MEET LUMI
Anyone who lives or works with children knows very well that the commitment necessary for their growth is serious! To guide them through their evolutionary challenges means to discover, day by day, who these individuals whose hands we hold are, to jump a bit forward and a bit back on their path, sometimes following our hearts, other times following our instincts and often our common sense, in order to understand how they should behave. Today, studies in neuroscience have made it possible for us to better understand how a child’s brain works and how the human mind develops, information that is of invaluable importance in the world of education and pedagogy.
A convergence of neuroscience, pedagogy, and psychology led to the creation of LUMI products. This youthful product line is innovative and attentive to the needs of today’s families; it was created with sensitivity and competence to promote the well-being of children in a comprehensive, effective, and science-based manner. In fact, LUMI products begin with the studies of a number of authors and researchers, with an aim to provide parents and educators with instruments that are simple, fun, and science-based, in response to questions concerning how to guide children during their various evolutionary phases, through the digital, interconnected, and intercultural world in which we live.
Having fun with the activities in the books and board games, young explorers can best express their potential for cognitive, emotional, and social development, with the support of confident, aware educational guides. All of the materials are built around four key words: curiosity, reflection, emotion, and independence.
Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.
—Aristotle
THE NAME “LUMI”
LUMI is the name of a conceptual archipelago of islands that got its name because it was built around an old red and white striped lighthouse. The role of the lighthouse has always been to light the way for all the adventurers who took to the sea, making it possible for them to reach all the smaller islands, where they could acquire a wealth of new knowledge, experiences, and capabilities, one after the other.
LUMI’S FEATURES
LUMI products are primarily intended for children, but they always include a part dedicated to parents or educators as well, so that the adult also acquires new information regarding child development and how best to respond to the needs and behaviors of children. The child we have in mind when creating our products is independent, curious, reflective, and creative—a child that does not learn passively but who chooses to be an active protagonist in the learning process.
Children of the third millennium, the so-called digital children who are in constant dialogue with electronic and technological devices, think and learn in quick, multimodal, and interactive environments.
As a result, the traditional division between fields of learning and study are being replaced by project- and module-based teaching, where a variety of fields combine and intersect to create a kind of conceptual map to explain a specific topic.
THE ARCHIPELAGO AND . . .
These considerations led to the conceptual structure of LUMI, vividly designed as a small archipelago of seven islands, each of which represents an area of development. The islands are all connected to one another in that growth is a comprehensive process that involves a variety of cognitive, emotional, and social dominions, all of which are interconnected.
FEELING
. . . THE SEVEN MAJOR CATEGORIES
The categories are transversal to the age groups and are represented by the seven islands of the archipelago.
COOPERATING CREATING
The products of the LUMI line belong to seven distinct areas, but all of them are interconnected to stimulate integral, comprehensive learning. The contents of the activity books and board games are built according to the specific goals we have indicated and can be summarized in seven major categories, represented by the seven islands of the archipelago, that transverse the age groups.
COMMUNICATING
REASONING
THINKING EXPLORING
THE INHABITANT S OF THE ARCHIPELAGO
There are also animals that live on these islands. Each one acts as a little companion whose job it is to guide the explorers, according to their age group.
0–3 years
The little hermit crab is a sweet animal that gets its courage from its shell, where it goes to hide from predators when it needs to. It accompanies the youngest of adventurers, those who need to carry out a gradual, protected exploration and who will abandon their shell to discover new horizons and new abilities only once they have completed their growth process.
5–7 years
The third character/guide is a whale. In our collective imagination, the whale has always been a fascinating creature, a symbol of humanity itself and of the search for knowledge. The adventurers whom Mega accompanies are strong and determined, ready to leave port to navigate the seas and dive into the abysses of knowledge to discover their own individuality.
3–5 years
Uniq
Another character who lives on the islands of the LUMI archipelago is a sea turtle. As soon as it hatches, this creature heads bravely toward the sea, never looking back. That is why it was chosen to accompany brave explorers who are young but daring, who set out with enthusiasm to discover basic knowledge, encouraged by their achievements in physical, linguistic, and social skills.
7–9 years
And finally, in the LUMI archipelago is the friend we all know and cannot do without, the seagull. Free, independent, determined, curious, and loyal to its flock, the seagull accompanies the more mature adventurers who are ready to leave the safe waters and make a complex exploration into the world of awareness and one day become young soldiers of knowledge.
FOREWORD
The development of linguistic skills covers a fundamental role in a child’s evolutionary trajectory. From its very appearance, we can observe a strong connection between linguistic capability and other areas of development: language allows us to organize our thoughts into categories, to recount our experiences, and to relate to others, and it also covers a fundamental role in scholastic learning. It is therefore vital that as parents and teachers we follow the development of this function over time.
This box of games is designed to be a developmental aid for linguistic skills in children ages three to five, using 100 different frequently used words. The box includes 100 illustrated cards, each one relating to a word. The words are divided into five of the most interesting and useful categories for pre-schoolers: objects, professions, transport, food, and animals. Each card represents an object: in illustration form on one side and in written form on the other, in both capitals and lowercase so that children learn to associate the graphic shape of the words to their phonological compositions and visual characteristics.
The activities included in the box help stimulate the development of various skills:
• vocabulary development
• spontaneous verbal production skills
• phonological awareness
• verbal fluency
• semantic category construction
• syntactical and morphological skills development
According to the neuro-constructivist and multi-factorial approach, the language acquisition process is a complex function determined by biological, cognitive, relational, and environmental factors that can evolve only when precise non-linguistic abilities have been acquired and consolidated (Karmiloff-Smith, 2006; Westermann, et al., 2007; Rowe and Goldin-Meadow, 2009), such as gesturing for attracting attention or integrating the different sensorial perceptions of a single object (for example, smell and taste).
As found in the invaluable studies by Dr. Maria Cristina Caselli— neuropsychology researcher and director of the “Language and Communication Across Modalities” workshop of the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies in Rome—language development occurs progressively as the cerebral circuits involved in elaborating the various linguistic components mature. But it also highlights that “cerebral elasticity, at its height during the first years of life, means that the environment surrounding every child gradually models the neuronal circuits that are implicit in language acquisition.” With this in mind, it would seem this window of opportunity should be exploited in order to offer children the correct linguistic stimulation.
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
HOW TO PROMOTE LEXICAL DEVELOPMENT IN
CHILDREN
Therefore, during the initial lexical development period, children learn to represent certain graphic symbols with vocal symbols, elaborate rules on how these vocal symbols are constructed in sequences of sounds, and use these words for communicative purposes in order to integrate with others.
What is a parent’s role in this process?
Nature certainly runs its course spontaneously, and biology and genetics follow their own rules, but as we have already said, the environment also plays a key role in the development of cognitive skills in children.
Here is, then, a list of important suggestions on how to promote linguistic development in children.
Patience and trust: First of all, you must be an observer of your child’s behavior, trusting that development will occur naturally and without pressure. Do not preempt or talk for them—let them finish their own words or gestures or first phases of response. A patient, observative approach will allow you to recognize any issues in their development more easily.
Visual contact: Numerous studies show how visual contact is fundamental for communicative, and linguistic development. Moreover, remember to maintain eye contact as you talk to your child, even while playing, and make sure they look back at you and observe the movements of your mouth.
Gestures: Gestural communication is closely linked to linguistic communication, so use gestures alongside your words and encourage your child to do the same to communicate what they cannot say.
Descriptions: From a very young age, describe to your child everything in their surroundings and what is happening around them, accompanying your actions with descriptive phrases to create a link between language and reality.
Playtime: At any age, play offers a limitless source of opportunities for development. If at the beginning it is a valid occasion in vocabulary development, subsequently it becomes a real school for cognitive skills! Name all objects, indicating their characteristics using different adjectives, explain what they are used for, formulate questions, create logical and cause-effect connections and symbolic mental representations, change the prosodic intonation, associate language with emotions, stimulate focalized, sustained attention and listening skills, and show how to alternate turns and roles in dialogues and the importance of respecting rules: all as your child enjoys the close relationship with you.
Reading: This is another fundamental activity at any age. Shared reading offers plenty of chances to stimulate children’s learning under the communicative, linguistic, and cognitive points of view. Books contain a wide variety of words, many of which are not used in everyday conversations, meaning they are a further occasion for expanding vocabulary. Pause on every new word, explaining the meaning: they will never forget it!
Dialogue: From a very early age, get your child into the habit of engaging in dialogue with you, in which you talk about your own experiences and emotions. Turn off the television and cell phones, and sit down and talk—in an age-appropriate manner— about what they found interesting during a trip to the aquarium, which animal for them is the strangest, which moment at the park they enjoyed the most, what friends they played with at school, what is their favorite meal at the school cafeteria, or simply which of the objects in front of them is their favorite. And, obviously, also share your own personal experiences and sensations. Always use open questions to stimulate the articulation of thoughts and spontaneous elocution.
THE MATERIALS
This box contains 100 cards relating to 100 frequently used words. The words are divided into five categories: objects, professions, transport, food, and animals.
On the front of each card is an illustration of the word. On the back is the word written in capital letters and in lowercase (one under the other so children can clearly see how the letters correspond in the two writing forms) and, where relevant, instructions for the games in which that card will be used (for example, three characteristics of the object shown).
Here are the 100 words you will find inside the box:
OBJECTS
Sofa, armchair, light, lamp, rug, doll, exercise book, pencil, hat, pants, t-shirt, hoodie, skirt, socks, shoes, gloves, scarf, stethoscope, syringe, tweezers, book, screwdriver.
PROFESSIONS
Doctor, nurse, dentist, teacher, cook, airplane pilot, firefighter, taxi driver, vet, mail carrier, astronaut, baker, mechanic, farmer.
TRANSPORT
Tram, airplane, car, taxi, train, ship, bicycle, scooter, motorbike, fire truck, tractor, helicopter.
FOOD
Bread, pizza, cheese, bean, cookie, broccoli, carrot, zucchini, pumpkin, salad, tomato, apple, pear, banana, orange, mandarin, pomegranate, chestnut, peach, apricot, strawberry, milk, yogurt.
ANIMALS
Dog, cat, caterpillar, snake, crocodile, cow, horse, donkey, fox, mouse, mole, rabbit, wolf, deer, tiger, hippopotamus, lion, monkey, whale, zebra, pigeon, shark, crab, dolphin, tuna, pig, robin, elephant, squirrel.
THE GAMES
Here are a variety of activities to do with the 100 cards, each designed to exercise different cognitive skills. You will find different suggestions depending on the children’s ages.
WHAT’S ITS NAME?
3 TO 5 YEARS
The first activity involves naming the cards, so that children learn to recognize all of the elements illustrated on them. Divide the cards into the five categories and place the piles in front of your child. Then, show the illustrations to your child and ask them to name them, one card after the other. Repeat the activity for each of the categories.
You can then invert the activity, naming an element yourself and asking your child to point it out from the cards in front of them. With younger children, start with the category you think they are most familiar with, to motivate your child and gradually teach them new vocabulary.
When they have named the card, turn the card around to check that the word is correct, also showing them the written letters that make up the sound of that word.
SECRET WORDS
3 YEARS
Have your child choose four cards and place them down in front of them, picture side up. Choose one of the four words and tell your child to pay attention and listen for the secret word. Make up a phrase containing the word (not the others) and ask your child to recognize it.
Say: “Listen carefully. Which of these four words is in the sentence I am about to say?” If your child recognizes the word easily, then continue naming another one until you have said all four. At this point, continue by gradually adding a further two cards.
If, on the other hand, your child has difficulty in recognizing the word, you can repeat the phrase and then ask them, “Is this the word you heard in my sentence?” pointing at the four cards in front of them, one by one.
The sentences must be easy, with no more than 10 words.
Examples:
The cat’s fur is soft. My favorite fruit is apple. Today, I saw a red motorbike. The baker is always friendly. In the wardrobe is the red hoodie
4-5 YEARS
The same game can be played with older children but starting with seven cards and adding three more cards each time. You can also make more complex phrases, and they can also include coordinate and subordinate clauses.
You can also start using two and then three words in the same sentence, for example, by comparing two elements.
Examples:
Today I went to the doctor’s because I had a tummy ache. As soon as I get home, I take off my shoes and sit on the sofa. Dogs are smaller than tigers. Unfortunately, I missed the train and so I had to take a taxi. The syringe that the nurse is holding is shaped liked a dolphin.
TO EACH THEIR OWN LETTER
3-5 YEARS
In this activity, children practice associating the sound of the letters that make up a word with the corresponding graphic symbol. Place the cards in front of your child, words side up. Ask your child to choose a letter from the alphabet and ask them to look for a word that starts with the same letter. Initially, they can compare the written letters and then find the words that start with the same letter, using the cards placed picture up and turning them over to check their answer.
Another activity involves placing the letters side by side and preparing lots of piles or lines of cards underneath each one with the words that start with that letter.
For example, under the letter A, you would put airplane, astronaut, armchair, etc.
SISTER WORDS
3 YEARS
You can continue the previous activity on phoneme fluency, but this time using the cards turned picture side up. Put 20 cards in front of your child and ask them to choose one and say the word out loud. Then, ask them to choose another card or cards that start with the same letter. Say: “Choose a card. What word is that? Now choose another word that starts with the same letter.” If your child makes a mistake, repeat the sound of the first letter of each of the two words and then point out the written letter to better show the difference.
4-5 YEARS
With older children, you can use 30 cards at a time, asking them to choose two, then three, and then five words that start with the same letter as the first card chosen.
From the age of five, you can ask your child to list in one minute as many words as they can that start with the same letter as the chosen word, turning the game into a fun competition to see who can find the most cards (as well as the perfect way to train phonemic fluency).
WORDS AND MORE WORDS
3 YEARS
After you have practiced phonological recognition, you can move on to stimulating the semantic networks. With younger children, ask them to pick a card and describe it, saying something about what it represents, thereby stimulating spontaneous elocution skills. For example: “What does this person do?” or “What does this animal look like?” or even “Have you ever seen this vehicle? What does it look like?”
4-5 YEARS
With older children, you can ask them to find three adjectives that describe the picture on the card, asking: “Try choosing three words that say something about the qualities or characteristics of this subject” (for example, the train is fast, noisy, clean). Then try three verbs, saying: “Try choosing three words that indicate the actions that the subject on the card does or has done to it” (for example, the hat flies, smells, is broken).
STORYTELLING TIME
4-5 YEARS
You can continue developing elocution skills by asking your child to pick out a card and invent one or more phrases that contain the word once and then twice (you can also continue even more if your child particularly enjoys this linguistic challenge). Say: “Pick out a card and make up one phrase that contains that word twice.”
You can then get them to pick out two cards and make up one or two phrases that contain both words, using them together logically. For example, if skirt and cook are picked up, one phrase that contains them both could be: “The skirt the cook wears for work is always covered in flour.”
At this point, your child will have trained their spontaneous elocution skills and you can propose a storytelling game, asking your child to make up a short story featuring the objects on three and then four cards. Try saying: “Pick up three cards, and look at them. What can happen with these three elements? Try and make up a story using all these words.”
Now, you can play with negations. Pick up a card and try and get your child to guess what the object is using only negative sentences. For example, if you pick up the screwdriver card, you can try saying: “It is not an animal. It is not light. Children don’t use it. You can’t eat it.” Older children can then do the same with you, telling you negative sentences for you to guess the object of the chosen card.
CATEGORIES
3-5 YEARS
After having trained phonological skills, you can concentrate on developing mental categories. Divide the cards into the five semantic categories making up five little decks. For every card in each category, you can ask your child to describe three characteristics. For example, for animals, what it’s like, what it eats, what color it is, or where it lives, helping your child with the answers where necessary.
You can also create pairs of cards each time that there is some kind of link (such as food with animals or transport with professions). For example: “Choose an animal, then look in the food deck to find a food it eats.” Or: “Choose a profession, and then look in the objects deck for a tool that is used in that profession.” Or even: “Choose a form of transport, and then look in the professions deck for the person who uses that transport.”
ASSOCIATION NETWORKS
3 YEARS
For this game, your child must pick a card and, without showing it to the other players, say aloud three characteristics of that object so the others can guess what it is.
4-5 YEARS
With older children, you can play in the opposite way: the child picks a card but doesn’t look at it, and the other players have to give them the right clues to guess what it is, listing the three characteristics.
THE MYSTERY CARD
3-5 YEARS
This game can also be played by changing roles. The child picks up a card and you have to guess which card it is by asking the child yes or no questions. For example, if your child has picked up the fire truck card, you can ask questions such as: “Is it an animal? Is it big? Is it red? Can you eat it? Does it make a noise?” and so on. With younger children, we recommend you start with one category of cards at a time, to limit the search. You can also leave all the cards in front of the child and choose one in your mind, so that the child has an immediate visual reference to help them find the target word.
4-5 YEARS
With older children, you can ask them the yes/no questions and also perhaps give them a maximum number of questions. For example: “Think carefully about the questions to ask to uncover the mystery card. You can only ask six questions.”
SUGGESTIONS FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS
The activities proposed in the box are designed to help you stimulate your child’s linguistic and communicative skills. It is a tool for you to use to uncover their potential by playing together. Bear in mind that they are not tasks or exercises in which you should expect a special performance: they are rather a means for passing time together in a pleasurable way. Therefore, don’t focus on success, be positive regarding your child’s answers—whatever they are—and don’t expect too much regarding attention span and concentration or how easily your child is able to carry out the various activities.
Do not set time limits, and do not force your child to stay and play if they are no longer interested—leave them free to take the initiative in starting and stopping play according to their own rhythms. It will be the repetition over time that encourages learning and developing strategies. If you are involved and present, this is the most important ingredient for quality activity time.
When you see your child in difficulty in one of the games, wait for them to try and find their own solution, then help them to reflect on possible strategies. Respect the fact that they can also choose not to play at that moment or to do the activity later. The same goes for you—take part in the activities when you feel you are available.
Remember that your role is that of a lighthouse: you represent a guide and model both on the behavioral level (how to deal with frustration) and on the executive one (how to undertake a task).
If your child shows difficulty in coping when they lose, welcome their emotion with positive words, explaining how it is difficult to accept losing in a game, but that this does not define who they are, to avoid your child learning to identify themselves with their performance. Suggest they try again, as repetition helps learning and improves performance.
Impatience, difficulty in tolerating frustration, and anger when faced with unsuccess are all normal thanks to the immature mental functions that still characterize pre-school children. Accept their reactions and propose different activities or something else to do together—this will help to avoid them refusing to play or giving up.
The time you dedicate to quality playtime with your child will create positive memories that contribute to structuring a better perception of themselves. Have fun together with your child because learning is easier and lasts longer when undertaken in moments of shared fun.