Recently after a parent/teacher meeting, a parent was telling
other parents about her daughter's enthusiasm for school. The mother
said that unlike her older children who hated school, her five year
old jumped out of bed each morning ready to start the day and wanted
to get to the bus stop early. Little Juanita even protested that she
wanted to go to school when she was sick. Other parents had similar
experiences with their young kindergarten children. These parents
could attest to the fact that many of their older children who had
been through a more traditional approach began to dislike school at
an early age. What accounted for this amazing change in their young
kindergarten children?
The Learning Environment
The district where this happened was beginning to make some changes
in its kindergarten program. Seats that had formerly been in rows
were now set in groups so that children could interact with each
other. Desks were set up as work surfaces within work areas called
workshops or learning centers. (Teachers call these learning spaces
different things.) Instead of doing workbooks and worksheets all day,
children learned to count, for example, using blocks, teddy bear
counters and other materials teachers call "manipulatives." Much of
the children's learning occurred through the use of "real" materials
and manipulatives.
Instruction
The teacher still used direct instruction. She brought the class
together to share information in a whole group, but she did this for
shorter periods of time throughout the day. After her instruction,
children practiced skills in small groups or individually.
Children learned their letters and their sounds through the teacher's
direct instruction and through writing they did each day. For some
children, this writing consisted of drawing pictures which the
teacher labeled with words. Other children who already knew their
letters wrote words independently or with some teacher assistance as
they wrote stories or drew pictures. The teacher's goal was to know
each child's skills and to help the child to develop new skills
through the materials and challenges she provided.
This classroom was not a quiet classroom, but it was not a disruptive
one either. There was always a buzz of productive activity. This
teacher knew that children continue to develop language skills
throughout the primary grades, so she was setting up many
opportunities for children to hear and use language. She knew that
children learn from each other as well as from her and that time to
talk with each other was as important as the time they talked with
her.
Social Development
She knew too that the key period for development of social skills is
at this age. (Research indicates that if social skills have not
developed by the age of six or seven, these skills may never fully
develop.) She wondered if early educators had spent more time helping
children work on social skills years ago, there might be less
violence in our middle schools and high schools today? So she wanted
children to have many opportunities to practice things like taking
turns, solving disagreements, listening politely, contributing ideas
in a large or small group, and becoming skilled at group interaction.
She knew that sophistocated symbolic or dramatic/pretend play skills
are precursors to reading. She incorporated reading and writing into
dramatic/pretend play for children who already had strong literacy
skills.
She also knew that children at this age use enormous amounts of
energy and concentration trying to sit still. Sitting still for more
than a few minutes at a time makes learning more difficult for
children in kindergarten and first grade. She very wisely knew that
in a couple of years the children would be more ready for less active
work, but not right now. So she provided lots of space for kids to
sit on the floor or at tables to do their work. Whatever was
comfortable and facilitated learning was what counted, not that
everyone be sitting quietly in neat rows.
Curriculum
She also knew that children learn more if they are studying things
that have real meaning in their lives. For this reason, some of the
work was integrated. While there were short periods of instruction
about specific subject areas in order to provide the children with
skills, much of the practice was done through the study of themes and
projects. Through the study of the theme "Families," children counted
and graphed numbers of family members, compared more and less family
members (math skills). Some children drew pictures of their family
and labeled them while others wrote short sentences about favorite
pets or family activities (literacy skills). They investigated
families from other cultures and recognized that all families have
many things in common(social studies). The children studied animal
families (science). They sang family songs and finger plays (music).
They recreated families in the dramatic play area and interacted with
each other as they negotiated roles. Who would be the Mommy; who
would be the Daddy; who would be the baby, etc.(social skills and
language development)?
This way of presenting curriculum was very meaningful to the
children. It required them to learn and practice skills in a
meaningful way without separating information into subject areas with
very different content. What they were studying began with what they
already knew and then branched out to the unfamiliar. Children were
excited and involved. They even suggested to the teacher things about
families they wanted to know. The teacher helped them to figure out
where to look for the answers (thinking skills) and helped them find,
read and explore the books, videos, and other materials they needed
to find the information (research skills).
Summary
This article describes what a child-centered,
developmentally appropriate kindergarten might look like and some of
the activities in it. The basic premise of a developmental approach
is that while all children grow through a predictable sequence of
development, they typically don't go through the stages at the same
time. How many of you who have more than one child, can say that they
walked at the same age, spoke their first word at the same age? Even
within a family, there are developmental variations. Those variations
are even more exaggerated when we bring together fifteen or twenty
children in a kindergarten class. A developmental classroom is
equipped and designed to meet the individual needs of a wide variety
of children at various stages of development.
This approach to early learning builds all the skills that children
previously learned through a more traditional approach. What this
approach adds is interest, excitement, the desire to keep learning
and it leaves no one behind. It focuses on the development of the
whole child. It recognizes the importance of social, physical,
language development as components of cognitive learning. The
approach incorporates all the good information that has been learned
in the past several years about how young children learn and uses
that information to build learning environments that capitalize on
young children's curiosity and activity level.
The parents at the parent/teacher meeting were describing children
who were enthusiastic about school and anxious to learn. With the
help of their teachers and families, these children are getting ready
for the world of the future, learning the same skills we learned in
the past while incorporating additional skills essential to a safe,
successful and satisfying life.
If you still have questions, go to
Developmentally Appropriate Practices:
Questions and Answers. If you would like additional information,
there are numerous links to information at the
"Early
Childhood Educators and Family Web Corner in the DAP
section."
You are encouraged to share this material with families and community
members. Please site the source.
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