Preparing children to start school at the reflection of a beginner teacher

The article discusses the work of a young teacher who starts his professional career from a grade zero. Teachers are subject to certain restrictions and are required to comply with the legal provisions laid down by statutes. Starting work as a teacher prompts reflection on the choice of methods and forms of work, taking into account the teacher’s obligations set out in legal acts. A teacher working in a kindergarten should prepare children to enter school so that they can master reading and writing skills in the future. Referring to the theory of a reflective teacher, I tried to consider the professional development of a teacher who is looking for the best method of work for him, and thus creates his own method of shaping phonological awareness in children. This method is an original reconstruction of J. Reichen’s reading method. The article presents both the theoretical assumptions of his method and notes from the observation carried out during the introduction of innovations to the preschool group. I also try to answer the question, how does the introduction of innovations affect the professional development of the teacher and the development of children?

Keywords: preschool education, professional development, teacher, phonological awareness, reading method

Language skills training in early childhood education

The article presents various views on linguistic proficiency and the methods of its education.

Keywords: lingual efficiency, methods of teaching language skills

Methods of teaching English in early childhood education

The aim of this work is to present and discuss the methods used in teaching English in 1–3 grades in primary school and the frequency of their use by teachers during classes. We have unconventional and conventional methods. The first group of methods includes: Total Physical Response, The Silent Way, Community Language Learning, Natural Method, Sugestopedia and Communicative Language Teaching. Teachers also use the second group of methods, in which we have: direct method, grammatical-translation method, audiolingual method and cognitive method. The research was conducted using a diagnostic survey in primary schools among of English teachers in early childhood education. The research show that teachers often use these methods in 1–3 grades in primary school. Connecting unconventional and conventional methods allows teachers to diversify their activities and adapting issues to the children during the lessons.

Keywords: teaching methods, English, early school education

Children’s musical repertoire in the process of elementary music education

The aim of the article is the initial/preliminary systematization of the types of children’s musical repertoire. The definition of the repertoire and its forms were analyzed and interpreted. Based on the analysis of the literature on the subject, the categories of children’s repertoire were described in correlation with musical activities. An attempt was also made to describe the structure of the children’s musical repertoire.

Keywords: musical repertoire, musical activity, child

Children’s world of sounds — musical education of a preschool child

Music is around us — every day music is the noise of trees, the rustle of leaves, the sound of a passing tram, the barking of a dog. We learn it while studying in kindergarten and school, but above all at home. This is where the child learns the first melodies. Initially, these are sounds from the immediate environment, starting with the mother’s heartbeat and the melody of her words. Then we expand our knowledge of sounds with children’s counting, acoustic experiments, short song chants, kindergarten songs and music accompanying the game. It’s all a child’s world of sounds, but what’s the key to that?

The natural musical development of humans is observed between the ages of 1 and 13, and this is when the most important changes take place in the body, including the maturation of the auditory analyzer and psychomotor performance. Therefore, a variety of musical activities of parents, and then teachers, which are aimed at developing the child’s musical abilities, are very significant at this time. They can be realized by singing together, listening to music of different styles, creating ostinato on instruments and simple instrumentation. Free and directed movement as well as instrumental improvisation are also important.

To understand music, you need to be extremely sensitive to its beauty. This is a trait that cannot be taught to children just like that, but it is possible to create any conditions for them to experience music emotionally. This main goal of children’s music education should be realized with the use of five forms of musical activity, which will be discussed in detail in this article.

Keywords: music education, singing, playing instruments, movement with music, making music, listening to music, forms of music activity

Fun ways to introduce of musical notation in terms of pitch — suggestions for teachers in grades 1–3

An important issue in music education of children is introduction of musical alphabet. The main aims are reminding teachers of two ways to record pitch, introducing the guidelines for learning formulated by psychologists, presentation of selected ways of introducing musical notation in a way adapted to the abilities of early school children.

Keywords: games with music, games with Boom whackers, musical notation, preschool and early school education, suggestions for teachers, musical games, solmization, musical alphabet, music education, music theory for children

Animals and their meaning for child’s development

The purpose of this article is to increase reader’s knowledge about animals and their influence on child’s development. The following article describes the journey of children growing up in the presence of animals. The first part of the article focuses on the general impact of animals on humans and presents ways for parents to use in order to provide child contact with animals despite their absence at home. The next part is about the importance of being around animals for social, emotional and physical development, as well as their influence on education and shaping the child’s personality. In the fifth part, research analysis from 2019 to my Bachelor are presented. They are a starting point for reflection about the article. The last part is a summary of the article, which also includes the role of the teacher in educating both parents and children about the importance of animals in human life.

Keywords: animals, children’s development, relations, benefits

Encouraging children’s physical activity based on the “Świerszczyk” magazine

Referring to the diversity of books and magazines, in terms of expanding reading among the youngest and shaping and shaping positive pro-health attitudes, it is worth paying attention to the role that literature plays in shaping these attitudes. Based on the magazine “Świerszczyk”, the author decided to present the motif of the movement that was captured in the magazine. On this basis, it was presented how to properly shape and expand children’s willingness to contact the book, as well as the importance of contact with the book for the child’s development. Through contact with literature, you can pass on knowledge to children in every possible field, as well as encourage physical activity. Children have a natural need to move, which should be supported, developed and stimulated by encouraging them to various forms and physical activities. In addition to translating and teaching correct lifestyle patterns. With the help of literature, stories and magazines, we can shape these attitudes in them, at the same time counteracting developmental abnormalities, chronic diseases, obesity and posture defects. An important factor in the proper development of a child is the awareness and willingness of parents to pass on the right models.

Keywords: child, physical activity, children’s magazines

Digital exclusion — a danger to the education today

Contemporary media and new technologies became an integral part of our lives. We can experience their influence in nearly every part of our everyday life. In the hands of an adept and sensible user, they can become a powerful educational tool. Their misuse however, often leads to a number of problems and negative effects. The global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic forced us to transfer social, political, economic and cultural aspects of our lives into the digital realm. The following article takes up the issue of digital exclusion, a pressing international problem, as well as the challenges that the polish educational system faced during distance-learning. Studies mentioned in the article illustrate the difficulties which the students, their parents, teachers and headmasters encountered at every level. The conclusions point at the direction the post-pandemic school ought to take while transitioning back to classrooms.

Keywords: pandemic, distance-learning, digital exclusion, media education

Volunteering as one of the forms of acquiring professional competence by future teachers of pre-school and early school education

The article discusses the topic of acquiring professional competence by future teachers and the relation between this process and the voluntary work. The research conducted on a group of students aims to determine the ways of self-improvement, the types and length of voluntary work as well as self-evaluation of competence owned. In the first part of the article, the focus was put on the theoretical description of concepts like: volunteering and teachers’ competence. In the further part the analysis of self-studies was presented and in the last one the results of the studies were shown.

Keywords: students volunteering, teachers’ competence, professional competence, self-improvement of future teachers

Volunteering on the student side — inspiration and participation of pedagogy students in voluntary activities

The article discusses the issue of student volunteering. The first part discusses the theoretical background of the problem in the literature of the subject: the definitions of volunteering, sources of motivation, legal issues and qualifications and competences to the concept of volunteer role. The next part presents and discusses the results of our own research focused on the forms of volunteering carried out by students of special pedagogy.

Keywords: student volunteering, volunteer, competence, motivation