What can little kids do to develop core literacy?

Literacy is simply the integrated learning of knowledge, abilities and attitudes. In the new kindergarten syllabus after the integration of child care in 2012, the development trend of early childhood education curricula around the world has already been taken into consideration, emphasizing the six core qualities for the integrated development of young children: awareness, communication, care and cooperation, reasoning and appreciation, imagination and creativity, and self-directed management, which means that through integrated learning, we can cultivate children to become the future citizens of the society who emphasize on communication, reasoning, thinking, cooperating, having confidence, and being tolerant. Citizenship.

Thinking and observing is the beginning of literacy.

Associate Professor Peirong Lin of the Department of Early Childhood Education at Taipei City University, who is committed to reforming early childhood education, pointed out that the foundation of literacy is "conscious awareness", and that we need to help our children to like to think, to be able to think, and to make discoveries about things around them, and to have knowledge and feelings. Parents often think that their children are too young, so they have to help them think and prepare for everything, like the concept of "material package".

However, if we use a fixed kit of materials to teach, the children just follow the steps without necessarily thinking about them, and the finished products are mostly the same, which is not creative enough; if we have a variety of materials for the children to use, think and explore freely, the result will be very different. Importantly, children will think about "why it was possible or not? "What are the best ways to make what you want?" .......

Children can only develop if they are willing to take tests, observe, and find ways to learn. To build a growth mindset and cultivate a good attitude towards learning from an early age, a child's learning should start with what he cares about and is interested in. Parents should provide more space and time for learning during the child's playtime, provide support and companionship, observe and encourage the child, and know how to talk to him/her. For example, when a child encounters a problem, instead of scolding or helping him, encourage him to think about it and change his approach, so that the child can keep looking for ways to solve the problem on his own, and learn and develop an attitude of "learning how to learn". This "learning mind" (or growth mind) starts to be shaped in the pre-school stage.

With such an attitude, children will be inclined to take up challenges when they face various difficulties in schoolwork or life after starting elementary school. Even if they encounter setbacks, they will persevere and keep searching for solutions, believing that hard work can enhance their abilities. Associate Professor Lin Peirong took the example of kindergarten children building blocks and designing a track marble table. The children will have their own ideas for building, will observe and test the width of the track, the angle of inclination, and the way the marbles slide down, and will also observe why others are so good at it, and how did they do it? How can I correct my work? ...... In the process of problem solving, not only can they stimulate their thinking, but they also want to find effective strategies to achieve the goals they want to do, which naturally generates internal motivation; the division of labor and cooperation and discussion and consultation among friends are also fermented into the nutrients of life in the process of exploring the game.

Can children's literacy be "remediated"?

Taiwan's bigger dilemma is that it is afraid that children will not be able to catch up, so a lot of learning wants to make up for it earlier, but can literacy be "made up for"?

It is not a single skill or knowledge that can be acquired through repeated practice and memorization. Associate Professor Lam emphasized the need for teachers and parents to have a growth mindset in their philosophy and approach to teaching children.

For example, in Taiwan, when it comes to bridging education, kindergartens spend more effort and parents pay attention to preparing their children, but they may fall into remedial phonics and English learning. The practice in Germany and Scotland emphasizes the two-way collaboration between elementary school teachers, parents, kindergarten teachers and children. Not only do kindergartens make their children's learning files available to elementary school for reference, but elementary school teachers also visit their children's kindergartens, accompany them to play games and make observations, and even make home visits.

The classrooms in Primary 1 and 2 are similar to those in kindergartens, and there are also learning areas to give children sufficient time to adapt to the teaching methods of elementary school. Although there are differences in education practices among countries, and there is no way to compare education funding or teacher manpower, the basic spirit of education is to "take the child as the main body of education", and many practices are customized for children, starting from the cultivation of core qualities.

For parents, the best way to raise children is to respect and accompany them in their daily lives. Everything can become a topic for self-learning, mutual learning, and co-learning between parents and children, and parents are willing to discuss and explore with their children and listen to their ideas, so that children who are full of curiosity can explore and express themselves to the fullest, and be brave enough to take on various challenges in their learning. The learning methods and attitudes that children grow out of life and play will become the core of their literacy.

Text/Associate Professor, Department of Early Childhood Education, Taipei City University Abstracted from Soroptimist Foundation