According to Permendikbud Number 44 of 2019, the ideal age for entering elementary school is 7 to 12 years. The lowest ideal age to enter primary school is 6 years old on July 1. If a child has the potential to have high brain and psychological intelligence who is ready to accept lessons, children who reach the age of 5 years and 6 months on July 1 are also allowed to enter elementary school.

Why is 7 years considered the ideal age to enter elementary school? This is because children of this age have entered the Concrete Operational Stage in Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Stages. That is, the child’s emotional condition is more stable. Mentally even stronger than before. Children also have started to think logically and organized. This makes him more ready to accept the learning process at school.

We call Elementary School at Cornerstone School. This age is a very important period in a child’s life. At the age of children already have a number of things, namely:

1. Physical Aspect
   This physical aspect relates to the child’s gross and fine motor skills. When a child is 7 years old, he has developed muscles and nerves. Children are already able to coordinate with various organs of the body. For example, a child can ride a bicycle, which requires hands, feet, eyes and brain to coordinate. This advanced motor ability is the basis for a child’s physical endurance. He will be able to study from morning to noon at school.

2. Cognitive Aspect
   Children aged 7 years already have better cognitive abilities or development. The ideal age for entering elementary school indicates that children can start thinking logically to solve simple problems or problems. That is why, children of this age tend to be able to read, write, count, and tell simple stories. By entering it into elementary school, parents indirectly hone their cognitive abilities.

3. Emotional Aspect
   Have parents ever thought that their child will cry on the first day of elementary school because their parents left them? If development was going smoothly, this should not have happened. This is because in general children aged 7 years are emotionally ready for school. Entering this age too, children begin to have a desire to be independent. That’s why, parents should give children the opportunity to do their own work. For example, the simplest, let the child clean up his textbooks into the bag.

4. Psychological Aspects
   Training the concentration of younger children is usually very difficult. Parents must have a high level of patience to do this. Fortunately, children aged 7 years have experienced better psychological development. The ideal age for entering elementary school usually allows children to concentrate for 35-40 minutes.

In Ancient Israel, the deeds of God (Yahweh) recorded in the Torah were implanted by the rabbis into the hearts of their students. All teaching was carried out orally from generation to generation, either through parents or by teachers (rabbis).

In the first centuries AD, the Jews held a kind of primary school called “beth-ha-sefer” (beth=house, sefer=book); which means “house of the book”. It was in this school that the knowledge of the Torah was taught to Jewish children. Torah is read over and over again and children must memorize it carefully and literally. Since the age of 6 or 7, Jewish children have been brought by their parents to the rabbi’s teaching at this school; for the purpose of gaining knowledge of the Torah. In the life of the Islamic religion, this custom is still being preserved, that is, children learn to read and memorize the Holy Scriptures from an early age, without having to understand the meaning and intent of the reading and memorization.

The higher level of law teaching at beth-ha-sefer is given at “beth-ha-midrashy” (beth=house, midrash=teaching) which means “house of teaching.” At this school students are not only required to memorize the Torah literally, but are also taught about the benefits and meaning of the Torah. At the age of 12-13 years, Jewish children were required to be able to fully obey and carry out Jewish law, namely “mitswoth,” and at this stage Jewish boys were considered “barmitswa,” which means “children of the law.”

Cornestone School adopts the Bible education system carried out by Jews at Elementary School. Syema Yisrael means: “Hear, O Israel,” which is a creed or confession of faith and thanksgiving that is read every morning and evening in worship in the synagogue. “4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).”

Hear, O Israel; is the part that is referred to as Shema or Shema (Hebrew: Shama = hear). This passage was well known to the Jews at the time of Jesus because it was recited daily by devout Jews and regularly at synagogue services. This Shema is the best statement of God’s monotheistic nature; this statement is followed by a double command to the Israelites; To love God with all their heart, soul and strength, and to teach their faith diligently to their children.