Reference
My name is Patty Graff and I teach adults who work in early care and education classrooms. The adults I work with teach in part day preschools, Head Start classrooms, full day child care/preschools, group home child cares and family day care homes. The adults all come to my classroom with a wide variety of backgrounds. Some have a degree in early childhood education, others with various college degrees, and still others only a high school degree. Some have worked in child care for many years and others only a few months. Topics of classes I teach, as well as classes taught by instructors I hire, cover content areas as identified by the State of Pennsylvania and the Keystone STARS Program.
One of the books I chose to read was “The Kite Fighters” by Linda Sue Park. It is the story of two young Korean boys who are brothers growing up in 1473 Seoul. The reader becomes immersed in their lives while learning about the dynamics between father and sons and the traditions related to age and birth place in the family. The story unfolds around the interests and skills of the two boys around kite flying and kite making. It also focuses on the dreams and wishes of each boy and how it may differ from those of the father.
The idea of kites and children captured my interest. I immediately thought about a few resources of my own that might help me introduce this book to adults and to help them think about how to use it in their own classrooms with children. I appreciate the concept of the Project Approach to teaching young children and I would want the adults coming to my class to have that experience as well. My intent would be to help them experience in a very small way what their children could experience on a larger scale. Sometimes a classroom project begins with the ideas of a child, other times it happens because of how the adult sets the stage. I envision displaying a kite hanging from the ceiling and maybe a few photos posted on the walls for the adults to see when they enter the classroom. If the adults do not initially ask questions, examine these items, or talk to one another about what they see I would “invite” the adults to look, wonder, ask, think, and explore.
But as I read the book I also found myself wanting to know more, to better understand the depth of the story being told. Even beyond the fascination of the kites themselves I thought this book would work well in a book study format. There are many aspects of the book to explore beyond the experience of the kite building and flying. I found concepts such as respect, family, patience, dedication, tradition, development of skills and much more threaded throughout the book. In the book study format early care and education teachers would have the opportunity to identify, discuss and investigate educational concepts defined by the Keystone STARS such as curriculum and learning experiences, family and schools, and communication then determine how to incorporate messages of the book into lessons and experiences for their classrooms.
I believe the teachers could also introduce this book to the children in much the same manner. An entire book does not have to be read in one sitting. In fact it is often better to read it in part to allow the reader/listener to work on concepts of concentration and comprehension. All this could be done when using the Project Approach to teaching which allows the teacher and learners to gain knowledge and experience based on the questions asked and how they actively seek the answers. This allows for the opportunities for learning to be gained over time which allows for digestion of and application of knowledge.
I found many of the same messages and experiences in several other children’s books which I recommend to others:
The Emperor and the Kite by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Ed Young
Dragon Dancing by Carole Lexa Schaefer and illustrated by Pierr Morgan
The Last Dragon by Susan Miho Nunes and illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet
Another book resource I had available that may interest others is Kites by David Pelham which outlines history, construction, flying and kite patterns. Young children would love the pictures and the adults and older children would enjoy the depth of information contained within.
As I read the book “Kite Fighters” I wanted to know more about kites and ways to introduce kites to adults and children in a meaningful way. Below are some of the web links I found that could offer some support to the introduction of kites to the classroom setting.
http://www.drachen.org/
http://www.drachen.org/learn/kite-basics
http://www.drachen.org/why-teach-kites
http://www.drachen.org/lessons/learning-about-korea-through-its-kites-te...
http://www.aka.kite.org/local/EduResources.html
http://www.gombergkites.com/update/607.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAC6OhOvhCc&feature=youtu.be
http://www.csun.edu/~ghsiung/fighters4.html Offers information of kite fighting in various countries
http://www.nationalkitemonth.org/teachers/
http://kitefestival.com/
