Dynamic Classrooms Are Not Quiet
Quiet classrooms do not mean that young children are learning. In fact, since language is very important during the early years, quiet classrooms may indicate that your children are not learning all they could be.
Talking gives a child the opportunity to experiment with new words. It provides the vehicle for expressing ideas and testing current knowledge. Have you ever heard a child repeat something you said but it was totally out of context ? That is testing ….. current knowledge.
Shared experiences are important; it gives each child something to talk about.
Children learn the nuances of communication in groups; they are trying out their language skills. For example , they learn what a question sounds like and how loud is loud enough.
Has your child explained our levels of loudness in our room ?
1- whisper
2 -normal conversation
3- you are speaking to a group or need someone’s attention
4. You are in trouble and need help or you are outside.
Using words and talking about how things work, making comparisons, and retelling experiences lead to increased intellectual development. When children reconstruct experiences, sequence events and point out similarities or differences, they are clearly engaging in higher-level thinking skills. And when kids are encouraged to ask questions, they not only gain information from adults responses but build their competence – and confidence – as active seekers of knowledge and understanding.
The vocabularies children use in reading and writing are based on the words they are familiar with from listening and speaking. But expanded vocabularies and other aspects of language growth occur through using language. Talking in the classroom maybe a little noisy, but positive results are easily heard.
Annalise was on a roll in the language domain today and I said ” Oh , Annalise. I can’t wait until you get to kindergarten. ” Her reply was ” I’m gonna make them laugh too .” Baby girl I hope it works out that way too.
I can remember a day when walking in a young classroom that was quiet meant the teacher was doing her job controlling the students. Is that really want we want ? Control ? Not this teacher. ❤️ I don’t want complete chaos but a little busyness and excited chatter never hurt anyone.