School visit !

The second day, we also went out of the Kindergarten. We were going to visit a primary school in Haderslev. So we went out with the oldest children, those who will go to Grade 0 next year ! We went there by walking, because it wasn’t that far away.

When we arrived there, the children could play a little in the classroom. They could discover the classroom and the materials. When the teacher arrived, she gave them a little bit information about Grade 0 and what they do there. It was very nice for them. So then they know what they may expect next year ! And some of them will go to that school, so then they know the school, class and teacher already !

I also had a talk with the teacher. She learned me a lot about Grade O. In Belgium, we have to prepare the children for going to primary school already in Kindergarten or preschool. But in Denmark they don’t really have to. Because Grade 0, is a preparation year for Grade 1. So they don’t really learn to read or they don’t have mathematics. They just learn the letters and how they sound and the numbers. But they don’t really learn how to calculate and to read words.
It’s quite funny, because in Belgium they go to Grade 1, one year earlier and they have to learn the letters, numbers, to read and to calculate all in one year, at the age of 6 ! The difference is really very big for them.
In Denmark, they still have a lot of free time or time to play in Grade 0. In Belgium they also have a lot of free or playtime in Grade 1, but I don’t think they have that much !

Something I was really surprised about, was that in Kindergarten here, they also have to prepare their activities written on a sheet. They have to send it to the government every year so they can check if you ‘worked’ enough for reaching certain ‘goals’. So that’s the same in Belgium. The only difference is, that in Belgium we do more activities in 1 day and we aren’t that much outside of the classroom. Because we simply don’t have enough money to go out. Even though we would love to !
A very surprising thing was, that here in Denmark, there are about 3 adults for a group of 21 children ! In Belgium we only have one for about 25 children !! (In some cases even 30 or 35 !!) I was really surprised about that ! It’s such a big difference. And I think it’s quite good. Because then you have more time to spend on each child. That could be better for them.