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Why is meaningful communication important in the early years?

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The age group of the learners were 0-2-year-old. The emerging interest of this learner group is to explore new things. They got very excited whenever they go to sandpit and try out new things which can be made with sand. The Centre got a very beautiful and calming environment so that children can play ands relax as well. They have got sandpit on one side and a big area for the children to play around. Moreover, they have got some tables in between where have kept different kinds of puzzles, magnetic pieces etc to engage the children in different activities.

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While I was watching them, I was reminded of a few psychological theories and theorists who demonstrated how play and interactions played such an important role in a child's development. Piaget's cognitive-developmental theory, Erickson's psychosocial theory, theory all made significant contributions to understanding the relationship between social interactions and development through play. Piaget, Erikson, and Vygotsky all agree that children use play to teach themselves. Vygotsky, like Piaget, believed that biological and social factors interacted in development and that children were active in constructing their own worldview(Vgotsky 1978).  Vygotsky proposed that most aspects of cognitive development occur in a social context, with adults acting as intelligent guides who anticipate what the child needs to learn and provide culturally specific learning methods. Erikson maintained that there is a link between play and society. Play allows children to learn about their social environment and experiment with new social skills. Furthermore, Erikson, like Piaget, believes that play promotes a socially competent child. A child requires play because it contributes significantly to their physical, social, and emotional well-being. Play, for example, promotes physical development as early as infancy by encouraging sensory exploration and motor skills development(Understanding Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development, 2022). Children perfect their abilities and become competent at increasingly difficult physical tasks through play and repetition of basic physical skills. Play promotes mental development and the development of new ways of thinking and problem solving. Furthermore, through imaginative play, children develop their own unique perspective and style of creative expression. . I also observed the children using their fine and gross motor skills, such as sitting, rolling, grasping, and reaching for objects, as well as interactions and communication with one another.

Furthermore, their major milestones in cognitive and language development according to their age, such as attention and memory, as well as their use of sounds, words, or sentences as a result of their social interactions and communication with one another.

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Observation 1

In this I have observed that two boys named Teddy and William were pretending to play superheros. Another thing was that they came to me and seek help if I could put a cap on both of them. They start to run very fast, so that they can be protected from the fake beams from Teddy’s hands. Teddy was leading the other children about what they can do and also made suggestions on what to play and the others would follow along. Also, when another boy named James tried to leave and go to another area, William guided him with his own type of language back to the group.

Observation 2
In this I observed that Elias and Willian were playing in the sandpit. Elias told William to close his eyes and start to dig a hole with a help of a shovel and he started to hide a wooden steak in the sand. He told William to fink the steak in the sand. when William find the steak they both cheer up with joy with a sound of 'Yeahhh'.

Observation 3
In this I have observed that Dorothy and Mackenzie were playing with the babies. they both have their own babies. They both started to talk to each other. Dorothy says " your baby sleeping ". Mackenzie goes " Yes Sleeping". they both were asking the random questions to the babies " Are you hungry"? After sometime Mackenzie was  singing out 'Twinkle Twinkle little star' to her baby.

Observation summary
To summarize three observations in which communication is the key concept children use their words or sometimes sign language to express their interest. For example in observation 1- Children use their own language for communication whereas in observation 2 and 3 children use their proper words to express that what they want from their peers.

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Communication is one of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework's five Learning and Development Outcomes (VEYLDF). It emphasises that children are skilled communicators, and that their ability to communicate is crucial to their wellness, identity, feeling of agency, and ability to form friendships (p.22).

From the moment they are born, children convey their curiosity, interests, needs, and emotions to people around them. This indicates that generally developing two-year-old children will be able to use more words and complicated sentences in their communication with others, including other children.(Conversation and social skills, 2022). The ability of two-year-old children to express their feelings and emotions increases as their vocabulary grows, providing many chances for early childhood professionals to explore how they will enhance children's communication skills.

The following are essential parts of communication for two-year-olds:

Adults who value meaning-making and work to understand a range of communication strategies from young children.

The role of modelling in assisting the development of increasingly complex vocabulary and language structures, including labelling, statements, and extended questions.

The importance of a safe, welcoming, healthy, and engaging environment for security and exploration opportunities to practise and maintain their first language.

(Victorian Learning and Development Framework for Young Children, 2016).

Interacting with people and physical situations develops both receptive (seeing/hearing) and expressive (using communication tactics) language skills (including natural and constructed materials). Each youngster will experience this in their own unique way. As a result, kindergarten programmes should provide numerous chances for children to participate in receptive and expressive language activities.

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To implement those strategies I set up a play in which I included a tub and I added several boats to that and I encouraged 1-2 year old to use their words what they can see? I asked random questions to the children for example- How many boats are there ? Which color is this ? Which boat is moving and which is not moving etc. Some of them use verbal communication but of them were just pointing out the things. To make it more interesting I tell the children whoever gets the right answer will get the sticker. With this, they got very excited and participated well in the activity. .Slavin,1997 stated that that the use of rewards systems is practised from decades and rewards are an effective, important and fundamental part of education (Akin-Little, Eckert, Lovett, & Little, 2004; Reiss, 2005). These researchers believe that rewards can be used as stepping stones or the foundation in building the intrinsic motivation of students (Cameroon & Pierce, 1994; Horner & Spauling, 2009). For me- this activity worked very well. At first, it was bit challenging to gather the children on mat, as they all were playing around. It was bit harder to get their attention. Although, the environment plays an important role. Before, It was so noisy. But when I told them about the stickers, they got very excited and listened to me very carefully. Suddenly, the room environment got very calmed and soothing.

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Early Years Learning Framework 2016, Victorian Early Years Learning And Development Framework,   https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-02/belonging_being_and_becoming_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf

Education.vic.gov.au. 2022. Conversation and social skills. [online] Available at: <https://www.education.vic.gov.au/childhood/professionals/learning/ecliteracy/interactingwithothers/Pages/conversationandsocialskills.aspx> [Accessed 17 May 2022].

2022. [online] Available at: <https://study.com/learn/lesson/vygotsky-theory-cognitive-development.html> [Accessed 17 May 2022].

Verywell Mind. 2022. Understanding Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development. [online] Available at: <https://www.verywellmind.com/erik-eriksons-stages-of-psychosocial-development-2795740> [Accessed 17 May 2022].