“Drink the coffee”, Elian said to her mum pointing to some beads in a cup. John blows the soap and told his mother that his plane is arriving. These situations are recurrent in all our homes. This is considered a message from the child. He is saying ” I learn through playing “.
Play is safe and doesn’t threaten the child. This situation enables the child to take risks. Exploration and controlling their world are done by the child. It is a natural process of learning the child is undergoing. Let’s explain this situation Ahmed is pouring water into a bucket and the child moves his hands up and down. As a result of this kind of pouring different levels of sounds are produced. Here the child is exploring the different heights of pouring and how it affects the result, which is the sound. This is basic physics!
Structured learning
To support your child’s learning in a more structured form. There are stages you can use. Firstly you need to get yourself to be ready to learn. Secondly, you learn it yourself and finally, you check if you have got the learning or not. Remember it is not only one member in the family who applies the mentioned above structure but the whole family. The whole family needs to serve the child, who is the leader in the future.
Positivity
Moreover, some points need to be considered when you want your child to learn effectively. Having a positive and supportive environment allows the child to take risks in learning. Therefore you need to avoid comparing to others, threats, and chunk up the activities for them.
You need to pause and think of what you did recently with your child. You need to evaluate your deeds and try to be better the next time. Nothing comes all at once. We are all humans.
Set goals and plans
In addition to that, planning is vital in any successful process.
In the beginning, you need to have an overview of the activity and then set goals for it. In applying you need to have structured steps .
After you finish the activity you need to evaluate the results and write down what needs to be improved and what you are satisfied with. In this way, you pave the way for the child to understand that planning and setting goals are basic to success. Eventually, it becomes a way of living.
Remember to always use the web, T- charts, and diagrams in your application of the process.
Connect the knowledge
It is easier for anyone to learn when the new information is related to an old one, that we already know. The usage of different learning materials like pictures, maps, checklists, and much more assist in the learning process. In addition to that, it makes the learning process more enjoyable. While discussing with your child any learning situation you need to guide him to ask questions, related information, and deduce the results.
Use all senses
The use of the senses in learning makes the brain more engaged in the learning itself. The senses make inner satisfaction for the child in learning new information. Multi-sensory environments can improve concentration, alertness, memory, mobilization creativity, and communication. We can control the senses and direct them towards certain activities which can be beneficial for our ability to learn and grow.
Tip:
This is a link for all kinds of templates that the parents, care givers, teacher of the child can use them while learning the child anything in his/her practical or academic life.
Sahar Radwan
Montessori Directress