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Teaching Tips March 2011 |
Homeschoolers are generally exempt from compulsory preschool regulations. But are we really? We may not be obliged to register our preschoolers, but the mindset
of pushing structured learning earlier and earlier is affecting us.
Even with our little ones, it’s not unusual for families to be dashing from one adult-initiated activity to another in an effort to provide our children with “enrichment.” The reasons for such busy-ness can seem legitimate: we want to give our children that extra edge, we want to explore interests and talents that may develop in our children, we want to ensure socialization opportunities to counteract the naysayers, or we want to aggressively pursue academics to prove ourselves to the educational community. We don’t want our children to get behind! The operative phrase in the above paragraph is adult-initiated. Toddlers and preschoolers are concrete learners – they learn best by connecting directly with the world around them. That’s the world around them, not the adults in their life. To say it another way: young children learn best through play. Make-believe, mimicking, acting out stories, manipulating toys and objects (although not necessarily in the way they were intended!), climbing, jumping, building, tearing down, handling bugs and reptiles, singing, moving…you get the picture. They love getting “down and dirty” in sand, puddles, mud, paint, anything they can get their hands on. All this active play is actually learning because it is making the necessary brain connections and reinforcing them. These reinforced connections are what make structured learning possible later on. The fancy educational term is body-in-space orientation. Without these underlying connections, structured learning is disjointed and inconsistent. And most often only temporary. In some cases, it can even be detrimental by requiring abilities that aren’t fully developed yet such as eye-hand coordination, eye tracking, and fine motor skills. If we’re not careful, children can develop a distaste for learning. Have you ever wondered if your preschooler or even primary-aged child will ever learn to sit still long enough to learn something? But then you watch the youngster sitting on the floor for hours, engrossed in building something or playing with dolls? That play is indeed teaching the child concentration, planning, cause-and-effect, sequencing, patience, diligence, problem-solving, and a host of other skills. Imaginative play teaches creativity, language and vocabulary skills, and strengthens the connections between the left and right side of the brain. Playing with textured materials such as play dough or sand can relieve stress while active play such as climbing, swinging, and bouncing a ball can release excess energy and tension. On the flip side, quiet play teaches the active preschooler how to begin to settle the body by focusing on a fun activity. The most effective play is child-initiated, and not toy-initiated. Many toys today are too realistic. They make the noises instead of the child. They do all the action instead of the child. Worse yet are computerized games or video games where the child can only passively sit and follow the action on the screen – even if that action happens because the child clicks the mouse, keyboard, or joystick. The child’s senses are not fully engaged, so there is less development taking place in the brain. This doesn’t mean you can’t introduce educational materials into your toddler’s day or begin to work in short spurts exploring letters, sound, numbers, nature, and other topics associated with academics. If your toddler is chomping at the bit to “do school” or is curious about the letters on the pages of a book, you can incorporate simple educational resources into the child’s playtime. This way the child learns that learning itself can be fun. The point at this stage is not to stray too far from the play. 619 Words To view more 'Teaching Tips' Articles please 'Log In' and visit the 'Achives' page. |
