Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

As my son is now 2 and a half, he would have been starting pre school in 6 months but as we are now on our way to Canada, this wont be happening!

Can anyone tell me how the school system works in Canada - I know kids start school alot later but not sure how it works for the younger kids?

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

They go to school, they make lots of friends, they learn, they take exams and then they leave. Young and old kids are the same:thumbsup:

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

They start Kindergarten at 5 - half days. Or at least that is how it works with my kids. After kindergarten they go on to grade 1 etc which is just normal full-time school.

And for younger kids there are pre-schools that they can go to if you want them to. more like playgroups than anything else and they are not compulsory. I never bothered sending my younger one to preschool because I couldn't find one close enough to where we lived that had spaces available. She starts Kindergarten in September.

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

Have a look in the Wiki (on blue bar at top of page), there is lots of info about schooling in there.

:)

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

I work part time in a preschool in Calgary. Your son can have a place in a preschool from 3 years old. Generally, children do up to 2 years in preschool before starting kindergarten. At the preschool i work in, the 3 year old program is generally playbased learning (free play rather than structured) with some 'circle time' where we do basics like listening to a story, days of the week, first colours, numbers and counting, rhymes and singing. We also do music and movement activities and some early pencil control as well as arts and crafts. The children in the 4 year old program follow a slightly more structured approach, both with play and with early writing and circle time activities to prepare them slowly for kindergarten.
Having worked in both the UK and the Canadian preschool system, my opinion is that both systems work along very similar lines, with the difference that the Canadian system has an extra year of preschool before formal schooling.
Hope this helps

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

The suggestion that any child needs preparation for kindergarten seems rather ridiculous to me:D

Why not just call it what it is: Daycare

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

My daughter(age 6) has just finished 2 years of part time kindergarten and whilst I had reservations at first of it only being part time it has actually worked out well. It has allowed us to continue doing other fun stuff in the week (gymnastics, swimming etc) that wouldn't have been possible if she'd been full time from the start and has proved to me how much your child at that age 'learns' outside of the classroom too. Although working mums might appreciate full time school earlier.

My son (age 3) has just finished 6 months of preschool and it seemed very similar to what my daughter had in the UK at that age.

Once you settle in to a community you will quickly find out about mother and baby groups, preschools, day care that are available. The only major difference from the UK that I have noticed is that some of the preschool are co-op which mean that they oblige you to help out a few times a month.

Good luck

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

I think its more to do with socialization than anything at that age, going from being at home most of the time to JK with 20 other kids could be a bit overwhelming otherwise.


Having said that, offspring #1 was relatively stimulated at the coop nursery school we enrolled in, but things have slipped there of late and #2 was bored and cranky half the time. For that reason she will be starting at the local Montessori school in the fall, where hopefully there will be a bit more focus on learning letters etc... Certainly more to it than simply daycare as far as we are concerned.


We do have serious concerns about the provinces plans to adopt full time kindergarden as our eldest definitely needed time to unwind between school days and get used to the big change gradually. I can understand how where both parents work they might appreciate the change, but for us it was nice to be able to hang out on the non school days. However, I think the full time kindergarden idea only applies to Senior Kindergarden anyway.

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

But the arguments you have put forward are issues that will be addressed by a well run daycare.

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

As someone who has worked in early years teaching and across the primary age range for many many years, and knows the value of a stimulating, well planned and structured early years program for young children, I find your comments patronising and rather rude. Perhaps if you cannot contribute anything constructive to this thread you shouldn't contribute at all.

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

Daycare is not specifically a learning environment though. What we were seeking was a way to smooth the transition from them being at home with a stay at home mum, to the dog eat dog world of 20 kids and one teacher in Junior Kindergarden. It was not just about finding a safe environment while both parents had to be at work.

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

I believe it varies from province to province but in Ontario kids start in Junior Kindergarten in the September of the year in which they have their 4th birthday. In most places it is 1/2 days (some places do full days where one week the kids go 3 days a week and the following week it is 2 days a week) and Senior Kindergarten is the same system. After that it is full time from Grade 1 to 12 and after that college or university or the real world.

Very few drop out at 16 of their own free will and with parental blessings these days (I think that is when you can finish in Ontario but I may be mistaken).

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

Well, if you can point me to any peer reviewed academic authority for the proposition that children require "preparation" for kindergarten I will happily provide you with an unpatronizing apology.

I was not rude in my post and I stand by my comment stated above that it is glorified daycare.

I have deliberately stayed out of the "Daycare or homecare is best" debate, as I find that both sides of that argument are convinced that their position is correct and that there is little mileage to be gained from the same.

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

But you post above made reference to "socialization" surely they achieve such benefit at a daycare?

I am happy to be proven wrong.

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

Good luck with finding proof. Its all conjectures and refutations, I believe.

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

As I said, that was PART of it, but far from the whole story, as anyone who has looked into preschool would know. Offspring #1 was happy to learn phonics etc at home with mum, but did not do well in noisy busy environments where she was not the center of attention, so FOR HER, it was about socialization.

With #2 its (not suprisingly) a different situation. She has a shorter attention span but is totally unphased in a large crowd. However, trying to teach her basic phonics etc at home is a lot harder, hence giving Montesorri a go.

Its not clear to me if you have kids?

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

"It's more to do with socialization..." is what you said


I have made no comment about whether preschool or home school for pre-kindergartners is better. That's for each parent to decide and I am sure that whether both parents work has a large impact on the decision made

I have 3 kids, 16, 9 and 6 but I fail to see what that has to do with anything.

My initial post merely stated that I find it ridiculous that children require "preparation" for kindergarten.

I would suggest that our generation probably didn't attend any form of pre-school prior to starting school. I would also suggest that the prevalence of Pre-school these days has more to do with the fact more women work full time than when we were kids. I have not seen any compelling evidence that those children that attend pre-school do better academically or socially than those that don't. Have you?

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

Only the evidence of my own kids development...

FWIW my kids did not go to preschool as an alternative to child care, as I said, my wife is a stay at home mum because thats what we have chosen to do. Im 39, and I attended a nursery preschool too, even though my mum was a stay at home mum during my younger years too. Both my parents thought that it was a positive thing to, although obviously I dont remember much about it. If people want to send their kids to preschool rather than stay at home or send them to daycare I dont see the point in arguing. I dont think you can expect to say its the same as daycare without someone pulling you up on it, because its not the same.

Heres a relatively academic summary on the benefits, its one of many google throws out;

http://nieer.org/resources/files/Benefits.pdf

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

I agree it is not worth arguing over the preschool/stay at home issue. As I said, it was the suggestion that children needed preparation for kindergarten that riled me.

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

People just want what's best for their kids. Your kids didnt need it, but other people will have different ideas and they know their kids best. Having tried it, Im not going to knock it, but even with my two kid sample, they have very different requirements it seems. Fortunatley there are also very different preschool environments out there to cater to those differences. Maybe some are no more than glorified day care (thats not been my experience) who knows.


The evidence in that report certainly seemed to indicate that its beneficial in many cases.

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

I agree with you Almost Canadian :thumbup: I thought the research showed that it helps kids who come from deprived backgrounds, not much evidence that it does much for others over the long term compared to kids at home.

Anyway, back to the original question:

There isn't a "Canadian school system" per se, each province does it differently, so it really depends on where you're going. For instance, I've never heard of Junior K in BC except in some private schools. Kids here start K at 5 (they must turn 5 before the end of December of the year they enrol) and it's half -day, which really means a couple of hours a day. They've talked about going to full day but there isn't the money for it, realistically. From what I"ve been told it's mostly pretty much different kinds of crafts and some music.

They start full day school in Grade one, which for most kids is around 6. HTH.

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

I didn't say my kids didn't attend preschool. I didn't say they did. I have no doubt that most people want what is best for their kids.

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

Like Iain, I also went to a preschool from the age of 3 and not because my parents required daycare. It was a wonderful way for me to make friends and learn some of the conventions of traditional school before going there for real.

I have taught children in their 'reception' year in school in the UK for many years, and generally, those who have attended some sort of preschool education in the UK are more 'prepared' when they start school. There were very few children who hadn't had some sort of preschool experience, and those who stick in my memory were often children who had separation anxiety in the first weeks, as well as those who had no idea how to sit still during 'carpet time' , make a line, etc. Those with preschool experience also tended to have a head start with certain academic achievements such as recognizing and writing their names, being able to recognise and understand early number concepts etc.
Whereas it is entirely up to parents as to whether to send their children to a preschool, and some parents do a fine job in academic preparation, I would still stand by preschool as an excellent way to ease children into the idea of what early school life will be like, without the pressures of formalising their education too soon.
Preschool educators are well qualified and knowledgeable individuals, often with degrees in education, who know a great deal about the early stages of learning. Whilst there may be some very good daycare available, I believe the quals needed to run such care are very different. To merely say one is like the other is ill informed and inaccurate.

But...hey....what would I know???? :eek: I guess my experience counts for nothing here

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

snoopster, your post makes a lot of sense :regular_smile: I bet it does help with those early months.

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

Did you bother to click on the link:confused:

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

Iain, I would like to see what website you got the link from?

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

Okay, I've read the link and so? Maybe you could point me to the page where it shows a signifcant long term difference in social skills, academic skills etc. between preschooled kids from nondisadvantaged backgrounds and those who aren't. Cos I'm not seeing it.

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

No, you're subject to the parochial and self-serving vagaries of the local school board. "no Johnny, you can't read Harry Potter, because we said so."

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

As I said, I googled "benefits of preschool", that one was near the top.

The author specializes in the economics of education, and is a director of the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University. His research includes studies of the economics of early care and education including costs and benefits, the long term effects of preschool programs on children's learning and development, and the distribution of educational opportunities.

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

Well, the school board and the BC Teacher's Union. har.

I actually like our school board a lot. Kid's school has an amazing arts programme, thanks to them, with good teachers. They never close schools either :thumbsup:

Iain, it was an interesting link and like I said, preschool is good for kids from disadvantaged backgrounds, and hey, I went to ps and so did my daughter. I just don't think you can argue that if a kid doesn't go to preschool, they're somehow not going to do as well in life ;) that's all I"m saying.

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

Hmm, let me see, 49% of those in the program in the 10th %ile at age 14, vs 15% for those not. 36% own a home at age 27 compared to 13%. Half the number of arrests at age 27. Now, granted, that was based on High / Scope, which was a study focussing on underpriveledged black kids in the 60s, so perhaps not directly applicable.

That report does state that middle class kids suffer similar levels of the problems that preschool was found to reduce in underpriveledged kids, but didnt really expand upon that. Studies have found that kids from ALL backgrounds make improvements, although its more marked on those from lower income families, they gain more in other words.

Its only recently that universal preschool programs have begun, allow a wider cross section to be studied. As those kids have not yet grown up its too soon to say for sure what the long term benefits for middle class kids will be, but the overall effects to date mirror the effects seen in the High/Scope project, so there is no reason to think the end results will be all that different.

Here an academic paper I found based on the program in Georgia to provide preschool for all there...
http://aysps.gsu.edu/publications/20...hoodReport.pdf

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

OK,

Not to going go through and quote every post, EVERYONE currently involved in this debate has made points that I would agree with. I just want to throw out the following:

a) I did not go to preschool. When I went to reception I could sit still, I could make a line, I had basic reading skills, I could count. I had extremely limited pencil control (actually I still have appalling pencil control).

b) through out school (primary and secondary) I consistently achieved grades in the top 10% (I was also a lazy bugger)

c) when I hit A levels I decided to rest on my laurels and scraped into a redbrick university

d) My cousins did go to preschool, they had pencil control, they had basic reading skills, they could count (but not as far as I could), they not sit still or make a line. They consistently scored within the middle of their respective classes, however when they got to A level they knuckled down and one went to Leeds the other to Oxford.

Is there a correlation? maybe, maybe not.

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

"there is no reason to think the end results will be all that different". Is unproven. *shrug* I need to find that recent study...

Re: Canadian School System - how does it work?
 

I've always believed that a gifted child will exceed in school regardless of whether they attend preschool or not. I never attended school until kindergarten, and I went on to be a top student, went on to university, etc. ;) A gifted child is a gifted child - those that are bright will exceed and pursue advanced education regardless of what school they attended early on. This includes elementary and high schools. They'll rise above, regardless of what school they attend.

And on another note, kudos to Kiwilass for saying that there's no "Canadian schooling". There's no Canadian schooling in the same way that there's no European schooling. It really varies dramatically by province that they may as well be completely separate countries! BC has no pre-kindergarten, and never has. You pay extra money to register your child in preschool (usually at a community centre or an independent school) or you do as many do and let kindergarten be the first taste of formal schooling.

So in order to give relevant advice, we must really know what province you intend to live in, and on top of that, what school board you plan to attend. Even school boards vary policies/curriculums/grades - there is no Canadian universal when it comes to schooling!