NUACHTÁN KINDER | March 2021

The importance for children hearing their name

The proper name is one of the elements that define the individuality of a kid, it is a personal seal, one of the distinctives that a child has in this world. 

The name comes with a baggage that influences in our lives, not in a magical way, but in what is expected from them. For that reason, it is not recommended to use names of ancestors or close relatives, because we unintentionally transmit certain expectations or pressures to the little ones. 

So… Why is it important for children to hear their name?

It builds their self-esteem and self-concept: by constantly hearing their name with respect and love, they will learn that they are a being with nuances, that sometimes make others angry, but also makes them very happy and this adds elements to their way of thinking.

The early learning environment: The first approach to reading and writing is through the child’s own name and when the child wants to use it, he wants to see it everywhere. It is crucial that the child knows his/her name and sees it a lot to stimulate the learning process.

Sense of belonging: the name gives a sense of belonging to the family, the community, and the whole world. It indicates who is there, who is missing, to whom certain things are addressed, and for this reason it is accompanied by last names. It is recommended that the child always knows his or her full name. So, it is necessary to mention again and again the name of our children in a loving way, to help them in their development. The name is the center of their world in the maternal and preschool age.

Language development and its influence on international mindedness

Multilingualism is important for the development of international mindedness, as it gives learners the abilities for a better understanding of their own and others’ perspectives and thinking. 

Language enables learners to gather and compare points of view, as well as demonstrate empathy, compassion, and respect.

Learners’ skills, knowledge and understanding of language play a key role in developing the attributes of the IB learner profile, e.g., being good communicators. Shared language knowledge builds on and contributes to an ongoing exploration of what it means to be internationally minded.

Students at Celtic International School learn English from nursery, with an increasingly deep and meaningful exposure to the language, which exposes them to experiences that broaden their worldview by venturing into different ways of expressing themselves and looking at life. 

Through books, children are exposed to unfamiliar situations, other climates, foods, customs, and other ways of living. Meanwhile, in a natural way, they integrate new grammatical structures and words that enrich their vocabulary, and in this way the construction of their thinking evolves. Our children are confident and effective communicators, through language they can communicate their identity, while developing an international mindedness, learning to read and write and becoming effective inquirers.

Celtic School children are open-minded because of this exposure, preparing them to make the most of what the world has to offer and in return bringing the best of themselves to it.

Source- The PYP Language Learner

Positive discipline: 5 keys to positive parenting (Psychopedagogy)

From birth, children are interested in feeling connected to others and it is proven that those who have that sense of connection with their community, family, and school, show appropriate behaviors (they behave better). To become successful, individuals and contributing members of their community, children must learn social and life skills. 

5 Pillars of Positive Discipline

Positive discipline teaches adults to use kindness and firmness at the same time. The tools always turn around these 5 pillars that are basic to educate positively. 

1. Mutual respect. Adults corroborate firmness when educating, when respecting themselves and their own needs in every situation that family life presents us with. And if we do this with kindness and respecting the child’s needs, we will be cementing the first pillar of a good education.

2. Learning from mistakes. Mistakes are an opportunity to educate, they are the result of our inexperience and committing them help us to acquire the knowledge that we lack of to achieve what we want. When a mistake is made, it can be recognized or not. If it is recognized, it can be corrected and learned from it.

3. No punishment. Discipline that teaches is neither permissive nor punitive. Positive discipline encourages a focus on solutions rather than punishment. Punishment is effective in the short term but has negative consequences in the long term. Discover alternatives to punishment.

4. Effective communication and problem-solving skills foster a sense of community and ‘connect’ with the child.

5. Encouraging. When we encourage, we pay attention to effort and improvement, not simply success. This builds self-esteem and stimulates. It is vital to teach valuable skills for good character.

Effective discipline is the one that looks out for the reasons why children may act in a certain way and works on those reasons.

Based on the book:       

Jane Nelsen (2006), Disciplina positiva: La clave de la disciplina No es el castigo sino el respeto mutuo (Positive discipline: The key to discipline is not punishment but mutual respect), Editorial: Ediciones Cruz.

Importance of the Psychomotor class in the IB and preschool age

Psychomotricity allows children to develop skills in a natural way such as running, jumping, rolling, turning, as well as their orientation, coordination, balance, and other notions that are of great importance in the early childhood, all this will influence in the first years of life and will shape the affective, intellectual, and social development of the child.

The main objectives are at a cognitive level, allowing the child to improve their memory capacity, attention, creativity, and concentration; at a motor level: the child will learn to master their body movements and have better control of these; and at an affective level will be of great help to recognize and face their fears, to relate to others and create greater security in themselves. That is why, the importance of this class, we invite you to see your little one’s advances in the Psychomotor skills class.

What is a triggering activity?

The triggering activity is the first activity that takes place in all our units of inquiry. Its purpose is for the teacher to recognize the student’s prior knowledge, as well as developing their curiosity in a creative way. Subsequently, students arrive to a reflection that is used to search and design the experiences that will allow learning to take place.

At K1, students began their third unit of inquiry with the transdisciplinary theme ‘How We Express Ourselves’ and worked with the central idea ‘Being informed and making responsible decisions helps us prevent accidents’. To get students’ prior knowledge, teachers did a triggering activity where they simulated a situation in which hot coffee is spilled causing a burn to their body and reacting alarmingly.  Then, they asked children to provide them with ideas on how they should act when they have an accident, which accidents do they know, how they can be avoided and what to do in case they happen.

Our K2 students started their third unit with the transdisciplinary theme ‘How we express ourselves’. The students worked with the central idea: ‘Art is a mean to express feelings and thoughts’ to recognize previous knowledge from the students, the teachers presented themselves as a mime, painter, musician, photographer and represented a sketch in which they showed different emotions and thoughts while making their art.    

The transdisciplinary theme of the third unit of our K3 students is ‘Who we are’ and its central idea is ‘Let’s play’, with this theme we seek to inquire about the importance of play for learning and having fun, the relationship between play, learning and fun. To begin with, the teachers prepared games to play with the children, but without following rules, they changed the games and indications, with the purpose of awakening the children’s interest in playing, learning, having fun, and favoring socialization. 

Interpersonal skills as a fundamental basis for relationships

Our children have a great number of skills, today we will talk about interpersonal skills, which are fundamental for their relationships and their development within the school environment. Developing these skills will be useful in the different stages of childhood, adolescence and adulthood, in other words, throughout their lives. As everything in their development, acquiring them is a process in which our guidance and example as adults is essential. Today we will talk about some of those skills.

1. COMMUNICATION

As well as being a basic tool in the daily life of any person, the ability to communicate assertively can make a difference in the development of our children. Let’s remember that communication is not only oral or written, but we can also use body language, drawings, music, gestures, etc. When our children are unable to find the right words to communicate or do not yet speak, we can help them with other forms of communication. Another crucial aspect of communication is listening, if you stop for a moment to listen carefully to what your child wants and/or needs to express, you will be teaching them that they are important to you, that what they have to say is worth listening to, and of course you are also teaching them to listen. 

2. TEAMWORK

Achieving a common goal successfully has as its backbone the fact that the people involved must work together.  Cooperation in schoolwork has a great importance, just as it has for a healthy family life. If we all cooperate, it will be easier to complete the task.  To ensure that cooperation is harmonious, it is important to understand the goal to be achieved, to consider everyone’s likes and strengths, to emphasize the importance of each person doing his or her part, to encourage with recognition and to teach by example. For example, at home you can set the table together, each one will have a task and at the end you can sit down to eat as a family, this will help your children to learn to work as a team, to be responsible for their part and to value the participation of others and to know that this has a reward. 

3. CREATIVITY TO FIND SOLUTIONS

The ability to solve problems effectively is an essential quality regardless of age. We must teach our children to solve problems since an early age. As parents we want to avoid suffering or frustration for our children, or sometimes we do not give them enough time to find the solution, when we do this, we are sending them a hidden message «you can’t, so I have to do it for you».

If we allow them to find the solutions they need, they will feel capable, satisfied, and valued. Of course, this will take them a few attempts and there will be frustration along the way, this not only does not hurt them, but it also strengthens them. We can first help them identify the situation to be solved and shape the ideas they have by asking them questions that will lead them to the answer. This is like a training; they are learning, and each time they will do it in a more autonomous and assertive way. When a difficulty arises, you can ask them: 

• What is the problem? (if the child is crying, ask her/him to calm down so you can understand her/him).
• How does it make you feel? (help him/her name those feelings).
• Do you want to solve it (here you can add «I know you can solve it, I’m here to help you»)?
• What do you think you can do (if they are very small you can propose «I think you can do this or that, can you think of something else, what do you want to try?)
• Do you want me to help you? try this. (it is important not to do it for him/her) (if it does not work, try another one).
• When the child succeeds, acknowledge it, this feeds the self-esteem and self-confidence. («Very good, I knew you would succeed»).

4. SELF-CONFIDENCE

Confidence is one of the keys to success. To achieve this; confidence, self-knowledge and healthy self-esteem are important. These 3 concepts go hand by hand. At an early age they get to know themselves and it is our job as adults to respect and guide them to achieve this self-knowledge, then, based on it, self-esteem and self-confidence will be given. To the extent that our children develop confidence in their skills, knowledge, and abilities, it will facilitate their interpersonal relationships and their performance at school and sports, artistic and recreational activities.

Lic. en Educación Preescolar y Mtra. IE Ana Paola Gerdingh

Dates to Remember

• MARCH 6th – ‘Cosecha un Libro’

• MARCH 15th – Class Adjourn

• MARCH 16th to 19th – Art and Culture Week 

• MARCH 17th – Green Day, St. Patrick’s Day Celebration

• MARCH 24th – Parent’s Making a Difference 

• MARCH 29th – Easter Vacation begins