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Child Education Article
Teaching Your Child The Basics Before Kindergarten
Kyle BesserThere are many ways to teach your children the basics that they should know before they start kindergarten. Some will work better than others. Each child is different and each parent's schedule is different. You may have to experiment to figure out which ways will work best with your child.
Talking and walking are the first activities your child will learn. This can be accomplished by talking to your child and also helping them walk by practicing until they can do it by themselves. Other skills such as counting, learning the alphabet, writing one's name and other basic skills will have to be reinforced through repetition and regular practice. You should have your child practice no more than an hour a day. You can break up the time into 15 minute segments.
Your child will be ready to start learning these basic skills around the age of three. This can vary from child to child. You will be able to tell when your child is ready when they begin to ask questions or they can retain more information for a longer period of time.
Many parents want their children to learn a few skills at once. You should not force your child to learn too much at one time. Their brains can only retain a certain amount of information, and overloading them can cause boredom, frustration and resentment. Take your time and teach your children in small intervals until they grasp certain concepts.
Since many parents have to work, they need to place their children into a day care program. These programs can range from home care where only a few children may be cared for to day care programs where 30 to 40 children of varying ages may be cared for.
At day care programs, your child will have the opportunity to interact with other children and participate in activities that will stress learning the basics. Your child will be able to take home many of the projects the work on so you can see their progress.
Day care programs help prepare children for kindergarten by teaching them numbers, letters, colors and more. You will have to reinforce this at home or the child may not be able to retain the information for very long. As children age, their long-term memory will become more advanced and they will remember more longer.
When you are teaching your child the basics, you should create games they can play so that they will enjoy learning and will be able to use their recognition when learning. Some parents use flash cards that have colourful pictures to depict objects, colors, letters and other materials. If your child enjoys guessing the object or color, then flash cards can be helpful.
Some children get bored easily and need more to keep them stimulated. They need to be moving around more when they are learning. You could try the flash cards a few times, perhaps at the end of the day when children are not as active, to see if they are actually learning. If not, you will have to try another way.
If you have a computer, your child will know what it is. If your child seems to be a visual learner, then investing in some simple children's computer games may be the answer. These are interactive and feature cartoon characters that will teach your children while providing them with enough stimulus to sit for at least 20 minutes.
These games can teach children the basics and more. When these games become predictable for your children and they learn the outcomes of the games and just begin to repeat what they already know, buying a few new games will help. You may have to incorporate other types of games that are not on the computer to keep your child entertained and learning.
Workbooks will work for children who get bored with flash cards but enjoy writing and drawing. These books are instructional but also fun. They are portable and will give your child a sense of ownership because the books are for them only. This is an expensive way to keep your child busy and learning, but they will use workbooks in kindergarten and first grade, so they should know what they are and how to use them.
Workbooks are great for children who are visual and conceptual learners because they can see what they need to do. Then they repeat it by writing it down. Workbooks teach your children to recognize objects and assists them in recreating them. Some children can easily handle this, but other children do not. There is nothing wrong with children who need extra practice or time to learn one concept at a time.
Some children are auditory learners. Workbooks and flash cards may work for a while, but children who learn by listening need other ways to learn. Videos and DVDs are a good way for auditory learners to begin the learning process. If your child can repeat what they have learned verbally and on paper, then they are probably auditory learners. You can buy workbooks to accompany many videos. Children who need additional stimulation will benefit from video learning.
One way to incorporate different learning styles is by reading to your children each day. Visual, conceptual and auditory learners will all be able to enjoy a book. Reading will also increase listening skills and verbal feedback by talking about the book when reading is over. Talking about books will help children become more comfortable with their opinions and expressing them.
You should begin teaching your child a year before they will enter kindergarten. Early child hood education will give you enough time to figure out the best ways to teach them and also allow the children to learn at their own pace.
Learning is an exciting time for everyone. If it is rushed, the consequences could be disappointing. Encouraging your children to learn every day of their lives will make them want to know more about the world around them.
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