Schools are not the only place children learn, and they were never meant to be. Long before there were formal schools, parents taught children important skills.
Helping kids learn any skill is what parenting is about, whether the skill to be mastered is learning to talk, to behave well, to ride a tricycle, to make biscuits, to repair bicycles, to play the piano, or read, add identify shapes and colors, and remember the names of the United States.
Teachers in the school setting are the guides for children’s learning; learning goes on all the time, and parents can make the most of every opportunity to support the “school learning” wherever they are. In educational terms, this is called “generalization”, which means kids learning colors at school can identify those colors outside of school and kids learning how to add can use this skill at home.
There are many important ways parents can teach and reinforce skills children need in school, every day, in casual and fun ways.
An important part of any child’s development is language and vocabulary, learning to give names to objects, feelings, and to understand directions. They learn these words best from parents because parents are the most important persons in their lives. Daily activities such as dressing, bathing, eating, and trips to the grocery store offer many chances for young kids to learn or practice important skills.
As children dress, talk about the colors of the clothes and identify the parts of the garments. Think about the words to learn about a pair of jeans ... zipper, snaps, belt loops, pockets, legs, waist, color, etc., not to mention directions such as pull up, button, zip, in, etc.
During bath time, words such as faucet, drain, shower, on, off, turn, hot, cold, empty, wash cloth, towel, soap, clean, dirty, wash, scrub, and identifying smells of soap, shampoo, and the sounds of running water are just a few of the words to learn. Young children need to recognize colors and shapes. Any walk along the street, any trip to the grocery store is a learning experience if parents talk to kids about what they are seeing.
Just like the jeans, there is much to identify and talk about that children need to know. The sad thing is that I often see parents with children who are not even walking BY their child much less talking TO their child.
The importance of such learning during every day at home, while walking or shopping, is impossible to emphasize too much. Children who are not taught vocabulary frequently have language problems and they become frustrated by not having the words to express themselves.
Most children come into this world with eager minds and exploring hands. Parents, who are the first and best teachers, ultimately determine how successful children will be in school and in their adult lives by how they guide children in their earliest learning. There is just too much kids need to know not to give them the earliest possible start.
