Teach Your Toddler How To Learn
Should we really teach toddlers? If yes, what is the approach?
Let us first know that kids are absorbing everything around them through their senses. And we must let them understand and learn at their own pace. Then how can you contribute in raising and developing and teaching your kid? Some mothers complain that their kids don't sit at one place and are over active. Some complain that their kids are don't like to mingle with others. Some say their kid is too bossy while some say he is too meek. Some kids are talkative and some try to be aloof from the crowd.
Knowing the difference parent's role is to help the child to develop skills which he is not strong at. At this age parent's approach should be more on improving their sensory skills and help to use their senses to the fullest rather than on teaching them any thing.
Start with understanding your little one.
Know how he responds. Is it to the sounds or the colorful moving objects.
Observe how he communicates. Is it through blabbering, or actions and gestures?
Be keen on understanding how he reacts when in crowd, how he feels at different situations. Know his comfort levels and his discomforts.
Now that you know about your child, what he is more attracted to, what he dislikes, you can engage him in activities that will help him make the less used sensory skills stronger through his own style of learning.
Yes, Every child's learning style is different. And your role is to make that style strong and develop the weaker ones through the dominant style.
Your objective must be to develop his sight, listening skills, gross and fine motor skills, and cognitive skills.
If your kid uses more of his sight, is fascinated while looking at pictures, moving toys,
Enhance his listening skills by introducing different musics or sound through such colorful toys. Describe vividly the toys he is playing with.
Improve his moving skills by handing him colorful objects which are easy to catch and roll and run behind or push and which he doesn't get frustrated with.
If your child is able to speak better than his peers it means he is a good listener. Engage him in stories and introduce different shapes, colors, and pictures. keep talking to him which he enjoys and make him more active by giving moving or strolling toys.
If you kid is very good in catching a ball or riding a tricycle, or prefers more outdoor activities, try developing his listening and looking skills on the play ground. he would enjoy learning. whereas if such kids are made to sit and asked to draw or scribble that would be really frustrating for him. So let him use a stick, sand, wheels, balls, rope, pebbles, big plastic bottles, lids big enough for him to hold, cushions, and items which are more gross. Introduce different shapes, and colors, and sounds and through such objects.
Every house hold object available can be used as a teaching aid for toddlers. You just have to be creative about it and see how you can use it for developing your kids skills. Letting him imitate you in every household work will work wonders in improving all their skills and keep them engaged.
Additionally nesting and stacking toys, or plastic boxes in your house, tumblers, shape sorters, dump trucks, riding toys, blocks, fixtures, pull along musical toys, squeaking toys, soft balls, can be useful for each type of learner.
Along with above skills social and emotional skills also should be considered. Having play dates and sharing toys, communicating thoughts, adjusting, following and leading in turn, empathizing, expressing negative and positive emotions, likes and dislikes, should also be learnt. This is possible by socializing and giving more exposure, by taking them outdoors often and meeting people.
But which ever skill you are trying to develop let your kid take his own time, give him his space and do not impose on him.
More To Read
image courtesy Google images
Comments
Post a Comment