Hello Everyone!
Today I just wanted to talk on the subject of early Head Start or Preschool education for our children. As I am going through my Masters program, I am certainly seeing a positive shift in the direction and benefits that these programs gives our students. As I was a part time teacher at Vanderbilt University's Susan Gray Head Start school, I saw the wonderful effects of children as early as the age of one. Children are absorbing information so quickly at this age. Their brains are so intricate and the neurotransmitters in their brain are beaming at lightning speeds so very early from 0-3 years of age. This is is an essential time for children to learn. I remembered when I worked at the Head Start school, over the course of a year, I would consistently work with the younger children (1-2) with routinely having them sit in my lap for story time. They really enjoyed this time, because they were listening to my voice tone, reading the words and watching me point to pictures on the pages. They enjoyed this because they were trying to learn the use of language and the beginning stages of communication. Bilingual children may have a developmental delay in the beginning , just because they are trying to organize and master the two languages spoken to them on a daily basis. Their speech should improve in due time. Modeling the use of a book is so beneficial for a young child. This is a building block into the early stages of using a book. A child quickly picks up on how to hold a book, how words are used from left to right by pointing, and the front and back of the book. This then sets the stage for explaining in depth title, author, characters, and early reading stages for Kindergarten. Do you see how this is all linked? AKA, the hopeful smooth transition of building blocks, common core K-12? Babies are incredibly smart. They can pick up on non verbal cues and are quick to react to something that they are not use to. Social interaction and diversity is also a great way for toddlers to learn and grow in the PreK/ Head Start classroom.
Musical movement and routines are very important in the early stages of a child's life. I would also use sign language for these small toddlers. I would try to be very consistent in my daily activities with them. They were less prone to outbursts and tantrums when they knew their routine. I even noticed this evident in my Kindergarten kids. Without a constant routine, they were prone to helplessness and sudden misbehavior in the classroom. Children who are in a preschool setting were exposed to more social interaction with peers, numbers, letters,and the overall classroom setting. I believe that being in this environment set them up for success in the general education Kindergarten classroom. I remember the days in Kindergarten when the students would sit on the carpet, and understand the days of the week, months, and numbers because they recalled doing it in their PreK classes.The ones who weren't exposed lagged a bit further behind. I wondered if this hindered a child's learning from the very beginning. Would it continue throughout further grades, or if they could catch up in time. In today's classroom, Kindergartner's are being prepped for what seems like first grade curriculum. As we were learning our letters, phonemic awareness and transition to phonics, we are also learning about nouns, verbs and punctuation. Children need to be prepped for reading so they can be successful when they start school. I hope this information is relevant to parents and teachers about the classroom today! I would love to hear some things that are successful or concerns teachers or parents have about early childhood education.
