The Kindergarten cycle: what will he learn?
In kindergarten, your child is introduced to the five major areas of learning that will lead to independence throughout his or her schooling: language, exploration of the world, measurement tools, artistic expression and physical activities. Here is a detailed review.
Language The Kindergarten cycle: what will he learn?
Between the ages of 2 and 4, children express themselves extensively through non-verbal means. To learn to speak, they pick up words they hear around them. After 4 years of age, children’s syntax improves, their lexicon expands and they produce more and more precise statements. It is also at this age that they discover that people think and feel differently from one another. They begin to act purposefully with language and see the effects that words can have on others. In kindergarten, language is an essential condition for success. Oral language is stimulated and structured. The entry into writing is done progressively. The objective of this learning is to allow the child to give his opinion, to ask a question, to express a need. In short, to communicate with others, to be understood and to understand.
Exploring the world The Kindergarten cycle: what will he learn?
From birth, through exploration, children intuitively perceive certain spatial and temporal dimensions of their immediate environment. Thus, they begin to evaluate the distances that separate them from an object or a place (“it’s close”, “it’s far”) even if they don’t know how to measure them. They also begin to talk about their memories and express wishes for the future, but in a limited way. One of the goals of kindergarten is to gradually bring them to understand time and space.
In other words, “yesterday”, “tomorrow”, “here” and “elsewhere” are no longer abstract notions. Not only does this new way of seeing give them reference points, but it also leads them to go beyond their own point of view and understand that of others. By comparing their perception of space and time with that of others around universal concepts, they begin to see that the world does not revolve solely around themselves and can thus begin to reason.
Measurement tools The Kindergarten cycle: what will he learn?
From a very early age, children have an intuition of size that allows them to compare and evaluate sizes (“this is big”), volumes (“this is big”, “this is small”) and collections (“a lot”, “not much”) in an approximate way. By the time they enter kindergarten, they know how to state the beginning of number sequences, but without yet understanding what quantities and numbers are. Gradually, students learn in class to express size and rank in a list. This new ability to measure their environment allows them to structure their thinking and determine their own place in the world.
Art activities The Kindergarten cycle: what will he learn?
They stimulate the child’s imagination and give him/her the opportunity to experience new emotions and sensations. These activities develop their sensitivity. They include visual arts (painting, sculpture, photography, cinema, digital arts) but also sounds (songs, music) and live performances (dance, theater, circus, puppets). In kindergarten, they are the first step in the artistic and cultural education pathway that all students complete during their schooling. The Kindergarten cycle: what will he learn?
Physical activities The Kindergarten cycle: what will he learn?
They contribute to the motor, sensory, emotional, intellectual and relational development of the child. These activities allow students to explore their physical possibilities and help them to better situate themselves in space. They are also an opportunity to interact with other students – especially during group games – and to practice respect for equality and rules. Physical activities contribute to both their physical and psychological health.
