https://padlet.com/huikai_peng/4n9r4ww5f5r4 The hundred languages of children en-us 2018-01-29 08:30:42 UTC 2018-01-29 10:41:12 UTC hello@padlet.com huikai_peng https://padlet.com/huikai_peng/4n9r4ww5f5r4/wish/225518165 This is my first time reading this poem and I find it very interesting and meaningful. After reading it, it led me to think deeper about my teaching attitude and perception of children. 

The hundred languages of children means that there are hundred ways a child learn and explore his/her world. Children has limitless potential to express themselves and it is important to provide them with different kinds of opportunities. The hundred languages are interlinked and interdependent for a child's learning and development. 

Usually, adults or teachers are the ones deciding what and how to impart knowledge to our children. Children are too young to make decisions and take the lead. Children are supposed to be obedient, to always listen and not to ask or speak. Children are only given paper and pen to learn, and nothing more. These are all misconceptions of what we think children are and are capable of doing. What can a child achieve? What do we see in a child? Through this poem, a child is believed to be capable of taking the lead. A child is a curious learner, capable of achieving great things. A child is like a soul, needs to be nurtured. Thus, it is important for us to provide the hundred languages to them, provide them with what they need for them to grow and learn. We should learn to respect them, allow them to learn in a joyful and fun way.

This encourages a play-based approach in my classroom where I will plan for more games and hands-on activities for my students to learn and explore. Activities can be planned base on the students' interest for instance, an interest in playing doctor and patient. This interest can be translated into a role playing session where students act as doctor, nurse and patient to learn and use possessive pronouns (e.g. My head is painful.). In addition, activities can include asking of questions or giving challenges to provide provocation opportunities for students to discuss and learn. Learning of concepts can also be expressed through different forms and medium, for instance, to learn about animals, students can participate in different activities like making body movements of animals in a game, painting of animals during art activity, making sounds of animals during music time etc.  

This poem gave me an image of a child who is capable of achieving extraordinary things. Thus, I would give opportunities for my students to lead, to stand in front of the group to speak and share their ideas. I can split them up into smaller groups to encourage group discussion and learning. The more capable students can take the lead to guide the weaker ones in the class. Students take turns to be the captain of the class and decide certain rules or activities for the day. This encourage them to be active learners and to help each other in their community.

Besides working and learning in the classroom environment, activities can be conducted in different places of the school and even the outdoors. Different settings provide different kinds of stimulation and mood for the students to learn and explore. They are able to interact with different materials and people in the various locations. They are given the opportunities to learn through experiences of listening, touching, observing and moving.

In the past, I always believed that learning to read and write is the most important skills a child need to learn. I tend to plan my lessons in ways to drill them, let them practice more in order to get them ready for primary school. However, after taking a step back and injecting the fun element in my activities, I find that my students enjoyed learning. They not only enjoyed themselves, they are also able to grasp concepts faster. Thus, this encourages me to be more creative and providing different activities like role playing, social games, music and movement, experiments to learn and explore.

This poem serves as a reminder to myself as en educator that I have the power to create an environment to nurture a child to the fullest potential, allow the child opportunities to take the lead.]]> 2018-01-29 08:31:41 UTC https://padlet.com/huikai_peng/4n9r4ww5f5r4/wish/225518165