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By observing, experiencing and asking
questions about the things around him, your child is actually trying to
understand how the world works. When very young, even putting toys in
his mouth or throwing them about will teach him a thing or two. All the
while, his brain is absorbing and making sense of all this information,
and adding it to his consciousness, thereby advancing his intellect.
That's not all. Your child will also have to actively learn to use his
newly acquired knowledge. In order to use it, he has to understand the
information, decide if it is relevant and learn how to apply it in
appropriate situations or solve problems with it.
Child psychologists have discovered that children learn through various
learning methods, but they could be grouped into three major categories
:
Learning through Play
The most effective children learning
method is through
play
and fun activities . Symbolic play such as 'house' or 'tea-time'
helps your child 'experience' and better understand the adult world.
Shape-sorting games and simple puzzles enhance your child's analytical
skills. Sports and 'formal' games, such as Snakes-and-Ladders or
checkers, help your child learn to observe rules.
Learning through Work
Another way your child can learn is
through work. Meaningful work helps to nurture his mental development
and teach him about responsibility and independence. This method of
education learning will be fun for your child, especially if you
encourage him to think of work as play. He can perform simple tasks
like setting the table or picking up his toys, which he sees as helping
the adults. This will make him feel useful and 'grown-up'.
Learning through Repetitions
If your child has just learnt something
and really loves it, he will want to do these learning activities over
and over again; playing with the same puzzle, for instance. You may
wonder what the thrill is in playing with the same thing for more than
20 times, as he already knows how to solve it. This is just his way of
learning, and perfecting, a particular skill.
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