I was instructed by the kindergarten teachers (3 years of free kindergarten for every child there at that time) that I should not allow my children to read until they started school at the age of six and had been tested for readiness for the first grade.
My youngest figured out how to read before she was six.
German is a phonetic language, so it is easier to learn to read in
German (or Spanish or Italian or French) than it is in English, but I still agree that it is best to have children wait until they are six and mature to read.
I read very earlier, but then I was so nearsighted that I don't know what else I would have done with my time.
The Austrian kindergarten taught children how to move they eyes from left to right, how to hold books, how to imagine things and draw pictures, HOW TO TELL THEIR OWN STORIES, how to put pictures in order so that they told a story of the child's creation, how to sing, play a small flute, knit, do crafts and other things that prepared a child to do well in school at the appropriate time.
The Austrian kindergarten emphasized neatness and order with things, putting toys away, playing, doing what the child was drawn to do, learning life skills and really useful things.
Most important, the Austrian children emphasized good social skills and polite and kind behavior toward others.
My children benefitted incredibly from the headstart they got in Austrian kindergarten, and I wish every American child could have that kind of pre-school experience. My children are doing well today in great part because of the excellent kindergarten they attended.
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