What is Empty? The Impact of Teaching Concepts to Children
Reflections by Jason Lee, Jakeman Nursery School
*The following guest post represents the author’s personal view and does not necessarily represent the view of the Birmingham Early Years Networks (BEYN) as a whole. Any issues or questions arising from the content of this post should, therefore, be directed to the author and not BEYN.
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Concept Cat was a term I was vaguely familiar with prior to the introduction of the program at Jakeman Nursery School.
Other than knowing that a cuddly cat toy would accompany the fact that opposites weren’t taught together, I was unaware of the more in-depth details of the program and how it hoped to improve language and vocabulary for our 3 & 4-year-olds.
I was soon to be cast into the world of Picky Puppet, ‘Word Raps’, Catty and Rainbow (more on that later) and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
The Beginning
The journey began virtually, attending training that detailed the program's intended outcomes and the tools (both physically and conceptually) to achieve our goals.
The premise for the program was simple, by using your ‘Concept Cat’, you were to introduce a new word each week. This allowed the children to be exposed to this word and its meaning through direct teaching, stories, pictures, songs, activities, and repetition, repetition, repetition.
We weren’t alone either as we set out on this linguistical journey; we were assigned a Concept Cat coach, Emma, who guided and supported us along the way with our questions. There were a few!
Starting off the program, a group of children were assessed on their prior knowledge through a simple activity. Once this was completed, we received our box of resources, the list of specially selected words based on the needs of our children, and we were free to get stuck in.
We felt that to truly make this special for the children, they would need to choose a name for their key group's cat. We put this to a vote, after all, we wouldn’t be working in the early years if we didn’t take every opportunity to make cross-curricular links, *cough, British Values - democracy* cough! The votes were counted, and the children’s voices heard, as Catty and Rainbow were affectionately brought into this world.
First Concept
The children had their hook (and dear friends) as we began the first word of our program, ‘empty’.
Whether typed or said out loud, the word echoes in the voice of the children who have enthusiastically recalled it as they still do to this day if they catch sight of an unfilled cup or vacant basket!
The children were immediately enamoured with the ‘Word Rap’, a simple and catchy song designed to introduce the word. This ensured the children had an opportunity to see it, say it, act it, and shout it!
Following this, Catty or Rainbow would then tell them a story filled with repetition and object reference to allow the children to hear the meaning of the word. We then placed signs of the word wherever relevant in our environment, such as the water station or sand pit.
Throughout the week we both revisited the story and took moments to review their understanding using another new friend, Picky Puppet.
The children loved helping to direct Picky Puppet to gleefully pick up objects that were empty or disgustingly disregard those that weren’t!
By the end of the week, the children would tell anyone who would listen that the chair next to them was ‘empty’, or that the water jug needed refilling because it was ‘empty’, or that they had been doing really good eating because their plate was now…. you get the point.
I was shocked at just how quickly the children had absorbed this new word and its meaning, and how many were able to put it into context during their play.
The Concept Cat Bug
In the following weeks, parents were sending in videos of them and their children taking part in suggested home activities and lessons where children took on the role of the teacher.
The Concept Cat bug had spread far and wide, and best of all? The children benefited immensely!
It has no doubt been a success story here at Jakeman. The additional support in language development has been visible in our Wellcomm assessments and termly data, and through the elation and joy of every child’s face who has excitedly told anyone walking through our doors that they have snuck up ‘behind’ them, built a very ‘long’ train track, or best of all that they feel so happy because they have their friends all ‘around’ them.
We cannot wait to meet future iterations of Catty and Rainbow as they too ignite this love for language.
Want to know more?
Find out about the importance of teaching vocabulary at the EEF Evidence Store and DfE Child development Module 4: Supporting language development in the early years.
Blog author: Jason Lee, Qualified Teacher & DSL, Jakeman Nursery School
Jakeman Nursery School is 1 of 9 Local Authority Nursery Schools that form the Birmingham Federation of Maintained Nursery Schools and 1 of 27 within the City of Birmingham.
Offering both FREE (Local Authority funded) and paid-for places to children of 2-5 years of age; Jakeman’s provisions are run by a shared leadership team of fully qualified teachers (QTS) and early years professionals.