Graphic experiences in our nursery in Vicenza

The educational project of our nursery in Vicenza

The first years of our children's life are very important for development. But perhaps not everyone knows that reading contributes to mental development and helps prevent possible difficulties in learning. As early as the sixth month we should start reading aloud, perhaps before bedtime, some stories to our children. The invitation to read comes from pediatricians gathered in Verona these days (November 2011) on the occasion of the presentation of the project Reading to grow. Giampietro Chiamenti, Fimp regional secretary (Italian Federation of pediatricians), points out that reading aloud to the child must begin already in the first periods of life, starting from the sixth month with adequate books. Based on data collected in a recent study conducted in the USA, it emerged that a child living in a disadvantaged family listens in an hour about 616 words, hears 5 statements and receives 11 prohibitions. If we analyze the data relating to a better family environment, the words heard in an hour are quadrupled offering more stimuli, the affirmations are 9 times more numerous and the prohibitions are halved. In light of these, it can be understood why, especially in a difficult environment, reading can be a very useful tool for better psychophysical growth. Reading aloud has an additional benefit, in addition to promoting the child's cognitive development, it improves the parent / child relationship. Why read aloud to children? Numerous studies have shown that daily reading is very important starting from the sixth month of life. It is therefore important to find time each day to devote to reading aloud. Even a few minutes each day is enough to build a book-based relationship as a growth tool. The benefits of reading for children 1.The cognitive development of the child: cognitive skills, curiosity and intellectual development are factors strongly correlated to reading experiences carried out with the help of adults. 2.Learning to read and reading success at school: Many studies have shown that children's early contact with reading aloud is essential and is closely related to success in school activities. 3. The development of verbal language is higher in families where there are and are read books demonstrate to develop greater human and social resources. The habit of reading in general in the family and to small children constitutes an important parenting capacity that increases the social capital of the family (i.e. the set of intra and extra-family social relationships) and makes the parent / child relationship grow positively. Starting from these assumptions, this year's educational project focuses on reading aloud. It is important to underline that, through reading, a particular relationship is created between the teacher and the child through verbal communication and, above all, non-verbal communication made up of physical contact, affectionate tone of voice, mimicry. The stories will be told by keeping the children close to the educator in a small group and in a warm, calm and serene climate. The books that will be made available to children are calibrated for their age. Younger children will have books made of fabric, plastic, cardboard at their disposal that allow them to have mainly sensorial experiences. Older children will instead have books with simple and clear images possibly linked to the concrete life experiences of the child, the educator will indicate the various figures giving them a name and describe them by naming the objects. This is the first step to reach the moment when the child will begin to leaf through the pages by himself and to recognize what is represented. At this point it is possible to introduce books that allow you to associate objects with their function and with the actions that are part of everyday life, such as dressing, eating, sleeping, playing, etc. "Group" and the first stories. The adult's task now is no longer just to illustrate but also to read; a reading that must be corrected immediately, without distortions, modifications and additions. As children grow and mature it is possible to move on to longer and more complex stories and tales: real fairy tales and fairy tales. Our project foresees to involve parents and families in order to give a certain continuity between nursery and family, in fact we will propose the "reading project" through which children can choose a book from the kindergarten library and take it home to a few days to read it with mom and dad. Download the slides that we presented to the parents in the November 2011 meeting held in our Vicenza office