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Child Development and Early Childhood Education
What appears here are some of the articles that appear in "La Casita Teacher's Newsletter" which is printed each school month for the parents of the children at La Casita School.
The Value of Play
By Lynn Kelly
The value of Play. Do you ever wonder what your child is learning when he plays? Have you ever heard the expression "Play is childıs work?" When a child plays he is expanding his language and manipulating objects to attempt to understand his world. When he uses a toy to symbolize something else (a block becomes a telephone), he is learning the nature of symbols (understanding the letter "B" corresponds to a sound). Creating a play script with other children and working out complex social problems within the play enhances a childıs social skills. Children get to try out different roles that help them understand their world. What does Daddy or Mommy or baby do? Balancing blocks and seeing relationships between different blocks are the beginning of the development of math skills. When a child plays vigorously outdoors, he use large muscles that are not normally used (bike riding, swinging, running). His physical development is strengthened. There are many kinds of play. Functional play comes first in a childıs development. This is when a child explores an object and tries to gain information about it (what does this sand do? Does it pour, stick together, and taste good? Etc.). The next step in a childıs development are the more complex types of play: constructive play (building or making something) and then dramatic play (pretending). During constructive and dramatic play a child builds on the knowledge he has gained during functional play.
Many children engage in solitary play. They talk to themselves when they are alone. Sometimes they are manipulating toys that take on roles, and sometimes they have imaginary playmates. This is called "private speech." Children especially use private speech when they are working on difficult tasks. "Private speech" is a problem solving tool that researchers find essential to a childıs growth and development.
Other researchers find "that preschoolers who spend more time at socio-dramatic play are advanced in general intellectual development... and young children who especially enjoy pretending score higher on tests of imagination and creativity..." (Scaffolding Childrenıs Learning, L. Berk and A. Winsler)
Play is very important in an early childhood curriculum. How does play relate to a child-centered curriculum, based on child development?
Play is simply not a "free-for-all" in a chaotic unplanned environment. Play is a carefully planned opportunity in a classroom, designed with each child's developmental needs in mind. "Development involves changes or shifts in the way a person organizes experiences and copes with the world." "Stages [of development] are approximate and only loosely related to age. Individuals are never at a fixed point on a straight line of development, but operate within a range of possibilities. No one really knows how one moves from one stage of development to the next. But we do know that the motivation to engage actively with the environment is built into human beings." (Exploration With Young Children, Bank Street College of Education, pp16-17. )
Therefore it is the teacherıs role to know the patterns of each childıs development and the cultures from which they come. Listening and observing each child carefully is necessary in a child-centered program. It is the teacherıs role to create an environment that allows each child to play and interact with materials and other persons that enhance his development. Thus the curriculum must change year by year and day by day and minute by minute to reflect the needs and interests of the children. (published article by Lynn Kelly) .
Classrooms are NOT Quiet!
By Lynn Kelly
Developmental Update: Dynamic classrooms are not quiet!
"Dynamic classrooms are not quiet!" Quiet classrooms do not mean that young children are learning. In fact, since oral language is very important during the early years, quiet classrooms may indicate that young children are not learning all they could be.
Talking gives a child the opportunity to experiment with new words. It provides the vehicle for expressing ideas and testing current knowledge.
Shared experiences are important' they give children something to talk about. Children learn the nuances of communication in groups by trying out their language skills. For example, they learn what a question sounds like and how loud is loud enough.
Using words and talking about how things work, making comparisons, and retelling experiences lead to increased intellectual development. When children reconstruct experiences, sequence events, and point out similarities or differences, they are clearly engaging in higher level thinking skills. And when kids are encouraged to ask questions, they no only gain information from adults' responses but also build their competence - and confidence - as active seekers of knowledge and understanding.
The vocabularies children use in reading and writing are based on the words they are familiar with from listening and speaking. But expanded vocabularies and other aspects of language growth occur through using language. Talking in the classroom may be a little noisy, but positive results are easily heard!" From "Family-Friendly Communication for Early Childhood Programs," Diffy and Morrison, editors, NAEYC Publication #330, 1996
FYI (For Your Information) Why is there documentation at La Casita?
Many parents have commented on the documentation displayed in our classrooms. This documentation is the result of our following the Reggio Emilia Philosophy. This philosophy, developed by Louis Malaguzzi in Italy, incorporates the very sound educational philosophies of John Dewey, Jean Piaget, and Lev Vygotsky.
Documentation emphasizes the value of the process of learning over the product. It deepens our understanding of how children learn. It enhances the child's self-esteem, by valuing a child's words and photographing his participation. It encourages literacy, by illustrating that the spoken word can also be written. It allows the child to revisit old experiences and understand the concepts of constancy and change.
Often it is assumed that a child is not benefiting from discussions because he is not actively participating. He may even appear to be distracted or uninterested. A child may be very quiet but his style of participation is listening and processing alone. Another child may feel comfortable talking about a subject previously discussed. A child, who does not participate in the discussion, might enthusiastically participate in the projects related to the curriculum. Documentation also tells us also if a child is not participating. Then the teachers can discuss how to creatively involve this child, drawing on his strengths. Documentation advocates for the child.
Documentation has many audiences. It informs parents. It communicates exactly how their child is participating in school. It assists the teacher in building curriculum and relationships with children, family and community. It invites dialogue and collaboration.
Topics may appear to be of interest to one gender or another. We find allowing children to participate on their own level crosses gender and culture boundaries. Topics can be explored in many ways and in depth. Girls do like space and oceans and boys do like dolls (published article by Lynn Kelly).
