Principal's Letter

 

Dear Parents,

 

We invite you to take a moment to think back to your Early Childhood experience. What are the images that come forth? Did you have a friend in the neighborhood that attended school with you, or a big brother or sister to hold your hand and accompany you to your classroom? Was the highlight of your day playing with the big blocks, putting together a puzzle with a friend, or baking a pretend cake in the toy oven? Can you recall taking a nap, or having milk and cookies while the teacher read your favorite story aloud? And what about finger painting and writing your name using one of those big, fat pencils?

For some of us, our first year in school will be forever engraved in our memories. For others, as the years increase the memories may fade. Regardless in which group you belong I would wager that we all remember at least one common component of Early Childhood, the aspect of play.

Teachers back then understood the importance of play and they still do today. The National Association for the Education of Young Children in the United States (NAEYC), acknowledges the value of play in their latest position paper on how young children learn. "Early Childhood educators must ensure they provide young children with ample daily opportunities for free choice and to play; preferably with peers. These opportunities teach children how to socialize, compromise, share and learn to assert themselves without being aggressive. At no other time in a child's school experience is such concentrated time provided for children to learn such powerful interpersonal skills."

Sadly, there has been pressure in some U.S. schools to take away the elements of play and readiness activities, and replace them with a strict academic focus more appropriate for older children. The belief that "faster and sooner are better" has trickled down into the lives of our youngest students. There has been pressure to "push" at times when the best practice is really to "allow" a child to unfold at his/her natural rate. These attempts to speed up the learning process for students in early childhood programs have ignored what we know about how children learn best in their early years.

Research supports a learning environment where children construct knowledge and are active participants. Discovery and exploration are key components, as young children need to experience their world through the five senses. While we know that most Early Childhooders can be taught to memorize math facts, we prefer to teach number sense through hands-on, conceptually based activities because it is developmentally appropriate. We know that this type of learning is meaningful to the child. This practice also helps build a foundation of math learning based on understanding rather than abstract and rote memorization.

If you walk into any of our Early Childhood classrooms you will observe a group of enthusiastic children discovering and exploring their environment. Student work is displayed and no two pieces are alike. We value the self-expression and uniqueness of each child and emphasis is on creating, not copying a pattern. Little hands may be sticky with glue, but fine motor activities such as cutting and pasting help develop fine-motor skills that contribute to greater control of a pencil in writing.

Students are involved in singing, moving, sharing, as well as telling and listening to stories. From day one teachers lay the foundation for their little ones to be good readers and writers. They read aloud on a daily basis which exposes students to new words that would otherwise not be part of their vocabulary. These stories also create an awareness of plot, setting and character development which will be expounded upon in later grades. Most importantly though, being read to instills in children a love of reading and an appreciation for the melody and rhythm of our language. When a Big Book is read, oftentimes the teacher will use a pointer to identify each word and demonstrate the left-to-right directionality of print. Children may also follow along in their own small books.

Sight words are recognized and letter-sound relationships are taught. Phonemic awareness and phonics are integral pieces of a balanced reading program, so time is devoted to these important components. Writing is a part of the curriculum and those more ready to express themselves in written form have plenty of opportunities to do so. Early stages of the writing process in Early Childhood may include drawings and dictations to an adult, who then transcribes their stories. Attempts at spelling often produce invented words. What is to be celebrated in all of this is the child's joy at expressing him/herself. Class books which include all children's writings and drawings are cherished by all!

Whether we view a Early Childhood program from the perspective of a parent or a teacher, let us remember the importance of play in a child's development, as play is really in effect children's work. We must ensure that the practices we embrace in Early Childhood here at CAC honor what we know about how young children learn best. Our commitment should be to the young child and not to the pressure to push children faster or sooner than is developmentally appropriate. We want to teach to each child's fullest potential and lay the foundation for a strong elementary program that has its roots in Early Childhood.

Sincerely,

Seamus Marriott,
Principal