Need Advice

[mumoftwogymnasts]

Glad to hear she had fun at camp. My daughter abandoned Barbie and princesses at about the same age.

 

[cher062]

Mixed age groups in an educational setting is actually a very positive thing. So stepping on my soapbox for a moment......

I am in the education field and Studies from previous decades have shown that children can develop cognitively and socially through interacting with older and younger children especially if the span is greater than 2 years.

One important fact to have emerged is that children benefit greatly from the opportunity to become an 'expert' for younger children to learn from. Younger children look to the older ones to teach them, and older children view the younger ones as in need of teaching and support.

In the mixed-age learning environments where this level of interaction between children has been effectively achieved, there is likely to be a greater general sense of cooperation. Friendship groupings can cross traditional age boundaries and younger children can often view older children as part of the hierarchy of authority in their program when they share the same learning environment /classroom. This inevitably leads to a diminished need for teacher/coach intervention in the event of bad behaviour.

Perhaps not insignificant is the fact that mixed-age teaching resembles more closely the family setting that children with siblings find themselves in at home and in their neighborhoods. Growing up with other children of various ages means that they are more than capable of adapting to mixed ages in the a learning program and in everyday life situation.

Mixed-age groups are also an environment in which older children who are not yet achieving age-related goals may not feel the 'failures' they would in a mono-aged class.

Ok passing soap box to the next person.

 

[MdGymMom01]

I agree with the benefit of mixed age groups to a degree. My dd was in a Montessori school from the ages of 2 1/2 through kindergarten and did very well in this mixed age group setting. However, I think that the mixed ages can get complicated as the kids get older. Personally, I think it is innappropriate for a 10 year old to be sociallizing (sleep overs and weekend get-togethers) with a 13-14 year old. When kids reach middle school there are many emotional issues that are specific to just their age group that elementary school kids need not be exposed to.

Stepping down now. This is an interesting topic. Maybe we should start a new thread on this topic so that we do not further hijack the OP post on her dd and her camp experience.

 

[Shelovesthebars]

I agree with MdGymMom01 and Cher062. It takes a village to raise a child and yes, it would be a good time to start a new thread if someone so chooses.
She is doing fantastic at camp and having a blast. I was just originally concerned about the long day, new faces, and expectations. But, as usual, my dd is loving the challenge and new experiences that come with camp.

 

[MdGymMom01]

Here is the new thread I started:

Link Removed

 

[NotAMom]

Just one last thing before signing off (at least in this thread)... And, yes I do think we are diverging...

My point is not about having children of different ages socializing in the same group (that including internal structure of a family and structured class rooms etc.). For anyone who is aware of my rambling in these forums, I am an advocate for mixed culture, diversity and cross-training, etc. So, obviously, I also think interaction between different ages is all good (so long it's kept orderly and clean).

But... My response was about a younger child (yes, 5 yo - a toddle, not a 8/9yo and not a preteen, a teen or whatever) trying hard to fit into and idolizing an older age group.

I'll shut up now.

 

[MdGymMom01]

I totally hear what you are saying Notamom and totally agree. I think what set the divergence off was the fact that the little girl (a 5 year old) felt the need to ditch her "princess" lunchbox because she would appear "not cool" in front of much older teammates and kids at the camp. She is 5 years old for Pete's sake!!! And it is that line of thinking from the younguns that scares me into thinking that they are losing their innocence way too fast.