition, you need to bring various documents:
- Birth certificate or copy;
- Conclusions of doctors: ophthalmologist, speech therapist, neurologist, otolaryngologist, orthopedist;
- Extract from the history of the child's development;
- Recommendation from a teacher-psychologist or speech therapist at a preschool institution, if the child is already attending kindergarten.
Next, you will need to take a referral and go through a special commission, which gives an opinion on the child’s possibility of attending such a group. Usually, the Regulations on the combined group of a particular kindergarten prescribe the conditions for admitting children to this group.
Since the occupancy rate in preschool educational institutions in most regions of our country is now high, there is a practice of placing a child on a waiting list for admission to kindergarten. Therefore, I advise you to take care of collecting all kinds of certificates, etc. in advance. I know that some kindergartens have opened electronic registration for the queue. So don't leave this question to the deadline.
I also wanted to raise such a sensitive issue as the negative attitude of some parents of healthy children towards raising them together with children with disabilities. Yes, it happens that mothers directly rebel against the combined group, believing that it can harm their child.
I would like to say the following: according to the experience of my colleagues who have been working in combined groups for a long time, both sides benefit. Healthy kids, brought up in the same team with special children, become more sensitive, kind and tolerant of the shortcomings of other people. They are accustomed to perceiving their comrades with disabilities as their equals, not paying attention to any features of appearance and health.
The number of children with developmental and physical disabilities is growing every year. Therefore, the task of a civilized society is to provide such people with an equal position in all spheres of life.
I'll add a few more words...
My friend’s son ended up through an acquaintance in a kindergarten for children with visual impairments, because it was more convenient for them. The boy was used to seeing children with glasses, squints, and poor vision. And when he got into a class where there was only one boy with glasses, he could not understand why they were laughing at him, because he simply had trouble seeing...
Remember, in our Soviet childhood, at school they teased everyone who was at least in some way different from the masses: bespectacled, lop-eared, too light-skinned, and vice versa - dark-skinned, plump and thin. To be like everyone else was considered commendable. Today, the humanity of society has nevertheless increased, it seems to me. There is much less teasing in children's groups and fewer offensive nicknames are given.
