Many people tell us to let our children enjoy their childhood and not try and teach them reading or writing skills because, in their opinion, this is a sure way for children to grow up too quickly and miss the beauty of these innocent years.
I could not agree more up to one point. That is when the child actually pushes you to teach them stuff.
My 3 and a half years old niece is a tiny, little person with the brain of a true adult. She wants to learn absolutely everything and if you insist not helping her, driven by the above principle, the tantrums she pulls in a millisecond would definitely do the trick.
So we got her magnetic letters and she plays with them on the fridge's door every day. It keeps her happy while doing the educational part too. And since it's all just a game for her, she absorbs everything with the speed of a rocket, without feeling the burden we all experience in school years.
Plus our old fridge looks much cooler :)
I don't think we need to push our children but I do think we should make it available to them in a fun way :) Teaching should be fun ;)
ReplyDeleteLove your refrigerator!! And you are correct-some kids just WANT to learn and to stop them would be the worst thing you could do--every child is different and should be treated as an individual--not necessarily what the books tell you--follow your instincts.
ReplyDeleteNewest follower here! I found you though the blog hop :) You have such a cute blog, I can't wait to read more! You can find me at at meandmr.com
ReplyDelete-Melanie @ meandmr.com
My nephew is the same way. I think that you should follow your child's interests. That doesn't mean they are growing up too fast. It means you are stimulating them!
ReplyDeleteAs a Kindergarten teacher, I think you are wise to seize fun opportunities to teach simple concepts to a child who is ready to learn! Childhood is so full of learning opportunities - wisdom is balancing which opportunities are made available with exploration and play, and rest, too! :) You are back to writing more - I see that I am sorely behind... :(
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