Protracted Neural Development of Dorsal Motor Systems During Handwriting and the Relation to Early Literacy Skills

Handwriting is a complex visual-motor skill that affects early reading development. A large body of work has demonstrated that handwriting is supported by a widespread neural system comprising ventral-temporal, parietal, and frontal motor regions in adults. Recent work has demonstrated that this neural system is largely established by 8 years of age, suggesting that the development of this system occurs in young children who are still learning to read and write. We made use of a novel MRI-compatible writing tablet that allowed us to measure brain activation in 5–8-year-old children during handwriting. We compared activation during handwriting in children and adults to provide information concerning the developmental trajectory of the neural system that supports handwriting. We found that parietal and frontal motor involvement during handwriting in children is different from adults, suggesting that the neural system that supports handwriting changes over the course of development. Furthermore, we found that parietal and frontal motor activation correlated with a literacy composite score in our child sample, suggesting that the individual differences in the dorsal response during handwriting are related to individual differences in emerging literacy skills. Our results suggest that components of the widespread neural system supporting handwriting develop at different rates and provide insight into the mechanisms underlying the contributions of handwriting to early literacy development.

H is for Hurricane, M is for Maria: Supporting literacy in Vieques

The case study, H is For Hurricane and M is For Maria explores the public Montessori System of Puerto Rico as an educational philosophy of resilience. The authors present a counternarrative to early literacy development on the island by focusing in on two public Montessori schools from Vieques, Puerto Rico. The study was conducted one year after the passing of Hurricane Maria. Data collected, highlights the strong effectiveness of combining children’s home life experiences together with foundational early literacy development. Through this piece, teachers and parents share how they teach early literacy by making the absolute most of what surrounds them physically and culturally. Puerto Rico is poorer than the poorest state yet has had the fastest growth of public Montessori schools, than anywhere else in the United States. Major conclusions state that access to public Montessori education in Puerto Rico offers children an advantage in early literacy development.

Using Technology to Teach Foundational Writing Skills in Early Elementary Grades

Many children leave elementary school without either skills or enthusiasm for writing, which may have negative impacts on their future academic achievement and lifelong learning. Due to the sudden impacts of COVID-19, virtual instruction, and inequities in resources, new challenges for writing instruction have emerged, which require educators to develop novel, technologically enhanced strategies for developing young writers' skills. In the present chapter, the authors provide (1) an in-depth review of the developmental trajectories of writing from birth through third-grade; (2) discuss how models of technology pedagogy, including TPACK and SAMR, may be integrated with emergent writing skills; and (3) provide strategies and resources related to technology to empower early childhood and early elementary teachers with effective writing instructional practices and digital tools. Early childhood educators may become empowered with suggestions and guidance for integrating technology with early literacy development.

Evaluation of the "Kindergarten from Home" programme during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in major changes in education around the world. According to UNESCO, due to the adoption of precautionary measures to combat the spread of the disease, over 1.5 billion students and children experienced the interruption of formal education, which is the biggest simultaneous shock for all education systems. The international health crisis has led to radical, comprehensive and serious changes in the lives of both children and their parents. Also, COVID-19 has presented early education systems around the world with serious operational challenges. The preschool institution "Đurđevdan" in Kragujevac, respecting the rights of children and ensuring the principles of education and pedagogy, designed the programme "Kindergarten from Home". The research presented in this paper aims to investigate the satisfaction of parents and children with the "Kindergarten from Home" programme during the COVID-19 pandemic - to determine the attitudes and scope of participation of children and parents. The sample included 488 parents and 302 children. The results show that the activities: spending time together with the family (43%), activities in the yard, nature (22%), and activities for motor skills (10%) produced the highest level of contentment in children. A large majority of children (73%) are motivated to continue the "Kindergarten from Home" programme. A majority of parents and children (over 60%) have given the "Kindergarten from home" programme the highest marks for interest and usefulness. The greatest percentage of the parents (42%) consider the "activities for early literacy development" exceptionally important for their child and family, whereas almost a quarter of the parents consider "working habits" as such. More than half of the parents regularly participated in the activities of the programme "Kindergarten from Home". The programme will be continued with the goal of providing support to the education of children and their families, even after the normalization of the work of kindergarten, for all children who are prevented from attending kindergarten.