Adult assistance rendered to senior kindergarteners (5-year-olds) in agricultural farming activities:Focusing on verbal approaches by both kindergarten teachers and other adults

The purpose of this study, focusing on a class of senior kindergarten students who were cultivating barley in agricultural farming activities, was to reveal how kindergarten teachers and other adults interacted with the students in their nature experiences and what type of verbal assistance they rendered. Specifically, observational research was conducted on 7 occasions of a class of senior students attending a private kindergarten who were cultivating barley. The study examined the content of the farming activities being done by the senior kindergarten students and the verbal approaches made by both the kindergarten teachers and the farming instructors. The results indicated that the kindergarten teachers shared in the students\u27 emotions when they were moved by their farming experiences, and made proactive verbal approaches to the students by directing questions at them. On the other hand, when the children were moved emotionally or expressed wonder or doubt, the farming instructors made verbal approaches with explanations and proactive attempts to respond to their specific queries and doubts. It was suggested that the different forms of assistance provided by the kindergarten teachers and farming instructors respectively made the children’s\u27 activities more meaningful

Family Lives of Children in Transitional Period from Preschool to Elementary School: Focusing on Changes in Children’s Routines Before and After Entering School

This study aimed to clarify the changes in children’s family lives during the transitional periods of entering nursery school, kindergarten, and elementary school. The focus is on changes in routine at home, such as the time of getting up, going to bed, sleeping, and morning and evening mealtimes of 5-year-old children either at kindergarten, nursery school, or a certified child center, and the first-grade students of elementary schools. Results indicated that the first-grade students at elementary schools showed earlier times of waking up and having breakfast than other preschool children, and their sleeping hours tended to be shorter. Furthermore, no difference was confirmed in the time of going to bed and having dinner between preschool children and first-graders at an elementary school. The above suggested that the children’s routines would change from family-oriented to schooloriented lifestyles after entering elementary school. The transition period from preschool education facilities to elementary schools appears to be a significant change in children’s lives, which is demonstrated by the abovementioned changes in their routines. Thus, it is essential to take their routines at school and at home into consideration

Investigation of difference in the contents of lunch box among age and gender in preschoolers

This study examines whether contents of lunch box are different among age groups and gender. I investigated how the proportion of a staple, main dish and side dish in the lunch box was different among age groups and gender. The results indicated that there were significant differences. Boys had a larger staple in the lunch box, while, girls had a larger side dish in the lunch box. In addition, the main dish was larger for five-year-old children than for four-year-old children. Moreover, I investigated whether there were differences in the composition of staples. The results indicated that there were significant differences among different age groups. For four-year-old children, the staple was presented in an easy to eat form (e.g., rice balls instead of plain rice). There was more variety of ingredients in the lunch box of five-year-old children. These results suggest that mothers adopt their cooking methods to the development needs and food preferences of their children

Study of the teacher\u27s approach of speaking in a-first-grade and a-second-grade "Seikatsuka" class in aprimary school : Learning Transition from early to middle childhood

本研究では，小学校１，２年の生活科の授業における児童の学びの移行過程を，教師の言語的働きかけの違いから検討した．その結果，小学校1年担任教師（以下，Ａ教師とする）は，授業内容に関する発問が有意に多かった．また，Ａ教師は授業中，児童に自由に発言する機会を与えており，児童に対する注意も間接的であった。一方,小学校2年担任教師(以下，Ｂ教師とする）は，児童の授業内容の発言に対する応答が有意に多かった．また，Ｂ教師は，教室における発話パターンに従って授業を展開しており，児童に対する注意も直接的であった．幼稚園･保育所から小学校1年への学びの移行段階では，教師は発問によって，個々の学びをクラス全体に広げていた一方，小学校2学年から小学校3年以降への学びの移行段階では，教師は児童の発言を繰り返すことで，児童の理解を整理し発展させていた．そして，児童は次第に協同の学びに移行していた。This study examines how a-first-grade and a-second-grade teacher interact with students in “Seikatsuka” class in a primary school. The results indicate a significant difference between the-first and the-second-grade teachers. The-first-grade teacher asked more questions about lessons and permitted students unrestricted speech. In addition, the teacher offered indirect instructions to the students. In contrast, the-second-grade teacher provide more responses to the students, utterances and established as well as enforced communication rules. Furthermore, the teacher offered direct instructions to the students. In the learning transition from kindergarten and nursery to primary school, the first-grade teacher facilitated the learning of each student and then extended these lessons to the entire class. However, in the learning transition from the second to the third grade in primary school, the teacher repeated students\u27 utterances and organized students’ ideas into a theme