Schooling and education of children is of prime importance for any parent. Especially in a country like Singapore, where the education standards are set so high, it is obvious that parents want their children to come out with flying colours in their academic journey. So naturally, we start preparing our children for a life of learning from a young age itself. Even preschoolers have to face the pressure to learn from parents and teachers.
But should we be doing that?
Most children enter preschool at the age of four or five. It is the time when they need to be free and enjoy their childhood. It is ok for them to have lessons and learn things at school to prepare for their future education. But they shouldn’t be forced to undergo extra classes or tuition. Instead, you should be looking to help them develop a love for learning and let them learn on their own.
Children have a natural sense of curiosity and willingness to learn. We should encourage that and motivate them in their endeavours instead of forcing them to sit down and memorise words and numbers. You should be helping them out with incidental learning more than having them memorise topics from textbooks.
What is incidental learning?
Incidental learning is learning by observing what is around us and through activities and real-life experiences. It is not an active learning process, but one that is done without the conscious intention of the person.
Most of the knowledge that young children have comes from this sort of learning. They absorb and try to imitate the things around them. The observational skills of young children are secondary to none. That is why we see children try to imitate and replicate the things their parents do. It is a great tool to help them learn and understand things. By making use of this, you can get them to learn things better and gain a better understanding of things around them. Let us look at ways you can contribute to this sort of learning in your children.
Let them have free time
As soon as your children come back from pre-school, don’t force them to sit down and revise what they learned at school. Don’t create strict routines for them and confine them to their rooms to look at their notes and textbooks. Let your children have free time and do what they love to do. Let them go out to meet friends. These are opportunities for them to learn how to interact and communicate with people and learn life skills.
Let them learn from their activities and on their own
Help them realise what they learned from their experiences and activities. The lessons they learn from incidental learning might not be apparent to them. Help them understand what they have gained. You can do this by asking them simple questions and helping them realise they have gained new knowledge they weren’t privy to before and how they have improved on different aspects. It can make them feel excited and motivated to explore more.
Try out arts and crafts at home
They are a good way to help improve imagination, cognitive abilities, and eye-hand coordination in children. By drawing and painting, you can help your children improve their control of using their hands and improve their handwriting. It can be a fun learning experience for them and something they might feel proud about showing off to others.
Read to them
Read to them every day if you can. Try out a different type of book every time. Read to them stories, biographies of people they are interested in, poems, and so on. You can help them remember the things you read to them better by having a casual discussion on it later. But don’t make it a chore they have to do. Try to keep it enjoyable and casual. It can also help create a love for reading in them.
Involve them in things you do at home
Let them be involved in cooking, cleaning the house, gardening, and other activities at home. They are all opportunities to learn new things and gain new experiences. They will learn new words, be able to identify different objects and be able to have hands-on experience in doing these activities. The life lessons they gain this way are more important than any bookish knowledge they might gain from sitting in their rooms and learning.
Let them figure out things on their own
Do not always clear your children’s doubts and answer things for them. Instead, encourage them to seek answers on their own. It can help develop a better research and learning mentality in children. And when they find out the answers themselves, they will feel proud and motivated.
Learn through games and other activities
Make use of games and fun activities to impart lessons to them. Word games can help them learn new words and improve their vocabulary. Puzzles and card games can help them get good at identifying patterns and learn how to think strategically.
Go outdoors
Take your children for walks and a nature watch. Take them to museums and zoos. Encourage them to go out and make friends. Take them with you when you go shopping and for other activities. You can help them get familiarised with how things work in the world.
Besides all these, cherish each and every moment you have with your children. Once they grow up, you will see them more focused on their studies and lessons but will have less time to spend with them. Focus on spending time with them and make sure they know how much you love and care for them. We wish you all the very best! 🙂
Exam Smart Tips
Exam Smart Tip #1 – How to Encourage Our Kids to Speak Better?
Exam Smart Tip #2 – How to avoid carelessness?
Exam Smart Tip #3 – Establishing Routines!
Exam Smart Tip #4 – Let’s Read Carefully!
Exam Smart Tip #5 – Beating the Exam Fever!
Exam Smart Tip #6 – How to Eat Right for the Exams?
Exam Smart Tip #7 – How to Avoid a Meltdown?
Exam Smart Tip #8 – Taking Stress out of Tests
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