Mrs. Reed's Blog
August 2, 2016
I Know My ABC's
Children have very extended imaginations. They learn best through play.
When children are taught new things through the activity of fun and play they can retain the information a lot quicker. When you're having fun you pay attention to every little detail of the game. Once you've learned it, it comes natural.
It is very important as parents to play with our children, and be interactive. See how much they have learned. Research activities and let the games begin.
With my daughter, I set up her room as a Home Day Room. She had her Bed/Crib, a Reading/Quiet section in a corner (Huge pillow, Bookshelf with books, and a Rug), Math/Science Center (Dora Storage shelf with containers filled with bottle tops, Lego pieces, etc), Arts & Craft Center (A Dora Table and chairs with a rug underneath, a plastic container with paper, finger paint, glitter, glue, foam pieces, pencils, magazines-American Girl, Highlights, Age-appropriate National Geograph, and fabric from old clothes), & a Music section for her child-size guitar, piano, drum, and microphone.
We spent so much time playing and learning in her room and experimenting outdoors. By the time she was of age to start school, her teacher tried to advance her, but our school didn't allow that for her age. Every parent teacher conference would start out with something like this, "Well, you already know she is doing good. We have nothing to teach her. She knows everything we are required to teach for our curriculum so when she has finished her work we let her help the other students."
Her favorite things to do where finger paint, color, make collages out of magazine pictures, and go on treasure hunts in the yard and make a collage of the things we find.
I can't say this is a foolproof system, but what I will say is play with your children and teach them with no restrictions early in life. Don't wait until they have to master a skill to teach it. Give them the fundamentals to get to the next level in each area of their lives. A class and a teacher can only do so much. Reinforce the things learned or necessary for class at home, and watch your children's excitement for education grow.
Some sites I used to play with my daughter are edhelpers.com, joyberrybooks.com - Help Me Be Good Series, pbs.org, highlights.com, Disney Movie Rewards from Disney.
When children are taught new things through the activity of fun and play they can retain the information a lot quicker. When you're having fun you pay attention to every little detail of the game. Once you've learned it, it comes natural.
It is very important as parents to play with our children, and be interactive. See how much they have learned. Research activities and let the games begin.
With my daughter, I set up her room as a Home Day Room. She had her Bed/Crib, a Reading/Quiet section in a corner (Huge pillow, Bookshelf with books, and a Rug), Math/Science Center (Dora Storage shelf with containers filled with bottle tops, Lego pieces, etc), Arts & Craft Center (A Dora Table and chairs with a rug underneath, a plastic container with paper, finger paint, glitter, glue, foam pieces, pencils, magazines-American Girl, Highlights, Age-appropriate National Geograph, and fabric from old clothes), & a Music section for her child-size guitar, piano, drum, and microphone.
We spent so much time playing and learning in her room and experimenting outdoors. By the time she was of age to start school, her teacher tried to advance her, but our school didn't allow that for her age. Every parent teacher conference would start out with something like this, "Well, you already know she is doing good. We have nothing to teach her. She knows everything we are required to teach for our curriculum so when she has finished her work we let her help the other students."
Her favorite things to do where finger paint, color, make collages out of magazine pictures, and go on treasure hunts in the yard and make a collage of the things we find.
I can't say this is a foolproof system, but what I will say is play with your children and teach them with no restrictions early in life. Don't wait until they have to master a skill to teach it. Give them the fundamentals to get to the next level in each area of their lives. A class and a teacher can only do so much. Reinforce the things learned or necessary for class at home, and watch your children's excitement for education grow.
Some sites I used to play with my daughter are edhelpers.com, joyberrybooks.com - Help Me Be Good Series, pbs.org, highlights.com, Disney Movie Rewards from Disney.
