11/06/2016
Why is it important to use expressive language when communicating with children?
We wanted to share one of the delightful moments that occurred in our new Montessori Casa dei Bambini in Observatory recently. One of our Piccolini who has just turned two, was taught a song about Father Christmas by one of our three and a half year olds. Father Christmas is interpreted and sung as 'Father Crispy' by our two year old. In the song Father Christmas gets stuck in the chimney and one of the lines in the lyrics says: 'what bad luck'. Recently our two year old of his own volition poured and served water in small glasses. He carried them carefully one by one on a small tray and successfully serve two Casa children. Upon serving himself and as he neared the table he was distracted and the glass fell spilling water onto the floor. He assessed the situation and expressively exclaimed, 'what bad luck!' It was an enlightening moment, illustrating how important it is to use expressive language with young children and what marvelous tools songs, poems and stories are, in helping empower young children to express themselves effectively. The ability to abstract and make language ones own, within a new context, illustrates understanding and intelligence at it's best. In this delightful scenario our two year old joyously collected a small bucket and cloth to clean the floor and start again.