Kool Beginnings Curriculum – Letters & Words

Our Kool Beginnings Curriculum (KBC) ‘Letters & Words’ block focuses on literacy, which is how we communicate using different symbol systems. These systems include spoken language with its sounds and sentence structure, visual elements like marks and pictures, and nonverbal cues such as gestures and facial expressions.

From birth, humans begin to respond to the symbol systems within their everyday social and physical environments influencing a unique pathway to literacy development, often referred to as ‘emergent literacy’, a phase that typically occurs within the first 5 years of life, without formal instruction. More simply, literacy is communication and encompasses listening, viewing, and creating various oral, visual, and digital texts.

Positive dispositions toward literacy are developed from infancy, with early childhood educators playing a vital role in nurturing a diverse range of literacy skills through song and music, movement, dance, visual arts, storytelling, conversations, media, drama, as well as verbal and emergent reading and writing. The first critical step involves exposing children to the sounds within a language as research highlights that a child’s proficiency in oral language serves as the most reliable predictor for future success in reading and writing.

The literacy journey for children whose home language is not English unfolds with both unique advantages and intricate challenges. As Educators navigating the complexities of addressing language and literacy proficiency in children whose first language is not English, we strive to establish a delicate balance between enhancing proficiency in Standard English and valuing the cultural and linguistic richness of the child’s home language. Nurturing this complexity requires educators to be attuned to the diverse backgrounds of each child, fostering an inclusive and supportive environment that empowers children to explore and excel in both English and their home languages.