Listening Ears
Listening Ears
Are you using your listening ears? This is a common phrase used daily in our early childhood classrooms. Adults caring for young children spend a lot of time talking (at) young children with the expectation that they should be hanging on every word. I often wonder if we (adults caring for young children) spend time using our listening ears.
Early childhood professionals are taught to narrate everything we do during the day. This is supposed to be the best way to model and foster language development. But did you know that continually talking at and around young children does not foster language development? Our children develop language via serve-and-return interactions. They need a trusted adult to be at their level, having a back-and-forth (not one-sided) conversation with them.
This school year, I challenge you to listen more than you speak. I challenge you to have meaningful serve and return interactions with the children in your care. Focus on their interests and needs. This school year, practice using your listening ears.
