Preschoolers soak up a lot more information than you think, but it’s a quality that needs to be nurtured over time to stick around. That’s why the 61 percent of preschool-aged children who do attend enjoy an advantage over the 39 percent who don’t when grade school begins.
In the following article, we provide 10 tips for ensuring that your little ones hold onto their love of learning and develop it. Keep reading about this topic and others on The Learning Experience website.
1. Be Engaged in Their Strengths and Weaknesses
One of the first strategies starts with you. Being an involved parent means more than just quality time with the kids. It also means being a part of your child’s educational journey.
A child will naturally be better at some subjects than others. That’s just childhood development! Start with where they are, and do your best to encourage their victories while working on their struggles.
Work with your child on the challenges a little each day. Your child will enjoy the extra attention, and you will feel more empowered to assist them where they’re struggling.
2. Give Your Child the Right Environment for Learning
Preschool activities related to learning resonate because your child is in an ideal environment for that to occur. She’s with her peers, benefiting from guided instruction.
Distractions are kept to a minimum. Simulate as much of this as you can at home. Use the dining room table or the home office to your advantage.
When you have to work on something, invite them to work with you. Get them away from the screens, the television, computers, toys, and any other non-educational materials to focus on what they’re doing.
3. Encourage Independent Play Time
Parents can create a lot of struggles for themselves by feeling guilty for not doing things with their children. The reality is that you don’t need to be doing everything with your kids.
In fact, always being present gives your children a crutch when they encounter something challenging. They fail to use their own imagination or intelligence to solve problems.
So, the next time you tell your child to play in their room on their own while you enjoy a little alone time for yourself, don’t feel guilty. You’re encouraging them to learn more about themselves and what they’re capable of.
4. Work Out a Rewards System
A rewards system can be great for encouraging a love of learning in your children. Preschool games are often utilized by preschools and daycares to keep kids focused. They’re treated as incentives.
You could establish the same kind of system at home. Tell your children you’ll play catch with them in the backyard or arrange a wiffleball game on the stipulation that they tend to their education first.
If your preschool isn’t sending homework with your child, create some of your own by buying age-appropriate instruction materials that your child can work on. Time them, and make sure the work is quality before you allow them to advance to their reward.
5. Keep Children Quarantined From Family Drama
Families can love one another intensely, but they can also fight the same way. Family drama should be kept from the child as much as possible.
The drama detracts from the peaceful and carefree environment in which your child learns best. They feel safe, they do better. It’s tough for them to feel safe if they’re worried about Mom and Dad fighting or a family member creating unnecessary stress.
6. Make Learning the Focus Ahead of Performance
As you take preschool lesson plans and prepare to incorporate them around the house, make learning the top priority ahead of the performance. Push your child too far to win, and they will grow to hate the game.
The reason: you can’t win all the time. When that’s all that matters, the child will want to avoid those occasions where they lose. Instead, you should emphasize to them that whether they get the problem right doesn’t matter as long as they’re learning how to get there.
This is worth keeping in mind as your child moves forward into grade school and high school. Pressure is sometimes necessary, but it should be the kind of pressure they place on themselves. That only comes by first instilling a love of learning and doing your best.
7. Teach Your Child How to Set Goals
Start with small goals and big goals. A small goal might be getting a whole sheet of math problems right. A larger goal might be learning how to add and subtract basic numbers.
The important thing is to teach the child that it’s within their power to want to do something and then work toward achieving it. If they’re struggling to reach a goal, have them adjust their expectations until they’ve made it through what’s challenging them.
Small wins create momentum. And that can be just the thing to get your preschooler over any bumps in the road.
8. Get Your Child Enrolled in a Reputable Preschool
Where your child spends his or her daytime is so important to their love of learning. Parking them in front of a television all day will only cause them to zone out.
Putting them in a preschool that makes learning a priority, however, will help them get engaged and take responsibility for their learning. They’ll find their life more fulfilling, and you’ll feel better as a parent to see their advancements.
9. Encourage Physical Activity
Observe any quality preschool teacher, and you’ll see a professional who incorporates a lot of moving around into her instruction. That’s because children at this stage have a lot of energy, and they get antsy if they’re forced to sit for too long.
Teaching preschoolers means being able to meet them where they are. Getting their little bodies active will also activate their minds.
10. Model Studious Activities for Your Child
Expect your child to develop a love of learning. Then it’s up to you to have one as well. Let them see you reading or working on a household project.
Explain to them what you’re doing. Allow them to help when you can. Sharing educational activities that you enjoy is a surefire way to emphasize the importance of and joy that comes with learning.
Preschoolers Are Sponges Ready to Soak Up Whatever You Give Them
The good news is that preschoolers come with a built-in curiosity that makes it easy to foster a love of learning. It does need to be nurtured, though, and you can do that by incorporating the suggestions we’ve presented above.