The Importance of Language and Literacy for Children in Daycare – Part 1

The Importance of Language and Literacy for Children in Daycare – Part 1 – At Alpha’s Discovery Kids Preschool and Daycare, located in Mississauga and Oakville, we have created a curriculum that fosters children’s natural curiosity through exploration, play and inquiry.  Our curriculum focuses on The 4 Pillars of Learning: 1) Language and Literacy, 2) STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math), 3) Physical Activity and Nutrition, and 4) Mindful Awareness.  Over the next few months, we will be examining the 4 Pillars in-depth, and providing tips on how parents can incorporate the curriculum in their own homes. 

First Pillar Of Learning

Language and Literacy is the first Pillar of Learning because it is the foundation for acquiring all other skills. The ability to communicate effectively, through both verbal and written communication, is key to learning all other subject areas and achieving academic success. 

Language and Literacy go hand in hand, especially when working with young children.  A toddler’s brain is at peak ability for learning, meaning a solid groundwork for language and literacy can be established at this time.  As a person ages, we lose the ability to easily learn new things, but for young children presenting language and literacy together is easy and natural, because they are not differentiating written language from spoken language the way adults do.  It is all just learning how to communicate.

There are many ways to develop language and literacy in young children.  When engaging with the children we use full sentences, not “baby talk”, and use the vocabulary suitable for whatever we are doing at the time.  We encourage children to ask questions about new words.  We enunciate clearly so they can hear the letter sounds we are using.  To help develop speech, we give them time to get their thoughts out. We do not speak for them or assume we know what the want to say.  If they need something, we encourage them to ask for it.  If they can’t articulate what they want, then we model the words for them, e.g., “Oh, you want some water?  Here is your water.” This will help them frame the question for the next time. 

Embrace The Opportunity

Many of the children who come through our doors everyday speak a different language at home and then English when they come to school.  Often they will become interpreters for other, older family members.  We don’t see this as a challenge, we recognize it as an opportunity.  A person’s brain is at peak ability to learn language between the ages of 1-6 years.  To fully exploit this, we take the opportunity to introduce them to Canada’s other official language, French, in our classrooms.  We use songs to introduce them to the French alphabet, numbers, colours, and basic words, giving them a head start on learning the language, since public schools don’t usually introduce French until fourth grade.  If a parent wants to pursue a French immersion program, their child will begin with a solid base in the language.

These are just some of the ways we incorporate Language and Literacy skills in our classrooms to help your children thrive.  Stay tuned for our next blog post, where we will continue to provide more information about how we teach children to read and tips for parents to use at home too! If you want further information about The 4 Pillars of Learning, click on the Curriculum page.

The Importance of Language and Literacy for Children in Daycare – Part 1

by Susie Beghin