Will My Child Learn to Read and Write in Kindergarten?
“Children encounter written codes at a very early age. In attempting to interpret these codes and asking themselves questions, they grasp many different elements at the same time, not just the alphabetical ones, and construct personal systems of writing [and reading skills] that can establish a dialogue with the personal systems of other children and with the conventional code. It is within this zone of social-cognitive conflict that each child tries out, verifies, and expands her or his own hypotheses.” –Excerpt taken from The Wonder Of Learning (WOL) Exhibit, The Enchantment of Writing
Documentation from a 5 year old
From the moment a child holds a pencil or book in their hand, they begin their first encounters with reading and writing. What might look like scribbles on paper to the immature eye, are in actuality ideas and thoughts of the young mind. As children continue to grow and develop, these scribbles evolve into signs and symbols that can be interpreted by the common reader. Some of these signs and symbols that they begin to use follow the alphabetical code the culture has come to adapt, and some follow their own personal code… both used to share ideas and stories.
‘I command you to speak to me’
As we grow, mature, and develop, our writing becomes more refined. We become more aware of the use of a conventional code, thus, adapting it into our own personal code and everyday work. This carries over into pre-reading skills as well. Once we start recognizing alphabetic symbols, then we begin to decode the written world around us. Our ability to share through writing expands as more people are able to interpret our code, or rather, as our code becomes more cohesive to the shared cultural one. The same is true for reading; our ability to decode the world around us opens doors of possibilities for communicating and sharing with the people in our life.
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“When given the freedom to do so, children elaborate their written communication taking many different elements into account: the graphic symbols of the letters of the alphabet; the size of the letters and of the words; the chromatic and tactile choice of the paper on which to write the words, but also the accompanying graphics and decorations.”- Figurative Writing, WOL Exhibit
If we force children to learn the ABC’s at too young of an age, then the balance between personal and conventional code that children naturally develop, becomes too heavy on the side of convention. As stated above, if children are given the freedom to explore both sides, they will naturally begin to develop a desire to communicate the same way their culture does, using alphabetic symbols and syntactical rules. Thus, their desire to read will develop at a comfortable pace as well. Keeping these two sides in balance, perpetuates creativity and self esteem during this important developmental process.
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Will your child learn to read and write in kindergarten? The obvious answer is that your child is already reading and writing. They are decoding their world when you drive in the car, at the grocery store, at school, and in many other situations they come in contact with. They are sharing their thoughts, ideas and stories every time their pencil comes in contact with a piece of paper. In the CCC elementary program, we understand this process of development. Although fragile, this is one of the most exciting times for children. We love to read and write in the CCC kindergarten, which is why we do it everyday! From journal writing and story workshop to small and large reading groups, we discover the “enchantment” of reading and writing while keeping our self esteem high and creativity flowing! I encourage you to visit our program if you haven’t already seen it. The joy these children have toward learning is contagious!