Learning Kid

Kids of different ages learn by different methods. For example, a toddler that has just turned two might enjoy finger painting, while an 8 year old girl will enjoy playing with her dolls. While various age groups learn by using different material, one thing is true for all age groups: Kids learn best with toys.

The argument on how best to teach kids with toys remains an ongoing debate. Some say that you should just purchase loads of toys for your child and let them play as they please. Others say you should only purchase toys that improve your child’s skills that are necessary for development and make sure they play in a supervised environment.

At a young age, children do not like learning by sitting in a classroom and listening to a lecture. They want to be able to build things, make their own worlds, and imagine things that can never come true. Thus is the power of toys. If you buy them a set of LEGOS or building blocks, they will be able to construct their own world and learn a few things along the way. Building things with blocks and LEGOS not only teach your child colors and balance, they also teach him/her spatial reasoning. Teaching kids with toys can also include video games. No, I’m not talking about Pokemon games or the like, I’m talking about games that include educational opportunities for your child. Such a game may include putting puzzles together, adding groups of things, or recognizing patterns. These games are great because you know they are safe for your children, and you know that your children are getting the most out of them. Read the rest of this entry »

If we are to allow our children to express and discover themselves, then we can’t judge them in this process. Judging our children creates self-doubt in them. Judgment turns what should be a dance, a spontaneous creation and celebration, into a march, a self-conscious, ordered and regimented procession.

How do we judge our children? Well, we may openly criticize, reprimand, correct, dislike, instruct, take over, and impose our own perceptions on them and what they may be doing.

When we do this to our children we are sending the message that they do not know better, we do. We send the message that we do not have faith in them and their abilities. If we do not have faith in them, how are our children going to develop faith in themselves? How are they going to learn to trust themselves and their abilities? Read the rest of this entry »

When the weather is nice, the kids (and Mom) are itching to get outside and play. I personally like the playing to learn approach. Did you know there’s an outdoor world of math and reading fun that awaits you, and all you need is sidewalk chalk, dice, and your imaginations? Anything we can do inside on paper can be done outside on the driveway or sidewalk, as long as we don’t care if it eventually gets “erased” by rain or sprinklers. Not only do the kids and I get to exercise our brains but we also get to exercise our bodies. I get to stretch my hamstrings and quads as I bend over to draw game boards or numbers, and the kids get to hop, skip, and jump around. Here are a few favorite sidewalk games I’d like to share. You can adapt any of them to the abilities of your children, and multiple ages can play together.

Numbered Ladder Game

Draw a long, long ladder with at least 25 rungs, each rung big enough for a kid to stand in. Number each rung starting with 1 and going to 25. You also need a dice.

Rules – Grown-up throws the dice and the child hops up that many spaces on the ladder. If they land on an even number, they have to go back 1 space. Continue on until you have a winner. Read the rest of this entry »