Kinder Celta Newsletter November 2020

Values

Sometimes we think that acting in a certain way is a cultural habit, that is hard to distinguish if something is right or wrong, it depends on the society, when it happens in time, family traditions, religion, etc. However, there are universal values that should apply for any circumstances, places or beliefs. For example: in society it is easier to understand and justify a mother who steals bread to feed her children against a businessman that steals funds from a company, even though, stealing is still wrong. This takes us to the conclusion that values are fundamental for humanity.

Human values are those universal ethical principles that work as a guide to know how to behave, live harmonically in a community and evolve as human beings.

These values are not determined by any culture, religion, time or any other circumstances. They are innate to human beings, enduring in time and transferable to any place in the world.

Besides these universal values, everyone can add their personal values that are inherent to their personality, education, the society they live in, their culture, beliefs, etc. The set of these two, universal human values and personal values, makes us all better people and they are responsible for the way we interact in this world.

Therefore, we can conclude that values are the pillars of humanity. That is why it is so important to educate children in values. Values help them to be better people and to behave in an assertive way in each moment of their lives, they will also encourage them to have healthy relationships, better problem solving skills, it will avoid risky situations and it will open opportunities for their personal growth. It is important to remember that values are taught with our words and action, as parents and educators we are a constant example in every decision we take.

The importance of evaluating psychomotor skills

Controlled and unintentional movements that require a lot of precision play a fundamental role as a characteristic in the coordination and movement manipulation of visual-motor activities. With the development of all this information, the intention is that children acquire control of their movements and consequently dominate objects that they interact with and the spaces they have activities in. It’s particularly important to evaluate our students in psychomotor classes, through an evaluation we can obtain an assessment of their development. It´s important to know how every objective is reached according to their ages since there are basic movements such as walking, running, jumping, rolling and their visual-motor abilities that will benefit the motor development throughout their lives.

Language development (Psychopedagogy)

In the first three years of life, our brain is in a process of development and maturation, it is the most intense period in the acquisition of the abilities of language and speaking skills. These abilities develop a lot better when a child is constantly exposed to a world full of images, sounds, speaking and the language of other people. There are key periods of the development of speaking and language of babies and small children. In these key periods is where the brain is more capable of absorbing the language.The voice, speaking and the language are the tools we use to communicate with others.

Our voice is the sound we make when the air that goes through the vocal folds of our lungs and the pharynx makes them vibrate.

Speaking is the action of expressing, and it’s one of the ways we use to express our mother tongue. Speaking incorporates the precise coordination of muscular actions of our tongue, lips, jaw and the vocal tract that produces the sounds we recognize that build our language. The language is a set of shared rules that allow people to express their ideas in a logical way. Language can be expressed in an oral way, by writing, through signs or other gestures, for example blinking or moving the mouth.

Characteristics of the developing stages of language:

From 2 to 3 years:
• The telegraphic language appears (my car or more milk).
• Knows concepts such as «inside», «big», «pretty», etc.
• Knows pronouns like «I», «you» and «she».
• Makes inflections in the voice to ask questions: my ball?
• Appearance of questions like: Why? What for?
• Begins to use plural.
• The explosion of language occurs. The vocabulary is expanded from 250 to 900 words.
• Makes 3-word sentences.
• Speech becomes more precise.

From 3 to 4 years:
• Gets out of egocentricity and enters the stage of social language.
• Maintains interaction with other people.
• Can describe common objects.
• Expresses ideas and feelings.
• Uses gerund verbs.
• Repeats long sentences.
• Masters grammar. • Begins to answer simple questions that refer to something not present.

From 4 to 5 years:
• Pays attention to a short story and answers simple questions about it.
• Listens and understand most of what is said at home or at school.
• Uses sentences that contain many details.
• Relates stories staying on topic.
• Easily communicates with other children and adults.
• Says most of the sounds correctly, except for a few («g», «f», «s», «r», «l», «ch»).
• Uses words that rhyme.
• Names some letters and numbers.
• Uses adult grammar.

It is very important to note that not all children develop speech and language skills in the same way.

The importance of the teacher-student bond during in Covid times

The bond between teacher and student in early childhood education is essential so that children feel motivated and can improve their academic performance.

The connection between teachers and student is of great importance so that children can always attend feeling confident and in the online mode, this becomes even more relevant. The stress that this new modality can generate is drastically reduced when the kids find in the teacher a figure that is familiar to them, in which they can rely and that is synonymous with enjoyable learning.

Teachers must assume the responsibility that this connection implies, at this time the virtual classroom can be extended to specific personal contacts that will benefit the students.

Therefore, once a month the English teachers are visiting the academic bubbles to strengthen the teacher-student bond.

This activity began during the month of October. The visits were fun, observing the surprised faces of the children and their affectionate reactions was an experience that filled both teachers and students with joy.

Also, every week one of our students will receive a visit from their English teacher along with one of the classroom mascots (puppets), who will stay throughout the weekend.

As a school, we look for innovative ways to be able to maintain as close contact as possible with our preschool children, this without losing sight of social distancing, so that our students can relate to their teachers and create stronger bonds that help them to feel comfortable and lead to better performance in the classroom.The children are always excited to have a visit and even more a visit as special as that of their English teacher and the mascot of the classroom.

Hug a Book!

It is extraordinary to observe the discoveries that children make when they are in contact with books. The admiration they show when finding something new and above all the desire to share their learning with others.

Reading is at the heart of an inquiry-based and transdisciplinary curriculum framework that develops conceptual understanding.

The PYP draws on the contribution of the best educational research, experiences and thinking leadership.

Encouraging imagination and creativity develops skills and stimulates brain activity, facilitates learning in a fun way, and helps discover answers to concerns and questions.

Reading is a fundamental tool in the formation of people, it is a cornerstone for the acquisition of most of our knowledge and the opportunity to improve our communication and expression of ideas and feelings.

We were delighted to receive our students on Saturday October 10th in the first “Siembra un Libro” of this cycle. Receive a cordial invitation to participate in the next «Siembra un Libro» and awaken in our children the curiosity and joy to discover the benefits of reading.

An inquiry into personal health, our rights and responsibilities

INFORMATIVE VISITS

Personal, physical and emotional self-care are important pillars of well-being at any age. It is important that from an early age, children are taught the culture of prevention as a method to delay and control the onset of diseases. Therefore, you should start with simple actions that have an impact on health, such as washing your hands and teeth, eating a variety of foods, drinking water and being physically active.

In order to know more about the personal, physical and mental health of children and in relation to the transdisciplinary subject WHO WE ARE, in which an inquiry is made about personal health, our rights and responsibilities. Some virtual talks were held in which different experts on topics related to health care participated, in order to talk to them about the importance of taking care of your body to be healthy, the needs it has and how to know what you need.

A nutrition expert spoke to them about the importance of having a good diet and how to take care of the body by eating healthy. He told them that one of the most difficult habits to teach is a varied and balanced diet, since many children do not like to eat fruits and vegetables.

The dentist mentioned to them the importance of taking proper care of the teeth, how to wash them correctly after eating and what foods are the ones that damage them.

And to learn more about taking care of the body, the Professor of physical education, spoke about the importance of doing exercise and eating in a healthy way, he made a reflection with the children in which they talked about healthy and unhealthy foods. By introducing them to experts on topics about body care and its needs, children are interested, actively participating, showing curiosity, and being informed and educated; using their communication skills (listening and speaking) referring to healthy and unhealthy food and how you are using it to their physical well-being.

Dates to Remember

NOVEMBER 2nd – Class Adjourn
NOVEMBER 3rd – Diagnostic interviews | K1
NOVEMBER 4th – Diagnostic interviews | K2
NOVEMBER 5th – Diagnostic interviews | K3
NOVEMBER 13th – Administrative session
NOVEMBER 16th – Class Adjourn
NOVEMBER 26th – Thanksgiving

In November we celebrate (Birthdays)