Fun Learning Week 4

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had fun with the maths activities last week - I had some lovely photos sent to me so I would love to see some more this week!

This week we are looking at oral language and reading.

Almost all children learn the rules of their language at an early age through use, and over time, without formal instruction. Humans beings are born to speak; they have a gift for figuring out the rules of the language used in their environment.

The environment itself is also a significant factor. Children learn the  language that the important people around them speak.

Children do not, however, learn only by imitating those around them. We know that children work through linguistic rules on their own because they use forms that adults never use, such as "I goed there before" or "I see your feets." Children eventually learn the conventional forms, went and feet, as they sort out for themselves the rules of English syntax.

As with learning to walk, learning to talk requires time for development and practice in everyday situations. Children are born not just to speak, but also to interact socially. Even before they use words, they use cries and gestures to convey meaning; they often understand the meanings that others convey. The point of learning language and interacting socially, then, is not to master rules, but to make connections with other people and to make sense of experience..

When children develop abilities is always a difficult question to answer. In general…

• Children say their first words between 12 and 18 months of age.
• They begin to use complex sentences by the age of 4 to 4 1/2 years.
• By the time they start school, children know most of the fundamentals of their language, so that they are able to converse easily with someone who speaks as they do.

As with other aspects of development, language acquisition is not predictable. One child may say her first word at 10 months, another at 20 months. One child may use complex sentences at 5 1/2 years, another at 3 years - each child learns at their own pace.

Reading is one of the most important ways to develop vocabulary

• Books allow children explore vocabulary that is not in their direct world e.g. fairies, dinosaurs etc.
• Reading is important for success in education and employment.
• Children read to regularly have a vocabulary size 5 times higher than those who are not.
• 90% of children’s brains are developed in the first 5 years of life.....that’s why it is never too early to start reading to your family, even at 1 month of age!