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Emergent Literacy Learning in Preschool
As we approach the end of the year, many of the students at the ELC are excited to talk about starting school next year. Students will have the chance to visit their Kindergarten classrooms and meet their teachers at St Anthony’s and St Thomas during the Kindy Orientations coming up in the next few weeks. This is a very exciting time for lots of students and can also be a time when children (and mums and dads ?) can feel a little bit anxious about what the new year will bring.
I feel confident that the gorgeous students at our ELC are ready for school and this next stage in their learning journey. There will undoubtedly be challenges for each of them next year – whether that is making new friends, developing new skills as a learner or getting used to school routines.
A big part of their learning journey during the next few years will be the development of reading skills – particularly the ability to decode texts through their knowledge of letters and the sounds that different letters make. In preschool they have had the opportunity to build some emergent literacy skills that will support them in this next stage of their learning journey
- Students at preschool have lots of opportunities to develop their oral language skills through play, in class circle times and working in small groups. Students have opportunities to retell events from their own lives, recall and sequence events in stories, ask or answer questions and follow instructions.
- Students have had the chance to be meaning makers – a precursor to writing. They are given opportunities to share with teachers and their peers the meaning behind their drawings and other artworks, and the creations they use for play, for example explaining to a friend what they are making in the mud kitchen.
- Students have been exposed to print for lots of different purposes. Students at preschool have had the opportunity to look at simple recipes, have stories read to them, been encouraged to make cards to give to others,to write their name on a list as a turn taking strategy, to use print in dramatic play – for example circling or ticking the hairstyle they would like on a visit to the hairdresser play space.
- Students are provided with lots of different opportunities to recognise their own name and practise writing the letters in their name.
- Students are provided with lots of opportunities to explore letters and numbers through games, in play, through print resources in the learning environment and through opportunities to practise using print themselves in circle times and in small groups. Our focus has very much been on encouraging all approximations of letter writing.
- Students have engaged in lots of making and creating activities, games and other provocations that allow them to build their fine motor skills in readiness for developing their writing skills as they begin school.
Please don’t be concerned if your child does not know all their letters or numbers as they begin their year of Kindergarten. They have had the opportunity to build lots of foundational skills that are essential to development of reading skills. Being an effective reader involves a lot more than just knowing your ABCs!
Dates for your calendar
- Week 7 ELC Art Show. We will be showcasing artworks created and curated by students at the ELC over the last term. Our gallery opening times will be 4:00 – 5:30 on Wednesday 22nd and Friday 24th of November.
- Week 9 ELC Christmas Picnic and End of Year Celebration. Wednesday 6th December 5:30 pm to 7:00pm
We have so loved partnering with the Resilience Project this year and watching the students build their understanding of Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness. Please follow this link to a Family Project based around Gratitude, with some fun ideas you can do together as a family to practice Gratitude with your children.
