Early childhood education

Stop: One of the current programs in the centre is to extend children’s learning about Clay playing. I had thought of my wife who is very good at Clay playing, but she can only speak a little English.

We got a special clay which is called “ Light weight Clay”. It is original from Japan, but now getting more and more popular in China. It is made by an environmental protection, non – toxic, odorless, and natural dried martial, so it is very good and health for children to play and creative. I talked this with the manager, and she was very exciting and asked me to bring my wife to the centre.

Today, when children had just finished their lunch, i brought my wife to the centre with the “ Light weight Clay. I asked children who want to play Clay with us, lots of children were so active and want to play with us. At first, we showed our finished product to the children and asked them what they want to make. They were all very interesting in making an ice cream. My wife started taught children with speaking mandarin. We asked children to mix the colour together to make a special colour for cone. After that we made some chocolate, strawberry, mint and vanilla colour and asked the children to choose their favorite flavor and roll it into a ball so they can put these ice-cream balls on cone. After they had made their own ice-cream, we asked them to choose one topping for ice-cream. Then we put their ice-cream on their own paper to let it dry and started to make another thing with the children.

When their parents coming we give a hook to them and told them to put it on when it dry, then they can hang this hand-made pendant to anywhere they like. They were so happy and very grateful to us. The next day, the children came to centre and made some painting for my wife and me.

Think: During this activity, I had provided some learning materials that best meet children’s needs. Children had developing their interesting with Clay playing. Also there are many cognitive benefits for young children who are simultaneously exposed to more than one language. For example, they have greater neural activity and denser tissue in the areas of the brain related to memory, attention, and language than monolingual learners. These indicators are associated with long-term positive cognitive outcomes for children (Bialystok 2001, Mechelli et al., 2004; Kovelman, Baker, & Petitto, 2006).

Change: Having understood the previous stages, I understand that uses appropriate materials to support children’s learning is very important. Materials for preschoolers and kindergarteners should support their developing social skills and interest in adult roles, growing imaginations, increasing motor skills, and rapidly expanding vocabularies.