This post will continue the conversation on language development for 3 to 4 year olds focusing on the area of learning - Communication. The component is expressive language starting with the learning expectation: Uses language for a variety of purposes. Remember I am taking my information from the Tennessee Early Learning Developmental Standards (TN-ELDS).
The first performance indicator we will discuss today is: Shows lots of imagination in verbal expressions. As I have written in previous posts, I am seeing a real decline in imaginative play and verbal expressions in the 3 to 4 year old range. I am seeing imagination from 4 to 5 year olds, but not as much as I used to see. Many 3 year olds are lagging in language skills compared to their counterparts of only a few years ago. They barely know how to play at all. Some 3 year old children are still in the parallel play phase and do well to play next to another child without a war. Some only know how to dump and destroy and do not play at all really. We are having a crisis of imagination these days. I truly believe it is because we have nearly made free play extinct, and it is costing us in every area of development.
The next performance indicator is: Tells the sequence of a story with appropriate pictures. Truthfully, I have 4 year olds that struggle horribly with this performance indicator. I have had 3 year olds that could do this, but they had been with me since they were one year olds and had heard these familiar stories enough to be able to sequence the pictures. That is the key. If a child has not heard a story enough times, they will not be able to sequence the pictures. Children that are not read to enough struggle with this particular performance indicator. I cannot state enough how important it is to read to children daily. So much of their language development depends on this.
Now we will switch gears to the next learning expectation: Participates in conversations. The first performance indicator for this one is: Likes to talk about things that have happened and will happen. Again, this is behavior I am seeing more from 4 year olds than 3 year olds. I have seen 3 year olds that conquer this one very shortly after their 3rd birthday. I have also seen 3 year olds that could barely converse in real conversation until they were well over 3 and 1/2 years old. The lag of language development hits so many different aspects of a child's ability to communicate. However, we as a society view everyone under the age of 4 as babies and are not really all that concerned about this lack of language skills. We need to make some adjustments in our expectations. These standards were written over a decade ago, and they applied for the most part at the time. Looking at them now, we see the downward spiral or at least I do. We have problems that are only going to get worse unless we change our philosophies.
The second performance indicator for that learning expectation is: Continues to ask questions to keep conversation going. I hate to sound like a broken record, but this is a behavior I see from 4 year olds and not many 3 year olds. I hope that these posts have been making you take stock of the children in your care and the ones you come in contact with throughout your weekly activities. Are you seeing the lag in language development as much as I am? I am seeing maybe 3 and 1/2 year olds able to participate in a verbal exchange by answering a question, but to keep that conversation going by asking questions? That I am not seeing except from children that have been in high quality care most of their lives. I also might see it from a 3 year old in a homeschooling family. The average 3 year old from the average family can barely converse and be understood at all. Children have to be able to participate in conversations quite a bit to be able to show this level of skill in participation in conversations. I will tell you that they can mimic their parents talking on their cell phone, but to actually know how to participate in conversations? Not so much.
The last performance indicator we will look at in this post is: Participates in meaningful, two-way conversation with another person. Guess what? I am not seeing this with 3 year olds but with 4 year olds. I am also seeing some 4 year olds that cannot conquer this performance indicator. The only 3 year olds I see that can carry on a meaningful two-way conversation are those that have been in high quality care from birth or homeschooling families. I will admit to you that a large majority of care does not qualify for high quality care. High quality care provides environments that promote academic development. These facilities have daily activities for even toddlers that promote language development and math development on the level appropriate for that child. Homeschooling families usually have an environment where the very young watch older siblings' lessons and learn a great deal. They might actually outdo the ones in academic preschools divided by age. Many people do not understand the great blessings of mixed-age environments unless, of course, they are family childcare providers or homeschoolers. Children in mixed-age facilities or homes benefit from all the instruction provided whether for older children or younger children. The older children benefit from the review they get in being exposed to the younger children's lessons. The younger children gain exposure to higher concepts from the older children's lessons. It is by far the most win-win educational environment out there. This is why many homeschoolers outperform their public school counterparts. I wish those that were in positions of power in the United States Department of Education understood that particular concept.
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
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