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Language is Cultural

 

Language is more than just words. People who share a language share a culture and an identity. Learning a language is more than just learning sounds, vocabulary and grammatical rules. It’s also learning the culture expressed by that language. Therefore when parents/families teach children their spoken language they are also teaching them and identity and a culture. Sound is an important part of this process.

Sounds in Spoken Language

Children become aware that some words rhyme. When I read Sofi  “Green Eggs and Ham”, she will meet my “box” with the word “fox” for example. She recognizes the same sound.  However,  Mark at 4 yrs knows they rhyme and can make work families –cat, sat, mat, rat, and so on. Although at different levels they are both developing phonological awareness; that is they can hear and work with the sounds of the English language.

The ABCs

Knowledge of the alphabet – the names, sounds and shapes of the letters by the time children get to kindergarten is a great help.  At 2yrs a child (my experience, perhaps even younger) who has been immersed in a language rich environment can recognize the name, sound and identify a word that starts with a specific letter.  Sofi ‘reads’ her alphablock   book.  She starts with the letter name, sound and the name of the picture on that page. Of the 3 things she identifies the most helpful in helping her to read is the sound she makes when she looks at a particular letter. We read by blending sounds, not by saying letter names.

Reading Aloud

 

This is really the context within which reading develops. It’s probably the most important building activity a parent can do to start the process. When children actively participate in the reading aloud with adults, they learn new words, learn more about a theme, learn about written language and really see the connection between reading and writing. They are making connections and practicing applying knowledge acquired in different contexts. They may connect to another book, to a movie, to a personal experience…. they begin to transfer knowledge from one area to another.

Vocabulary and knowledge of the World

Vocabulary is the number of words we use to name concrete/ abstract objects/ideas. It’s word power that allows us to express what’s in our minds and understand other peoples’ ideas. The size of a person’s vocabulary is connected to that person’s ability to comprehend what he/she reads in all areas. Children learn vocabulary both indirectly, by hearing and seeing words as they listen, talk and read; and directly when parents and teachers teach them the meaning of words. The more personal experiences children have the greater is their vocabulary. When they go grocery shopping with their parents, when they go to the park, zoo, travelling, visiting, are all opportunities to learn that are built in a day’s activity. These are not programs, these are ways of living. Parents are busy so it’s important to use the time they have with the children and use it productively. Even watching TV together and talking about what they are seeing can be an opportunity for learning, providing the program can teach anything of value.

Comprehension

Comprehension is critical to reading. Getting meaning out of text is the reason to read. By using what  they already know children can attach new meaning, new concepts, new words to further their understanding of a subject. At this young stage ‘conversations’ with adults about the world around them  are a good context to show children  how to make connections. Also by asking what they think can happen, making mental pictures, and asking questions. When adults model these strategies aloud  they are showing  the though process for reading/ problem solving, etc. Later children will learn to make  predictions, make inferences,  summarizing and so on.  By  modelling these behaviours early on adults are helping build these reading blocks, which will be part of  a structured reading process at school.

pexels-photo-256417

There are many games and programs to keep children entertained and teach them words and sounds, but there is no substitute for the human voice and human interaction. I truly believe this.

 

With Love and Gratitude

Alda

Resources

www.starfall.com     ( I like this site. It’s the closest I’ve found to teach phonics the  way I believe is less confusing for children.  )

 

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Oral Language and Vocabulary

It is very important that children develop oral language and vocabulary skills  as part of literacy preparedness.  According to Hart and Risley , Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children (2002),”in professional families, children heard an average of 2,153 words per hour, while children in working class families heard an average of 1,251 words per hour, and children in welfare families heard an average of 616 words per hour.”   By the time these children get to kindergarten there is quite a disparity in the number of words they have heard and acquired, which has a direct impact on their reading readiness. Therefore the development of oral language and vocabulary is crucial in this process.

A Rich Language Environment

Young children learn language naturally by using it, imitating those around them, and by working through the rules of the language on their own (ex: “ I goed” precedes “I went”).  Humans’ brains are wired for talk. However, children require time to develop language through everyday practice within a social context. This process of language acquisition varies from child to child. Some children start speaking and using complex sentences earlier than others. Immersing children in a language rich environment, whether in their mother tongue or the official language, is extremely important no matter how early or how late they start talking. They may not be talking, but they are listening.  Having ‘conversations’ with  children, before they are talking, teaches them the rules of conversation such as taking turns, paying attention, facial and voice expressions/intonation (asking questions, exclamations)and so on.

Oral Language Components – Relating Sounds to Meanings

Phonological –  it’s about the rules of combining sounds . English speakers understand and pronounce English words and know that some sounds always come at the end of words.

Semantic –  the smallest units of meaning – morphemes- that combined with others make up words.

Syntactic –  the rules that make possible to combine words into sentences. As soon as a child uses two words together, as in “I happy” she is using a syntactic rule to convey meaning.

Pragmatics –  the rules of language use:  formal and informal language. Children need to learn the ways of speaking at day care/school. Pragmatic is important because we are perceived by others based on both what we say, how and when we say it. (Reading Rockets article by Celia Genishi “Oral Children’s Oral Language Development”).

www.readingrockets.org   is an excellent literacy site for both parents and teachers. On the oral language development part of the site parents can access tip sheets in English and Spanish about topics such as: Nursery Rhymes, Literacy for pre-schoolers, growing readers  and  much more. On their PBS series, we can find articles such as Roots of Reading for infants and toddlers in a video clip hosted by Fred Rogers. He looks at the earliest stages of literacy and helps parents and other stake holders who can help children get on their literacy journey. The amount of information and guidance on this site is tremendous. I’ve spent many hours on this site.

Peer Learning

Peer learning is an important part of language development.  It is important  to give children the opportunity to interact with other children, especially if they are of mixed-age groups.

Adult-Child Conversations

Story time is a great opportunity for adult-child interaction or one sided ‘conversations’.  At  9 months old my grandson had a favourite story. At first I didn’t understand why the fussing because I usually read both stories . Then I figured out that the fussing stopped when I read a particular story. He had a favourite story! I saw this behavior again with my granddaughter. Now they both talk (at the ages of 4 and 2 ) so we have conversations about story settings, characters, problems, solutions, feelings while we reread their favourite stories. Of course in this process I must remain faithful to the script… because they know if I skip/change a word or sentence. At age 4 he reads some words of the story as he is developing sight words and also learning phonics, or reads pictures as in ‘see and say’ story books. At age 2 she is into Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham and has memorized parts of the story.

It is never to early to start children on the road to literacy in a fun and relaxed way.

With Love and Gratitude

Alda

Source:

www.readingrockets.org/blogs/sounditout

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Illiteracy Rates and The Need for a Paradigm Shift

 Reading Wars

 

Reading  wars – as in this method is better than that- has been how people have attempted to solve the illiteracy situation. Just about any methodology can show that someone was able to learn by using it. The claim is made statistical documentation is presented, but the problem is still unresolved.

Methodologies

From the 1950’s to present a series of reading methods have been introduced to improve the literacy rates in North America, and others countries. From the “Dick and Jane/Look and say”, to phonics to decode the meaning of text, to Whole Language- emphasizing meaning over sounds- and to present with  Balanced Literacy – a combination of phonics and cognitive strategies. These were/are some of the methods used to teach reading. The war mentality so far doesn’t seem to solve the problem.

Illiteracy Rates

 

In the 1970’s statistics on illiteracy rate came out at 33% just using the phonics approach. By 1995 with all the improvements to reading instruction, The US Department of Education reported the results of the mix of whole language and phonics approach as the illiteracy rate climbed to 43%. In 2015 the National Center for Education (NCES) reported that 64% of grade 4 students and 66% of grade 8 students were under-performing, that is reading below proficiency reading levels.

In Canada, 42% of Canadian adults between 16-65 years of age have low literacy skills and are considered semi-literate.  According to Craig Alexander, deputy chief economist of TD Bank Financial Group (2007), “The  Canadian economy could enjoy a $32 billion boost if literacy rates were improved by only 1%.”  The Canadian Council on Learning in the report, “The Future of Literacy in Canada’s Largest Cities” (Sept. 8, 2010) suggests that by 2031 more than 15 million Canadian adults will have low literacy levels. This is an increase of 25% in the next 20 years, which will create a ‘literacy dilemma’ if the  situation is not addressed immediately.

The Gift of Learning

Give children the gift of learning. Teach them accordingly to their needs. Elaine McEwan in Teach Them All to Read had some ‘eye opening’ information that sheds some light in why somebody always learns something independently of the method. She says that of “the total percentage of students enrolled nationwide (US) 5% read ‘as if by magic’ some arrive at school already reading; 20%-30% learn with ease, by any kind of formal instruction; 60% find learning to read to be ‘hard work’;15%-25% find learning to read difficult even with one-on-one specialized instruction; and 5% will have serious and pervasive reading disability.” This means that “to survive academically …they will require the very best in systematic and direct reading instruction from highly skilled and supportive teachers”. (p 6). The last thing anyone needs is to be in the middle of a reading war, waiting for people to make up their minds , while children continue to fall through the ever widening cracks.

Changing the Paradigm

 

With all the money invested in education and  scientific research in the fields of education and brain function,  why is it so difficult to teach children to read? Scientific research and technology are constantly changing. Who is not keeping up? What can be done differently to teach literacy more effectively?  Perhaps the way educational systems group children by chronological age needs to change? Does the teaching  environment need to be improved?

Teaching All Children All they Need to be  Successful

Definitely the need for a “foundation of solid reading skills that includes fluency, development of strong academic language ….., the building of stores of knowledge, cultivation of a sturdy and flexible suite of comprehension strategies, and opportunities to choose and read engaging texts alone and with others – all of these are essential for reading success” (Liben and Liben, 2013). The Libens and Elaine McEwan seem to agree on the need to teach ALL the reading components to ALL the children.

Children’s life conditions need to be improved even before they get to school. Poverty never helped anyone grow healthy and develop their potential. This is not just a classroom problem; it’s much larger than that, but the right approaches in the classroom should mitigate the problem.

From a Fighting Mentality…

 

Human beings are complex. We have many things in common, but we also differ in areas such as learning styles, innate abilities and needs. Therefore a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach whether in education or any other field that deals with humans (i.e. health care) cannot be successful in my opinion. It is time to change the paradigm from “war on illiteracy”, “war on drugs”, “war on….” – phrases, which invoke only  destruction and desolation.  When we look back to historical times the periods of war and destruction are just that. It’s only after  those periods of darkness that people are able to show their creativity; when the arts, music, architecture, literature and other higher forms of human creative cooperation finds expression.

…… to Creativity and Co-creation Mentality

 

 

A paradigm of cooperation and co-creation for the highest good of the children embedded in love, understanding, and empathy will enhance creativity and co-creation . It’s time to pay serious attention to emotional intelligence. This paradigm invokes creativity, happiness, joy, fun – a set of much higher vibrations- a state of being where human beings can thrive and create.

Mental Health: sowing the seed of love of learning

Nurturing environments are fertile ground to sow the seeds of love. Internal states of war are as destructive as external ones. Today children of all ages (as do adults) carry an enormous amount of stress and anxiety. These negative emotions manifest into physical form as headaches, stomach aches and so forth. Add to this, challenging school environments with bullying, lack of respect, and many children will develop fears,  and low self-worth.

Children who are initiated in Reiki energy and/or who learn to use Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) also known as Tapping  have a way of dealing with stress and other negative emotions.   I saw a video clip from Pacific Grove Middle School, CA School District  where students, who  are practicing Tapping before and after class, are said “to improve focus, reduce anxiety, become better collaborators and increase productivity”. I found this video when I   Googled Tapping Solutions. They also talked about a book written by Alex Ortner for elementary school children called “Gorilla Thumps and Bear Hugs” to teach tapping.

Opinions will differ on these subjects, but it’s personal experience that counts. These techniques work in the realm of energy so for someone still viewing the world solely based on Newtonian physics, Quantum is really a big leap.

 

 

With Love and Gratitude,

Alda

Resources:

Teach Them ALL to Read: Catching the Kids Who Fall Through the Cracks  by Elaine K. McEwan

A Proposed Paradigm Shift for CCSS ELA and Literach by Liben and Liben

www.statcan.gc.ca

www.literacymattersus.org

www.excellence-in-literacy.org/facts.html

www.literacy.ca

www.indexmundi.com

www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/09/01/canada-literacyrates-n-11817262.html

 

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The True Power of Water and the Creation of a Nurturing Environment

The True Power of Water by Masaru Emoto is a favourite book of mine.  He researched water and took pictures of frozen water crystals.  These crystals  had been exposed to different vibration frequencies and environmental toxins.

If water was exposed to positive words (love, gratitude, thank you, beautiful music ie- Pachelbel’s Cannon in D Major) it formed beautiful crystals, but if it was exposed to negative words (fear, worry, stress , a piece of heavy metal music) the crystals were deformed and unbalanced. These can be seen in the pictures in the book. For example:


Thank you

 

 

“Cannon in D Major” Pachelbel

 

Love and Gratitude

On page 142  of The True Power of Water under the subtitle “Love” and “Gratitude” Change the World, Emoto writes,“ Water responded to words used for talking to children.” If we talk lovingly to children, whose bodies are 90% water, then we can imagine what a High vibrational energy download that is.  Masaru  Emoto says, “We must pay respect to water, feel love and gratitude, and receive vibrations with a positive attitude. Then, water changes, you change, and I change. Because  both you and I are water”. (p.145). The implications for raising healthy and happy children are amazing not to mention their enhanced ability to learn to read and  read to learn- full literacy.

The Two Minds

The conscious mind is busy with learning, but the subconscious mind which has been downloading information since conception, can be an asset or a hindrance because  it runs our lives. So it is to our advantage that the ‘programs’ are beneficially positive.   Dr. Lipton, humorously, entitles chapter 2 in The Biology of Belief – “It’s the Environment, Stupid”.  It is the environment that changes/activates genes.

The Power to Change

By consciously empowering ourselves, we can change our environment. The same goes for children’s learning environments both at home and at school. How great to know that we have the power to change by creating positive vibrations that can be felt throughout the human body.  The ability to change by using one’s free will!

With Love and Gratitude,

Alda

 

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Nurturing The Child to Successfully develop the Reading Puzzle

Nurturing Environment 

A nurturing environment is critical to children’s lives. It provides the ‘frame’ to assemble  daily learning.  Children learn better in safe environments because they are not intimidated or bullied. Therefore it’s easier to be a risk-taker when learning, to venture a guess, to go out of their comfort zone. Healthy, well nourished children raised in loving homes provide a strong ‘frame’ in which teachers and parents can help them build their reading puzzle. A nurturing environment is key to children’s overall development.

Even Before Birth

However, the ‘frame’ of the reading puzzle starts taking shape way before the child gets to daycare/school. Epigeneticist Dr. Bruce Lipton in The Honeymoom Effect  explains how babies in utero experience the same emotions and physiology as the mother because they are bathed in the same blood chemistry as the mother. So whatever emotion the mother is feeling so will the baby feel it.

He quotes from Tomorrow’s Baby: The Art and Science of Parenting from Conception through Infancy by Dr. Thomas Verney & Pamela Weintraub, (2002),29 that “Awake or asleep,…[unborn children] are constantly tuned in to their mother’s every action, thought, and feeling. From the moment of conception, the experience in the womb shapes the brain and lays the groundwork for personality, emotional temperament, and the power of higher thought”. By the time the child is born he/she is already programmed by these experiences. Therefore the nurturing environment starts in the womb.

Good Vibrations

Hence the reason why people play certain types of classical music ( known as the Mozart effect) to fetuses. The high vibrations of the music, permeating the water around and in the baby’s body, provide a healthy environment for the fetus, by counterbalancing any emotion being experienced by mom. From the womb through the first year of life infants’ brains operate at the slowest brain-wave frequency, they sleep a lot. From 2 to 6 years of age the brain-wave frequency is a vibrational frequency  associated with children’s great imaginations which they show through their play, where imagination and reality become blurred in their minds.

Dr. Lipton explains that at this stage ‘information can be directly downloaded into the subconscious mind,[and]…this is a highly programmable  theta (wave) state ,children record vast amounts of information they need to survive in their environment, but they do not have the capacity to consciously  evaluate the information, while  it’s being downloaded”.(The Honeymoom Effect, (2013),81-82. How crucial that parents and teachers know this!

Low Vibrations and Conditioning

The negative, low vibration behaviours of adults program children’s   subconscious minds. Yet adults probably have no idea how these beliefs will later on reflect in the children’s lives. I think as parents we have all been there in anger and frustration and with good intentions. Foremost in our minds was   what was best for the children.

We did the best we could with what we knew at the time. I’ve apologized to my children, probably not enough. I have a second chance to model appropriate behavior with my grandchildren. Now I know a little more than I knew then. That’s part of my personal growth. I believe that when anyone expands in their knowledge, behaviour and spiritual journey, we all benefit such is the universal connection.

Therefore, the importance of conscious parenting by modeling positive behavior can do wonders for learning survival skills, so children can survive in their environment instead of being dragged down by it. Children learn by observation of the world around them. We must be careful of what they are observing.

 

With Love and Gratitude

Alda

 

Source:

Bruce Lipton, PhD,  The Honeymoon Effect, 2013