It is in fact very common for children everywhere not just in Malaysia or Singapore to acguire a second language through formal education than to continue their studies exclusively in the first language. We also see another phenomenon :- Parents starting multi language education for their children at a young age, and encouraging them to become at least thrilingual speakers.
The benefit of being trilingual are many. They are able move arround socially and gain rapport with others is integral to human socialising. Once there is mutual understanding, the children will have a head start to have a wider network of friends and relationships.
Children who are multiligual also tend to handle concepts in flexible, multiple ways. They have to digest and process a concept well before they are able to explain it in three different languages.
According to linguistic experts, the environment is crucial in terms of language input for the child. Generally if the environment is language rich, the child will eventually be able to make meaning of what he or she is hearing. there may be some mixing, but if parents speak to them consistently using complete sentences of a good quality, they will not have a lot of problems.
Another interesting method that the well regarded preschool uses is the One Person One Language approach. In this approach, children associate each person in their environment with one particular language. For example, mum speaks Maderine and dad speaks in English at home.
In school that is reinforced by having at least one English speaking and one Manderine speaking teacher in the class, which help children to associate the English language with one teacher and Chinese language with another teacher.
Associating a third language with an enrichment centre is also an option for some parents
The
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Sibling Rivals
Sibling relationship are important in building character and problem solving skils. These relationship allow your children to practice negotiations, compromises and expressions that they willuse as they get older in the real world. As parents we often want to 'rescue' our children from uncomfortable situations. However it is importantr that parents give their children the opportunity and room to resolve conflict by themselves. It is therefore all right for your children to bicker if it is not excessive or results in aggressive towards one another. If your children seem to bicker frequently and are not able to devise a solution from it (i.e "you can have my teddy for 5 minutes and then it's my turn with it") then you may step in during this resolution stage. You can guide them by saying "it is nice to share. you can play together" or "Let's swop toys". Should your children follow your advice then praise is a great way to teach your children what to do in the future. Say something like this "Mummy is so proud that you two are playing nicely" or "I knew my kids were great at sharing."
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Is Preschool really necessary ?
I'm sure many parents have asked this question at one time or another. Those who have travelled the preschool journey know that it is not an easy one. What can we expect from going through this process ? How do kids and parents cope separately ? Will this preschool option work for some parents / kids and not for others ? What are the implications of holding a kid back ? These are the new critical questions to ask.
Preschool education provides certain key benefits which are critical to a child's development.
For a strt they learn to adopt to a routine. Waking up early and sending kids to school is a good routineto adopt. In one sense parents are educating their children to get ready for school, and they are also getting ready for their day (work or otherwise)
While some parents would like their children to adopt early, social and academic skills, for other preschool education serves as a welcome break especially if there is no immediate family support.
Next, social expectation or intersaction is something that is difficult for us to assimilate for our children in the home environment. We rely on the preschool to teach our children these early skills.
Finally, most parents tend to do everything for the child but we know that preschool encourage children to be independant.
Nowadays, parents send their children topreschool earlier as they recognise the benefits. These days, children from 18 months to 6 years old attend prescchool, and they are enrolled in full or part time programme.
Preschool education provides certain key benefits which are critical to a child's development.
For a strt they learn to adopt to a routine. Waking up early and sending kids to school is a good routineto adopt. In one sense parents are educating their children to get ready for school, and they are also getting ready for their day (work or otherwise)
While some parents would like their children to adopt early, social and academic skills, for other preschool education serves as a welcome break especially if there is no immediate family support.
Next, social expectation or intersaction is something that is difficult for us to assimilate for our children in the home environment. We rely on the preschool to teach our children these early skills.
Finally, most parents tend to do everything for the child but we know that preschool encourage children to be independant.
Nowadays, parents send their children topreschool earlier as they recognise the benefits. These days, children from 18 months to 6 years old attend prescchool, and they are enrolled in full or part time programme.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Partner in Parenting
Parents are children’s first and most enduring educators. When parents and teachers work together in early years settings, the results have a positive impact on children’s learning and development. It is known that what parents do at home with young children has the greatest impact on a child’s social, emotional and intellectual development. What parents do is more important than who parents are.
Social class, income, living conditions and parents’ own education levels are clearly related to child outcomes, but the quality of the ‘home learning environment’ is even more important. Parents may live in disadvantaged circumstances and may not have achieved well educationally, but if they regularly engage in activities which help to ‘stretch a child’s mind’ as part of everyday life at home, they can enhance their child’s progress and development. Children with strong home learning environments are already ahead in both social and intellectual development at the age of three. This advantage continues through to age seven.
Working effectively with parents
As home has such a powerful effect on children’s learning the most effective early years settings – those that achieve the best social and intellectual outcomes for their children – work closely with parents. These settings share their educational aims clearly and encourage high levels of engagement. They work to build parent confidence in what they do already at home and they offer ideas to support and enhance this. Most significantly, they exchange information about children regularly on a weekly or monthly basis with parents. They listen to what parents have to say about their own child’s capabilities and interests, and make use of these observations for future planning, encouraging parents to be active in this planning process. They also support children’s learning at home directly with suggested activities and the loan of materials that complement what happens in the setting (Siraj-Blatchford et al, 2003; Sylva et al, 2004; Desforges, 2003).
Establishing respectful relationships
How can more early years settings work towards this level of parent partnership? The PEAL training helps practitioners reflect on this question and plan future action. A regular exchange of information and ideas between parents and practitioners involves more than termly parents’ meetings, regular letters and displays, more than curriculum workshops and invitations to parents to help in the setting. These are all valuable strategies, but something extra is needed if as many parents as possible are to be reached and encouraged to engage in regular two-way communication.
Evidence from both formal research studies and experience on the ground indicates that this level of partnership is best achieved when settings and practitioners work very hard at establishing respectful relationships with their families. They think through the quality of these relationships and avoid making assumptions about parents or assigning ‘group characteristics’ to any particular community. They listen to parents as individuals and spend time getting to know families well, showing interest in different perspectives, and building on a family’s strengths. Knowing quite a lot about their families enables them to offer a good range of ways to get involved in learning, well matched to attract engagement and attendance. Timings for events are carefully thought through to meet working or study patterns and childcare needs are taken into account.
If parents are asked to provide observations from home, a range of options are offered to help achieve this. Some parents will be encouraged to write but others will report back verbally or via camera or tape recorder. Interpretation and translation needs are known and provided for. Most importantly, all parents are made to feel that their efforts are welcomed and valued (Whalley, 2001; Draper and Duffy, 2007).
Working in this way needs strategic planning. Successful settings tend to have a key person system and a member of the senior management team who leads on parental involvement, offering clear supervisory support to practitioners in their work with parents. Attention is paid to developing staff confidence in talking with parents and extra training is sought where appropriate. Settling in procedures combined with home visits, are well thought through and time is structured into the day to allow more time to talk to parents; the latter is made a high priority.
Social class, income, living conditions and parents’ own education levels are clearly related to child outcomes, but the quality of the ‘home learning environment’ is even more important. Parents may live in disadvantaged circumstances and may not have achieved well educationally, but if they regularly engage in activities which help to ‘stretch a child’s mind’ as part of everyday life at home, they can enhance their child’s progress and development. Children with strong home learning environments are already ahead in both social and intellectual development at the age of three. This advantage continues through to age seven.
Working effectively with parents
As home has such a powerful effect on children’s learning the most effective early years settings – those that achieve the best social and intellectual outcomes for their children – work closely with parents. These settings share their educational aims clearly and encourage high levels of engagement. They work to build parent confidence in what they do already at home and they offer ideas to support and enhance this. Most significantly, they exchange information about children regularly on a weekly or monthly basis with parents. They listen to what parents have to say about their own child’s capabilities and interests, and make use of these observations for future planning, encouraging parents to be active in this planning process. They also support children’s learning at home directly with suggested activities and the loan of materials that complement what happens in the setting (Siraj-Blatchford et al, 2003; Sylva et al, 2004; Desforges, 2003).
Establishing respectful relationships
How can more early years settings work towards this level of parent partnership? The PEAL training helps practitioners reflect on this question and plan future action. A regular exchange of information and ideas between parents and practitioners involves more than termly parents’ meetings, regular letters and displays, more than curriculum workshops and invitations to parents to help in the setting. These are all valuable strategies, but something extra is needed if as many parents as possible are to be reached and encouraged to engage in regular two-way communication.
Evidence from both formal research studies and experience on the ground indicates that this level of partnership is best achieved when settings and practitioners work very hard at establishing respectful relationships with their families. They think through the quality of these relationships and avoid making assumptions about parents or assigning ‘group characteristics’ to any particular community. They listen to parents as individuals and spend time getting to know families well, showing interest in different perspectives, and building on a family’s strengths. Knowing quite a lot about their families enables them to offer a good range of ways to get involved in learning, well matched to attract engagement and attendance. Timings for events are carefully thought through to meet working or study patterns and childcare needs are taken into account.
If parents are asked to provide observations from home, a range of options are offered to help achieve this. Some parents will be encouraged to write but others will report back verbally or via camera or tape recorder. Interpretation and translation needs are known and provided for. Most importantly, all parents are made to feel that their efforts are welcomed and valued (Whalley, 2001; Draper and Duffy, 2007).
Working in this way needs strategic planning. Successful settings tend to have a key person system and a member of the senior management team who leads on parental involvement, offering clear supervisory support to practitioners in their work with parents. Attention is paid to developing staff confidence in talking with parents and extra training is sought where appropriate. Settling in procedures combined with home visits, are well thought through and time is structured into the day to allow more time to talk to parents; the latter is made a high priority.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Finding and Selecting The Right Care Centre for Your Child
The Centre's Location
The factor most important to a majority of parents will be a centre's location. Proximity and convenience to home and work are primeconsiderations when making this decision. For some parents, child care close to work is a priority. When you're at work and received that dreaded call from your child's caregiver telling you that your child is not feeling well, it's reassuring to know you can be with your child in a short amount of time. The hardest ride home is one in which you are racing to get to a child who is not feeling well. Can you imagine how your anxiety would be heightened if that race were two cabs and an hour's drive away ?
Other benefit to child care that's located close to your work place are the middle of the day visits and lunches you can share with your child. You can look forward to a peaceful ride home together, which can provide some one-to-one time for you and your child. Depending on the distance between child care centre and home, commuting together can work positively for you and your child
The factor most important to a majority of parents will be a centre's location. Proximity and convenience to home and work are primeconsiderations when making this decision. For some parents, child care close to work is a priority. When you're at work and received that dreaded call from your child's caregiver telling you that your child is not feeling well, it's reassuring to know you can be with your child in a short amount of time. The hardest ride home is one in which you are racing to get to a child who is not feeling well. Can you imagine how your anxiety would be heightened if that race were two cabs and an hour's drive away ?
Other benefit to child care that's located close to your work place are the middle of the day visits and lunches you can share with your child. You can look forward to a peaceful ride home together, which can provide some one-to-one time for you and your child. Depending on the distance between child care centre and home, commuting together can work positively for you and your child
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