Statistics show that early learning plays a huge role in the development of our children. Not only does it do wonders for the development of the brain but it helps with social and emotional needs and skills. So what can you do in your homeschool experience to help foster early learning and reap the rewards?
- Reading out loud to your children is probably one of the most significant things you can do with them. Studies show that this creates intimacy and bonding between parent and child. It promotes a feeling of well being. Reading out loud calms a child, causes kids to be better students, and it gives you a chance to communicate with your child. Children who are read to have superior vocabularies to their peers that do not get the same advantage.
- Routine is key for these young children. They thrive on knowing what is coming and that part of their lives are predictable. If we put ourselves in their shoes and realize how little control or input they get it is easy to understand why routine serves them well. Everything from daily bath time to a meal together that is consistent creates a sense of well being and security in the child. When children feel safe and secure they are able to learn more and retain information. These routine things also provide a chance for interaction with the child. This is key to vocabulary and their sense of belonging to a unit.
- Variety helps anyone when they are learning. We all have our own learning style and this is even true of infants. It may be harder to see the learning style of a small child so it is good to be sure to cover all your bases. You need tactile learning or kinesthetic learning activities as well as cooperative learning and more.
Federal funding has recently been approved to support early learning programs. Many states went through a phase on recent years where funding got cut for many of these programs and this caused thousands of children in those states to get cut off from such resources. If we realize that funding these programs promotes better students in our schools and better members of our community it is hard to see the logic in being unsupportive of such spending.
