Saturday, April 2, 2011

Parent Night in Kipnuk

Preschool Parents Learn about Language Acquisition in Kipnuk

On November 17, 2009, parents of preschool children had the opportunity to learn about their children’s language acquisition. Each month, the Kipnuk preschool, which is part of the LKSD preschool program, hosts a meeting for parents. In November the topic was language acquisition.

Louise Paul of the Kipnuk preschool invited a special guest to talk about language acquisition, which is a very important part of the development of young children. The preschool years are crucial for vocabulary development, which is a strong predictor of success in school. Studies show that some kindergarteners enter school being able to use to over 5,000 words, while other children know as few as 1,000 words. This wide range depends on the children’s home environment and their preschool experience.

Parents reviewed the definitions of literacy, language acquisition, bilingualism and “home language” and discussed what these terms meant in their community. According to the Alaska’s Early Learning Guidelines, literacy involves “the ability to use language, symbols, and images in a variety of forms to read, write, listen, speak, represent, observe, and think critically about ideas. This process includes the acquisition of first and second languages and the cultural knowledge, which enables the person to communicate effectively using language appropriate to different social settings.” Parents reflected on these ideas and then worked together in teams to discuss essential questions such as:

• What is the most important time for language development in children?
• What stages of language development is your child going through now?
• What new words and phrases is your preschool child learning to say?
• What are important means of communication in this community?
• What forms of literacy are used in this community?

All parents participated in the small group discussions by contributing their ideas to the group and by making a poster. Each group then picked a person to present their ideas to the other groups. The format for sharing was a SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) strategy called “Stay and Stray,” where one member stays with the poster to teach it and the rest of the group members ‘stray’ to another table to learn what the other groups discussed.

Louise Paul, the preschool lead teacher who organized the parent night, commented, “Parents said that it was quite interesting to hear about diverse uses language in their community and reflect on how they can encourage language growth, based on how children will need to use language in their future. They liked getting into groups and working together and learning from other people’s resources.”

At the end of the evening, parents were awarded raffle prizes donated by LKSD and picked up activity guides with suggestions on ways to help their child’s language development.

Preschools and head starts around Alaska have parents’ nights to encourage parent involvement in their children’s early education. It is a great way for parents support their child’s education, learn about their child’s development and work together with parents of other preschoolers.