is olc an ghaoth...

Thursday, January 21, 2010

about reading

Cad é mar a chuidíonn muid le léitheoireacht a éascú dár bpáistí? Tá roinnt cluichí agus stráitéisí réamhléitheoireachta a dhéanann muid, mar thuismitheoirí, a chuireann leis na scileanna atá de dhíth.

Mar shampla:

- Meáitseáil: ní gá bosca ar leith a cheannach ón siopa luathoideachais. Nuair a bhí mo chuid páistí beag, bhíodh cluiche acu le m’athair féin ag meáitseáil gnáthchártaí as páca, iad ar fad nó díreach leath an pháca. Leagadh sé gach cárta síos, aghaidheanna síos, agus bhíodh comórtas idir é féin agus an páiste dhá chárta a thiompú ina sealanna agus péirí a aimsiú. Gach péire a d’aimsídís, choinnítí na cártaí sin. An duine is mó péirí a bhain an cluiche.

- Cluichí meáitseála eile: dúradáin le huimhreacha nó le pictiúirí, míreanna mearaí, ag meaitseáil stocaí nuaghlanta, sórtáil cnaipí/críáin/blocanna tógála de réir cineáil nó méide, bábóg rúiseach a bhaint as a chéile agus a chur le chéile arís, srl.

- ‘Feicim féin’ (http://talkirish.com/forums/t/798.aspx ) a úsáid, ach in áit ‘Feicim féin le mo shúil bheag ghéar, rud a thosaíonn ar ‘M’...’ (m.sh. muc), úsáid ‘Feicim féin le mo shúil bheag ghéar rud a fhuaimníonn mar broc’ le go dtógfaidh siad an rím sa rann.

-Treo: nuair atá tú ag léamh scéil do do pháiste, lean an téacs le do mhéar, sa dóigh is go dtuigfidh siad go dtéann focail agus litreacha ó chlé go deas.

- Rannta agus amhráin a aithris. Tá sé cruthaithe go dtagann léitheoireacht níos éasca do na páistí sin a fhoghlaimíonn amhráin agus rannta a bhfuil rím iontu. Agus go bhfuil comhrá le daoine fásta agus le páistí a gcomhaois féin de dhíth. An mó teanga labhartha atá ag do pháiste ag dul isteach sa scoil dó/di, is amhlaidh is fusa a thiocfaidh léitheoireacht chucu. Bain triail as: http://www.teachnet.ie/clane/2008/index.html

- labhair le do pháiste: gnáthchomhrá, comhrá faoi chúrsaí ina saol, scéalta, míniú ar cad is bláthanna ann, nó spéir, nó scamaill, nó aon rud eile a chuireann siad ceist faoi…

- Taithí ar ábhar cló: má tá leabhair agus irisí thart sa teach, agus na páistí eolach ar an slí a n-oibríonn léitheoireacht trí bheith ag amharc ar dhaoine eile sa teach á déanamh, beidh siad cleachtaithe le coincheapanna ar nós ord leathanach, pictiúirí a chuireann leis an téacs, scéalaíocht agus cruth na litreach. Léigh leabhair leo go minic, bígí sa leabharlann go rialta, bíodh áit speisialta, so-aimsithe sa teach do leabhair do pháiste



How can we make reading easier for our children? There are some pre-reading games and strategies that we, as parents, can use to help them with the necessary skills.


For example:

- Matching: there is no need to buy any special box from the shop. When my children were young, they had a matching game that they played with my own father and a pack of ordinary playing cards. They would play with a whole pack or half a pack. He used to lay all the cards down, faces down, and he and the children would take turns in turning up two cards and trying to find pairs. Every pair found was kept by the person who found it. The person with the most pairs was the winner.

- Other matching games: dominoes with numbers or pictures, jigsaw puzzles, matching newly washed socks, sorting buttons/crayons/building blocks by type or size, taking Russian dolls apart and putting them back together again, etc.

- ‘Feicim féin’ (http://talkirish.com/forums/t/798.aspx ) Use ‘I spy’ - ‘Feicim féin le mo shúil bheag ghéar, rud a thosaíonn ar ‘M’...’ (e.g. muc),but use a sound rhyme rather than the letter - ‘Feicim féin le mo shúil bheag ghéar rud a fhuaimníonn mar broc’ so that they will listen to the rhyme in the verse. In English or Irish (e.g. I spy with my little eye something that sounds like ‘door’ – ‘floor’)

-Directions: when you are reading a story to your child, follow the text with your finger, so that they will understand that words and letters go from left to right.

- Say rhymes and sing songs. It has been shown that reading comes easier to children who have learnt rhymes and songs with rhyming in them And that conversation with adults and their peers is needed. The more spoken language - of any kind – that a child has going into school, the easier they will find reading. Try:
http://www.teachnet.ie/clane/2008/index.html

- speak to your child: ordinary conversation, conversation about whatever crops up in their lives, stories, explanations about what flowers are, what sky is, or clouds, or anything else that they bring up....

- experience of print: if there are books and magazines around the house, and children are familiar with the workings of reading through watching other people in the house doing this, they will be familiar with such concepts as page order, pictures that help explain the text, storytelling and letter forms. Read books together often, go to the library regularly, have an accessible specific place for your child’s books.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Should I teach my child to write his/her own name before going into school?

Ní dhéanfaidh na scoileanna mórán scríbhneoireachta an chéad bhliain don pháiste dul ar scoil. Is ar réamhscríbhneoireacht is fearr aird a thabhairt uirthi. Séard atá i gceist le réamhscríbhneoireacht ná na scileanna fisiciúla atá de dhíth orainn le smacht agus eagar a chur ar pheannaireacht (uirlisí scríofa). Samplaí de seo is ea:

- leabhair le pictiúirí móra le dathú ann a thabhairt do do pháiste, agus críáin. Agus ardmholadh a thabhairt do do pháiste nuair a choinníonn siad an dath taobh istigh de na línte cuí – agus moladh fiú nuair nach gcoinníonn.

- Lúbraí páipéir, pictiúirí déanta as poncanna le ceangal le chéile i line (gan uimhreacha).

- Cluichí a chothaíonn smacht idir méara agus súile, mar shampla, míreanna mearaí, blocanna ar nós Lego, srl., déanamh braisléidí agus muincí ó phaicéidí speisialta nó díreach le pasta agus snáth, cluichí chaitheamh liathróidí

- Clár dubh agus cailc (is féidir balla a phéinteáil le péint speisialta, má tá balla oiriúnach agat sa teach chuige seo)

- marla, gaineamh agus uisce,

Tá neart ábhair ar fáil saor in aisce ar an idirlíon ach é a ghúgláil.



Schools will not do a lot of writing in your child’s first year. You would be better concentrating on pre-writing skill. What this means is the physical skills needed to control and manipulate penmanship (writing tools). Examples of this would be:

- give your child books with big pictures to colour in, and crayons to go with it. And praise your child when they stay inside the line, and even when they don’t.

- Mazes (on paper), join-the-dot pictures (not numbered)

- Games that encourage hand-eye control, for example, jigsaws, blocks such as Lego, etc., Making bracelets and necklaces out of ready-made kits or simply some pasta and thread, games involving ball-throwing and catching

- Backboard and chalk (if you have a suitable wall, you can get special paint and create your own blackboard wall)

- Plasticine, sand and water

There is a lot of available material on the web, if you google it.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

How much reading and writing should I try to do with my child before school?

Don’t try to 'teach' them anything that doesn’t happen naturally in their day. The first year of school is not so much about cognitive skills (e.g. reading or writing) but about socialisation.

Socialisation is the name educationalists give to the social skills development process that children face throughout their school lives. It is sometimes also referred to as ‘the hidden curriculum’.

Examples of socialisation in naíonáin bheaga would be realising that they have to be quiet at certain times and listen to commands, that they should be able take off their coats and leave them in a specific place, that they will have to share games and resources, that they cannot monopolise the teaching staff.

How can we help to prepare them for this?

Much of their reaction depends on their own experience to date. We can help by encouraging social skills - e.g.

Do we encourage our children to listen e.g. songs on tape at home or in the car, or that we sing along with them (Yes – even Barney has his uses)? Gearóid MacLochlainn has a lot of useful and fun tapes for this age group. Also look on
http://naionrai.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/aiseanna-leabhair/ for sources.

Do we have established boundaries of behaviour and chain of authority?

Does our child know how to talk – i.e. take turns in a conversation and not ‘break in’ all the time?

Do we read to our children – either at bedtime or as a day activity, and allow discussion of the story and the pictures?

Do we say rhymes or sing songs with them?

Maybe you could start with a little rhyme such as the one below, and point to the body parts at the same time.

Súil,súil eile a haon a dó (put fingers over each eye in turn)
Cluas, cluas eile, a haon, a dó (put hands on each ear in turn)
Ceann (point to head)
Srón (point to nose)
Béal (point to mouth)
Smig (point to chin)
Is fiacla geala ‘mo bhéal istig’. (run fingers over teeth)