Children learn to develop their listening skills through sound. Sound is all around us, and before children learn to produce speech sound, they start to respond to environmental sounds like dog barks and their mother’s voice.
Differences in Listening Abilities
Children have a competent ability to hear; however, some of them may not find it easy to follow directions or listen with understanding and attention to details. The differences in their ability to listen can be based upon their development. A number of them start their preschool year with a well-developed phonemic knowledge while others take some time to realize the link between rhyming words. For some preschoolers, it takes involvement in visual channels before listening skills are developed.
Moreover, the range in the listening skills of kids can be based on emotional or environmental factors. Some kids prefer not to listen because for them it is a safer route. Early on, they learned to pretend not to understand. This requires teachers to know the reasons for the child’s behaviors by looking at the whole of him. Renanim Preschool and Summer Camp, a preschool in Manhattan, New York, believes that this makes the child realize why he should listen and what he can expect if people will listen to him.
How they Listen and Learn
- They manipulate sounds. Toddlers have fun with language. They like to listen to and repeat rhymes, as well as try to create word plays. This helps them discover ways to change and manipulate sounds.
- They Like Story-Telling. The majority of toddlers enjoy listening to people reading stories from books. They respond by talking about the photos and what is happening in the story. They are likely to fall in love in a story and would want to listen to it again and again. This type of listening helps them rehearse some words and start to repeat lines.
- They Engage in Conversation. As toddlers engage in a conversation, they listen to question and give an appropriate answer to this. Without distraction, a toddler can show active listening skills, focusing on the other person’s body and eyes. Most of them can make use of their listening skills to follow simple directions.
- They Love to Listen to Riddles and Jokes. Preschoolers love to hear make use of silly names. A lot of them devise silly event language. And when doing an artwork, they show their competence by telling stories about what they have made. They tend to have more interest in listening if their words are read back to them.
- Preschoolers Like Being Listened to with Respect
Preschoolers know the power of listening to what other people say and being listened to. They want others to listen to them with respect and attention. We can help your child develop both his listening and learning skills. Please call us at 212-750-2266.
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