Language Development in Kindermusik class

How do children grow their vocabulary? When do babies really learn words? When do babies understand words?

If you want a child with a big vocabulary you have to use your words! Talk to your baby morning, noon, and night!

Last week in our Kindermusik Village class we worked with little nursery rhymes: Hey diddle diddle, This little cow eats grass, (and more). The home activity was to play with words, tell stories, recite more rhymes, play with your voice (squeaky or low, fast or slow etc) . What does all this mean to a 5 month old?

Well, they are making brain connections for language from the day they are born. Drawing conclusions on the rhythm and melodies of what is spoken. Patterns of phrases, repeated words, the connections of words to your facial expression and body language. The give and take of conversation. So much going on here.

First time parents may feel awkward having one way conversations about diaper changes, folding laundry and reading the newspaper but that's the key for helping a child figure out this whole language thing! When you take this seriously, they take it as positive reinforcement for being curious and communicative. (What's important to you is definitely important to them.)

In class last week for the Kindermusik Our Time children (18 months to 3 1/2 yo) we introduced "scaffolding" which is a parenting technique for encouraging exploration and also for getting children to do what YOU want them to do. First you observe and affirm what they are already doing (we were working with the rhythm sticks and the musical element of fast and slow), we imitated them (imitation is a sure form of affirmation for children) and describe and label everything, giving informational feedback. Then we suggest a variation to their action...we challenge. The whole activity is dependent on conversation. Talk, talk, talk.....

Click on the picture above to watch a video from How Stuff Works about some of the research they've done on the language-IQ connection. I'm not advocating a word counting assessment software...I'd rather talk to my babies because I love them not because my goal is a certain IQ. But I do want to give my babies what I can to increase their potential...who doesn't want the best for their baby?

So....snow day today (no classes).

Hey, Baby! Talk some, sing some!
Reminds me of a song I haven't sung in ages:

Chatter with the angels, soon in the morning.
Chatter with the angels all day long!
Chatter with the angels, soon in the morning.
Chatter with the angels all day long!
I want to join that band and chatter with the angels all day long.

Have fun,
Yvette

I've been trying to tell you!

Baby Einsteins: Not So Smart After All

Led by Frederick Zimmerman and Dr. Dimitri Christakis, both at the University of Washington, the research team found that with every hour per day spent watching baby DVDs and videos, infants learned six to eight fewer new vocabulary words than babies who never watched the videos. These products had the strongest detrimental effect on babies 8 to 16 months old, the age at which language skills are starting to form. "The more videos they watched, the fewer words they knew," says Christakis. "These babies scored about 10% lower on language skills than infants who had not watched these videos."

It's not the first blow to baby videos, and likely won't be the last. Mounting evidence suggests that passive screen sucking not only doesn't help children learn, but could also set back their development. Last spring, Christakis and his colleagues found that by three months, 40% of babies are regular viewers of DVDs, videos or television; by the time they are two years old, almost 90% are spending two to three hours each day in front of a screen. Three studies have shown that watching television, even if it includes educational programming such as Sesame Street, delays language development. "Babies require face-to-face interaction to learn," says Dr. Vic Strasburger, professor of pediatrics at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. "They don't get that interaction from watching TV or videos. In fact, the watching probably interferes with the crucial wiring being laid down in their brains during early development."

READ THE REST from Time.com

Here's my personal story: One day we got a call from our phone company and internet provider and they were wondering why did I not choose the full package of phone/internet and cable TV. I was standing in the kitchen and the children were here and there around listening in (they are so drawn to adult conversation....ever notice that?). Claire, who was 16 at the time caught on and she came and stood near. I answered the telemarketer by saying we didn't choose cable TV because we didn't have a TV. There was a remarkable pause on the other end of the line. I thought I heard his teeth drop. "You don't have a TV?" he asked. "What do you do then?" Here's where Claire couldn't help herself. She shouted so he could hear "WE READ, WE READ!!!" I told him he should try it but he said "I just don't think I could".

At a conference I attended this past July, David Gentile presented a session on Media Vilolence and How it Affects Children. He said that in America 99% of people have a TV. That's more than those who have telephones and running water. 26% of 2 to 4 year olds have a TV in their bedroom. And the article above says that 90% of 2 year olds are spending 2-3 hours daily in front of the TV.


If you do read the rest of the article quoted above you'll see that what I've been telling you in class that's missing from TV is the contingent response provided by another live human being is the crucial link to learning. The actual moment of learning, the spark, happens when you react to your baby's action. If the baby taps on the TV screen the TV just can't react! Even a computer can't react in the complex way a human face and human voice and human touch can.

Hugs,
Yvette

Kindness Counts
Notice — and encourage — your child's random acts of kindness.
By Becky Bailey Ph.D November , 2006

A young mother strokes her screaming infant's head as her family waits on what seems to be the slowest restaurant service in the world. A harried waitress approaches the table with a smile and stoops to pick up the napkin that 4-year-old Samuel has tossed to the floor for the umpteenth time. Samuel sits up tall, kisses his crying sister on the head, and announces, "Mommy wants her food! Now!"



Please read the rest! FIND KINDNESS HERE.

A parent's words carry a great deal of power. Becky Bailey's article is very exact in what
to say when you noticing a kind action and the words a parent chooses make a great impact on how the compliment is received. I'd love you to read her whole article so that you are better able to respond in kindess!

If you are interested in reading more like this then go get Alfie Kohn's book "Punish by Rewards".

Animal Serenade for your little Valentines.....

Here's a cuuuuuuute video to watch with your little valentine on your knee. It's short so afterwards if you are part of the Our Time class and are reading the Animal Serenade book then you should cuddle up and read.....I wonder if the Yellow Mr. Horse will meow or quack or growl.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yihq8BIhL9c

Then I'd like to tell you about making a contingent response. That's one of the big differences between a child watching a video and you reading together with your child. Making a contingent response creates moments of high learning possibilities.

If you child is watching the TV and reacts (let's say she makes a remark like naming an animal or making the animal sound) and no one pauses to say "Yes, that's a donkey!" or to imitate her vocalizations, when no one is there to make a contingent response, then a window of opportunity, a chance for learning, has been neglected.

When you're reading together and your baby starts to chew on the book and you gently pull the book down and turn the page you are reacting...that's another contingent response. Your reaction to their action creates a moment of learning not to be missed.....

Now that you know what a contingent response is be observant at how you naturally make them...you are programmed to do this...it's all in the plan for optimal learning for your child. A DVD or computer game just can't do this.

I learned this last year at the Challenge of the Children conference at Hope College last May. Jane Healey spoke on the topic of screen time (TV, video, Computer games etc) in education. It was eye opening. Ask me if you like to borrow her book!

Make room now on your calendar for this year's Challenge of the Children Conference, Thursday, May 17th all day. They've got a great line up of speakers....including me! I'll be talking about my passions: Music and babies and the brain! :-)

Now, go read to them and watch your contingent responses! See how they grow?
I would be reading too but big sister is reading to little sister right now so I'm doing this instead.
Happy Valentine's day to you and your loved ones.
Yvette