by Ellen Stumbo
Many children have a natural love of learning. From the time they are mobile, they explore their world — stacking, rolling, scribbling, reciting and investigating. As preschoolers, they continue their discoveries with art supplies, puzzles and stories.
But as school begins, kids often get wrapped up in the business of education, moving away from their natural love of learning. They start to worry about teacher expectations, correct answers and test scores. They worry about what their classmates think about them. Here are a few ways that parents can help kids balance school pressures with their innate eagerness to learn:
Connect classroom concepts to their world. For many kids, there's very little difference between playing and learning. So invite your little learners to participate in your day. Let them be your shopping assistant, adding prices to stay within your grocery budget, or have them practice fractions and basic physics while baking cookies. When driving, point out impressive buildings or bridges, talking about the importance of science and design in architecture.
Build on your children's interests. Kids often go through stages where they are very curious about specific topics: trains, horses, history, outer space. Interests can be the spark for a variety of learning activities, be it trips to a local museum or assembling models of the space shuttle. Search online or buy books on topics that interest your children.
Limit screen-time. Intentionally limit your children's TV and computer time, and when they do watch a video or play a game, select media options that have some educational element. In this way, you can maximize your children's opportunities to get out in the world and learn through experiences.
Work with your children's natural curiosity. It can be tiresome to field the endless questions of a 5-year-old. But, there are so many opportunities to learn within those questions. Cause and effect, language and culture, God and His creation — you'd be surprised at how innocent, off-hand questions can be directed toward genuine moments of learning.
Be a homework friend. When your children bring schoolwork home, embrace it as an opportunity to spend quality time with them. Throw and catch a ball while running through multiplication tables. Go to the club or out for ice-cream to practice spelling words. And continue to be a student yourself! Curiosity is contagious, and your children will latch on to your genuine excitement toward learning.
From the Thriving Family website at thrivingfamily.com. © 2011 Ellen Stumbo. Used by permission.
