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Many forms of communication
“The child begins to perceive the world not only through his eyes but also through his speech” – Lev Vygotsky
Communication is such a big developmental milestone for all tamariki and here at BestStart Te Whariki we recognise that communication doesn’t just include language but also non-verbal cues, listening, gesturing, movement and engaging.
Recently we have observed a lot of communication amongst our tamariki, where they have engaged in certain experiences and completed a process. In one example our tamariki have been finding their own hats and putting them on their heads, when a Kaiako has announced the phrase “kei he to potae | where is your hat”. The understanding of communication of a simple phrase in English as well as in Te Reo Maori. The tamariki have also looked for the other nga tamariki hats and then proceeded to give them their hat too. We are noticing this happening throughout the day and the children are using verbal language, saying the children’s names as they give them their hat.
Communication is seen in many forms throughout the day in the Nursery here at BestStart Te Whariki, in different forms. The tamariki communicate and express themselves when they are hungry by sitting at the kai table when it is nearly meals times. They are also letting us know when they want stories or a group time by pointing up to the stories, singing and even dancing. At times our tamariki start jumping and moving as they indicate to us that they are wanting music on. When then acknowledge this by using verbal language back to them and say “do you want to dance”. The tamariki communicate back with a nod.
We recognise the important of supporting our tamariki with their language and use simple words and build on this as their language increases. For example using one worded phrases for children that are non-verbal. For children who are speaking in one worded phrases them speaking back to them in two words, so we are building up on their vocabulary.
Te Whariki, the early childhood curriculum states “Children experience and environment where they develop non-verbal communication skills for a range of purposes – Using gesture and movement to express themselves”.