Defining Excellence in Kindergarten and Early Literacy

What do I mean by “excellence in kindergarten literacy,” and why am I asking for a coalition of early childhood experts and educational institutions to collaborate in providing additional training and support for kindergarten and early literacy instructors?  My definition of excellence is encompassing; the results of excellence are motivated, engaged children with empowering memories of learning to read and write.

Brain-Friendly Learning within a Joyful, Language-Intensive Environment
Excellence in kindergarten literacy is the vital foundation for leaving “no child behind” and building schools of ambitious, thoughtful readers and writers.  Professionally, I cannot separate one aspect of excellence in literacy from the total experience of immersing children in meaningful activities within a stimulating, caring community of learners.  I cannot separate authentic literacy experiences and powerful, research-based teaching from the affective elements that support an optimal kindergarten environment—the respect, high expectations, and care shown to the individual child and their family.  Experiences in the educational arts engage children’s multiple ways of knowing while promoting creative and higher-order thinking; they take advantage of how the young child’s brain learns best.  Developing social-emotional intelligence supports children in being successful in school—and in life.  Writing is the key that unlocks the alphabetic code.  So my definition of excellence includes cooperative learning, rich experiences in the arts, science explorations, respectful and supportive parent connections, a language-intensive “writing-to-read” environment, phonological sensitivity training, and an explicit multisensory ABC and phonics immersion program within a comprehensive literacy framework of:

Language Play — Everyday
Books and Songs — All Day Long

Our kindergarten classrooms are made up of diverse children, each with unique strengths, varied prior language learning experiences and preferred learning styles.  Excellence in kindergarten literacy acknowledges the complexity inherent in meeting the individual needs of today’s learners.  It is vital that the teacher provides instruction that has enough challenge and enough support for all children to be successful.  Kindergarten teachers with strong early literacy training know how to do this.  Knowledgeable, caring teachers combine a scientific understanding of how writing teaches reading, a love of learning, and the wisdom of practice to build rigorous and joyful environments that honor individual learners.

Kindergarten is for Language
It is the familiarity with the English language that precedes and underlies excellent phonemic awareness instruction.  It is this familiarity that allows the child’s decoding to be error free and reading to be fluent.  We must skillfully accelerate language learning—both thinking and oral communication—to begin bridging the achievement gap and prevent later reading difficulties.  As teachers, we must provide experiences that make language come alive—dramatically articulating and fluently modeling the sounds of language.  We invite kindergartners to rehearse language as singers, signers and storytellers.  Lively discussion about quality literature allows us to connect books with children’s lives and provide the vehicle for explicit teaching of comprehension strategies.  We memorize, recite and perform language.  We differentiate instruction, honoring children’s initial “magical memory reading” and skillfully transitioning them to guided and independent reading.  We are conscious that listening comprehension comes before reading comprehension.  Our curriculum invites children to communicate and interact.  Developing the child’s capacity for language and thought underlies everything we do in kindergarten. 

Build Positive Habits of Mind and Excellence in Literacy Through the Arts
When I think of the language of math and of the many science explorations that connect children to the natural world outside the classroom, I am always conscious that we are building the vocabulary and experience base to support children as ambitious readers and writers and disciplined, creative thinkers.  Rich experiences in the many languages of art, music, drama, dance and storytelling help children find personal meaning in school literacy. We want them to have the motivation to put their heart and mind into the learning process.  Developing literacy skills can be at least partially assessed.  More important teaching—the love of language and reading, the respect and care children develop for others, the willingness to express themselves and take risks, and the self-discipline, stamina and responsibility to follow through on projects—those are not easy to measure. They are the bigger picture of why we do what we do.  They are the foundation for excellence, the habits of mind that all children deserve to acquire.

Teach Children Traditional Songs in English, Spanish and Sign Language
When we teach children beautiful, traditional songs in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language to enhance literacy and build friendships within our multiethnic communities, it is with the hope that these respectful bonds will go with the children into the years beyond kindergarten.  With happy hearts we dance and sing.  We want children to care and share and work and play together because that creates healthier, happier lives for them and ultimately healthier, happier lives for their communities. We also know, as Ralph Peterson so wisely reminds us in his book, Life in a Crowded Place, “Once you get the community right, the levels of learning soar.”  Because the human brain is uniquely designed to learn through music, our kindergarten days are filled with joyful songs.

Immerse Children in Beautiful Language Models
When we choose only the finest literature, songs, poems, and rhymes to give our children, it is because we know these language models are the seeds that grow powerful writers, thinkers, and children who love using language. We want imaginative thoughts and language, poetic phrases and metaphors to become a part of our children. These memorable sounds of language will forever be on the walls of their minds and so we ask – “Is this worthy of the children?”  Walter de la Mare, in Bells of Grass, speaks so eloquently: “I know well that only the rarest kind of best in anything can be good enough for the young.”

Children Learn Collaboration and Build Social-Emotional Skills
When we structure the classroom so children can collaborate and make choices and move in and out of different social settings, we are aware of how important a child’s—and our own—social-emotional development is.  We think of the critical life choices these children may face just five or six short years down the school road.  We know that the kindergarten child who finds meaning and a sense of belonging in school now is more likely to make healthy choices and to stay in school later.

Parents are Partners in Developing Literacy and Fostering a Love of Nature
We recognize that parents are the child’s first and most important teacher and that all parents want their child to be successful in school.  Parental support and collaboration multiplies our teaching effectiveness.  Respectful and caring bonds with families are the cornerstones for healthy schools and higher literacy standards.  Parents are partners with kindergarten teachers in awakening a love of nature in children and exploring the natural world outside the classroom.  Families look at the changing stars, gather leaves, collect rocks and take bird-watching walks with their child.  This gives the child compelling reasons for reading and writing.  Parents also collaborate with us daily in teaching The ABC Sign Language and Phonics Song.  Parents make a nightly “reading at home” commitment and they play a vital role in the life of our classroom.  Their volunteer help allows us to expand and enrich our curriculum to better meet individual needs.  The literacy partnership and understanding that parents gain through kindergarten involvement, workshops, conferences, field trips and newsletters has long-term benefits for the child and for younger siblings who will soon join the school community.  Ernest Boyer aptly describes this parent-teacher partnership as a “covenant”.  When the child starts kindergarten we have a “covenant” that says, “We jointly have responsibility for teaching your child.”

We Bond with Each Child and Nurture Friendships
It is our genuine bond of caring for each child that creates a safe emotional environment for learning.  We show in these personal relationships our expectations for how children will treat each other.  We teach children to use respectful language because we want them to speak to their classmates and others in their lives in kind and helpful tones so their voices will be heard.  We want our children to experience being a teacher and a learner within a safe community of friends.  We model for children and provide practice in how to listen and give polite feedback.  We show them how to work cooperatively and include others.  Children who learn to say, “Thank you for asking me, but I already have a partner. I’ll be your partner tomorrow,” are learning kindness.  The social harmony nurtured in an empowering noncompetitive environment gives children the psychological safety to develop their skills and honor the best efforts and unique gifts of their peers.  A caring atmosphere allows friendships to blossom and children to thrive.

We Create Joyful Writing-to-Read Kindergartens
The journey to understanding the alphabetic code begins with musical, multisensory ABC and phonics immersion strategies, including signing and fingerspelling.  These strategies accelerate letter/sound knowledge by taking advantage of how the young child’s brain learns best.  As these new skills are reinforced by daily kid writing, children learn how reading works. Accomplished kindergarten teachers give children strategies to begin kid writing and to perceive themselves as writers and illustrators from the very first day of school.  Within the context of writing we systematically assess and reinforce phonics instruction so children quickly learn to apply decoding skills. Drawing and writing experiences in a stimulating environment are meaningful and motivating for the young child.  We give children challenging yet achievable beginning literacy tasks, such as printing their name efficiently, and encourage them to work diligently and form each letter correctly.  We know that accomplishing this relevant task will begin building their confidence and ability to express their voice as a writer.  Instant recognition of a growing collection of high-frequency words is explicitly taught and celebrated.  We are amazed at the power of daily writing to develop kindergartners who love to write – and writing teaches reading. 

Kindergarten is a Celebrative Place
We weave learning rituals, traditions and celebrations into the everyday life of the classroom.  We celebrate friendships and our connection to the world around us through songs, dances and caring rituals.  There are special ways we greet the children in the morning to create a sense of belonging and a positive mental focus for learning. Our end-of-the-day closure traditions send children out the door with a feeling of completeness and anticipation for the next school day.  Children enjoy seasonal festivals that foster a relationship and respect for nature.  We celebrate children’s individual literacy accomplishments, such as authoring a book and learning the ABCs.  Children sit proudly in the author’s chair when they present their new book.  When a child takes the “ABC and Phonics Challenge” (to see if they can name every letter and sound) and wins, we cheer and present them with a decorated certificate.  Memorable learning rituals, traditions and celebrations are the heart of our kindergarten.  They build positive mental attitudes, create a sense of belonging, enhance our learning, and strengthen our relationships.  They keep the joy and wonder of childhood alive.

The Kindergarten Literacy Experience Must Be Empowering
Bruno Bettleheim’s research reminds us that how children perceive themselves in the act of learning to read generalizes to the whole self-concept.  How skillfully and successfully we build literacy skills and develop thoughtful readers who love to read can influence a child’s beliefs about their personal worth and ability to learn for a lifetime.  There is no packaged program that could possibly meet the diverse language and literacy needs and honor the unique cultural backgrounds children bring to kindergarten.  Scripted programs do not understand human motivation.  However, given quality, ongoing early literacy training and support, kindergarten teachers can guide and instruct with knowledge, developmental sensitivity, and renewed energy.  As reflective practitioners, we can build a scaffold of success for every child, every day—from the child who is just learning to speak English to the child who is enthusiastically writing and reading their own books. 

Kindergarten is Still a Child’s Garden
Young children deserve a comprehensive and multisensory writing-to-read program within a joyful, caring community of learners—a child’s garden.  Their lives must be valued, celebrated and incorporated into the literacy curriculum so they care about school and learn to make responsible choices.  For most young children, kindergarten is the important formal beginning of a K-12 literacy journey.  Excellence in Kindergarten and Early Literacy means building skills, attitudes and beliefs that engender self-discipline, motivation and a love of learning—right from the beginning of that important journey.  Children deserve challenging, emotionally engaging literacy instruction and active participation in a nurturing, meaning-centered classroom.  That is not an easy task, but it is worth putting our combined resources, passion and energy into.  It is our kindergarten contribution to

Creating Schools Worthy of Our Children

Classrooms that make children smile, parents smile, and teachers smile