Classroom News Letter
Dear Families,
Have you ever thought about how or when your child is going to learn how to talk? It may come as a surprise that children don’t need to be taught how to talk. The way children learn to speak is by listening. They listen to you when you talk to them, when you speak to someone else, and the conversations that go on around them. Even when your child is an infant just “babbling” to you, they are communicating with you. “While children do not need to be taught language, teachers (and parents) need to pay attention to language development, because it is closely linked to cognitive development and foundational to all future learning.” (Piper. 2012Ch. 1 Conclusion) When your child is in our care we are looking at both their cognitive development and their language development because these two areas are closely related. When we conduct our second parent-teacher conferences we will discuss how your child is doing in all areas, including language development. For those of you whose children speak a different language than what is spoken at school, there is no need to worry. “…Recent studies indicate that the best time for a child to learn another language is in the first three to four years of life.” (Vos, J. (2008) This center has a firm belief that each child’s culture is extremely important and together we will come up with the best plan for your child to be successful. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask a teacher or the family advocate. We are here to help!
Resources
Piper, T. (2012). Making meaning, making sense: Children’s early language learning. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.
Vos, J. (2008). Can preschool children be taught a second language? Early Childhood News. Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleId=60
Have you ever thought about how or when your child is going to learn how to talk? It may come as a surprise that children don’t need to be taught how to talk. The way children learn to speak is by listening. They listen to you when you talk to them, when you speak to someone else, and the conversations that go on around them. Even when your child is an infant just “babbling” to you, they are communicating with you. “While children do not need to be taught language, teachers (and parents) need to pay attention to language development, because it is closely linked to cognitive development and foundational to all future learning.” (Piper. 2012Ch. 1 Conclusion) When your child is in our care we are looking at both their cognitive development and their language development because these two areas are closely related. When we conduct our second parent-teacher conferences we will discuss how your child is doing in all areas, including language development. For those of you whose children speak a different language than what is spoken at school, there is no need to worry. “…Recent studies indicate that the best time for a child to learn another language is in the first three to four years of life.” (Vos, J. (2008) This center has a firm belief that each child’s culture is extremely important and together we will come up with the best plan for your child to be successful. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask a teacher or the family advocate. We are here to help!
Resources
Piper, T. (2012). Making meaning, making sense: Children’s early language learning. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.
Vos, J. (2008). Can preschool children be taught a second language? Early Childhood News. Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleId=60