Language Development for 3 to 4 year olds - Communication (Part 2)

This post will continue the discussion of language development for 3 to 4 year olds.  The area of learning is still Communication.  We will finish up the component - Receptive Language.  Remember I am taking my information from the Tennessee Early Learning Developmental Standards (TN-ELDS).

In this post we will cover the learning expectation:  Demonstrates understanding of conversations through own actions and responses to directions and questions.  The first performance indicator for this learning expectation is:  Anticipates correct response to statements made regarding familiar routines (goes and gets coat when told it's time to go outside, finds own blanket and mat when told it's nap time).  This performance indicator assumes a child has regular routines.  For those children that are in more structured environments, this would be a correct assumption.  However, many children do not have regular routines.  The downturn in the economy has actually decreased the population of young children in structured environments until those children reach PreK age.  Many parents simply cannot afford to put their children in good childcares, which tend to cost to more money.  Some childcares can be complete free-for-alls without much structure at all.  In order to conquer this particular performance indicator, a child has to have regular routines.  Many of today's parents and grandparents do not put much emphasis at all on establishing routines for small children.  The children cannot anticipate what does not exist.  However, once a child does enter a structured environment even if that is not until kindergarten, they will eventually conquer this particular performance indicator.  This is yet another reason kindergarten teachers deserve medals of honor.  Many children reach kindergarten completely unprepared.

The next performance indicator is:  Knows where he lives (i.e., street name and number).  This is a performance indicator from a different era.  So many children today live in two or three different places during the same week.  Mom has one house.  Dad has another house.  Grandparents may be thrown in the mix.  Most children do well to know which house they will be going to on any particular day.  To actually know the street address just might be asking a little much.  Very few 3 to 4 year olds know their street address.  Many children enter kindergarten not knowing their street address unless the school requires such knowledge in which case the parents frantically try to teach the children their address two weeks before the start of school.  I do not personally worry about this particular performance indicator until the child is 6 months out from kindergarten.  Some young parents move around A LOT, and if that is the case, I do not even worry about the address at that point, either.

Next on the list is:  Understands colors and can identify basic colors when asked (red, yellow, blue, green, orange, purple, and others).  As I have said many times before, colors must be directly taught, or they will not be learned.  I have had many 4 year olds come through the door not knowing but maybe one or two colors if that many.  When colors are directly taught, even 2 and 1/2 to 3 year olds will know their basic colors.  What do I mean by directly taught?  Teaching colors actually involves two steps.  The first step is to name the colors for the child.  After that has been done regularly, then you have the child name the color for you.  How this is accomplished matters little as long as both steps are involved in the activity.  Some early childhood teachers shy away from the second step because it feels too much like requiring rote responses.  However, I know from experience that if the child is not required to respond with the correct color, some children will not pay attention to the activity.  Learning the names of anything falls on the left side of the brain and requires this "rote" type of instruction.

The next performance indicator is:  Understands responses to "Hi" and "How are you?" and answers appropriately.  I do believe this one might be a performance indicator from another era as well.  Unless a child is friendly and outgoing as a personality trait, most children these days are extremely socially awkward when it comes to these types of social graces.  When you say "hi" to them, they either hide behind someone or something or completely ignore you.  This continues well into their fourth year.  I have to work hard to get the children to say "good morning" to me when I say it to them, and this is 4 to 5 year olds not 3 to 4 year olds.

The last performance indicator for this learning expectation is:  Carries out a three-part, related direction (three levels would be "Please, would you get the can of dog food out of the refrigerator and feed the puppy?").  I will say that some children can conquer this performance indicator at this age and some absolutely cannot.  I have two boys with ADHD, and if I can get them to focus long enough to actually fully carry out one direction, I have done well.  If it is an established routine, they might be able to carry out a two-part direction on good days, and they are 4 and 5 years old not 3 years old.  Even if you have children you suspect to be ADHD, you still should really work on this performance indicator.  Being able to follow multi-part directions lays the groundwork for sequencing and other math skills.  If they do not conquer three-part directions before they turn 4 years old, keep after it.  They need to be able to do this in order to handle other skills in the future.

I hope you have enjoyed this post.  Goodbye and God bless!! Check out Natalie's children's books at:  https://www.amazon.com/author/nataliewade7457