By Mary Elizabeth
Piretti
As the school year continues to unfold, learning is a hot
topic! Last month, we talked about homework and school-issues for older
children, and this month we’ll talk about our littler people, the
early-learners.
The toddler and preschool years are full of wonder and new
experiences. Children this age are complete sponges for information and
learning. With everything being new and exciting, it’s hard to know what
they’re taking in and how to make sure we capitalize on their eagerness. Sometimes
it seems as though they are bursting with knowledge and information, and at
other times it can feel like you’re running against a brick wall. This is
normal! Here are some tips for getting the most out of these years of learning
excitement.
It is normal for toddlers and preschoolers to go in and out
of learning phases. Developmentally, they vacillate between physical and
cognitive growth, usually conquering one milestone at a time. For instance, a
one-year-old may spend a few weeks mastering learning to walk, while vocabulary
growth takes a backseat for a while. When walking is mastered, vocabulary may
rapidly expand, until it’s time to work on running, climbing, etc.
When you notice your child flourishing in one area of
expansion or another, encourage them in the task they are working on but also
continue to expose them to the “back-seat” tasks as well. One example would be
to take your toddler outside for walks and discuss the trees and leaves as you
amble along. This encourages him in his walking milestone but continues to
stimulate his vocabulary as well.
As your child moves into his second year, gross motor tasks
are being mastered and fine motor skills are ready to come into play. A
two-year-old is a great block stacker and becomes ready to start learning to
manipulate smaller items, like paper and crayons. Letting them explore the art
of coloring, ripping paper, and even pasting can provide opportunities for them
to learn to control their muscles and are the building blocks for things like tracing,
cutting and writing.
Start with small expectations, such as covering a large area
with paper and let them scribble with crayons. As they get older, you can
provide simple projects like giving them pieces of colorful paper and allowing
them to glue them to a drawn shape. Glue sticks are great for projects like
this and are not nearly as messy as liquid glue. Learning to rip may seem like
a strange task, but in actuality figuring out how to rip paper front to back
instead of pulling outward is an important skill for little fingers and will
help them greatly as they learn to first cut ragged strips and eventually lines
and shapes.
Try not to get discouraged if your child seems to hit a
speed-bump in a skill you’re working on, and remember that they are little
sponges, soaking in everything. Capitalize on teachable moments as they come
and continue to provide opportunities for learning even though sometimes they
may not seem interested. This is a time when learning is fun and should be
encouraged to be exciting and interesting for them, not full of pressure. The
whole world is still so new to them, let them enjoy it and experience it!
