AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — The experiences that kids get in an early education program help them develop skills that will last for life.
Children who are involved in early childhood education have:
- Increased social skills
- Increased grades/attention span
- Higher reading scores
- Decrease for behavioral issues
- A decrease for special education services
- Increased graduation rates
- Decreased involvement in criminal behavior
- Once adults hold better jobs with higher earnings
Things to know about how children learn:
- Children learn best through doing, using all of their senses to instinctively use the learning method which works best for them; making relevant what has learned to life.
- Children excel in mixed-age groups. Younger kids learn from the older ones and the older ones learn how to mentor and teach.
- Learning requires a safe environment.
- Children learn best when they “choose” what to learn. When interested in a subject, children will ask questions thus retaining what is told/taught about the subject.
- Children learn through play. Making a subject fun and interesting goes far with kids. Use music/art/role-play rather than simple memorization.
Ways to enhance a love of learning:
- Let them lead
- Allow exploration
- Become the student yourself
- Admit not knowing everything yourself
- Discuss instead of lecture— make it a dialogue
- Don’t use negative correction—make suggestions for how something could be easier or if another way sounds/works better.
- Allow failures.
- Teach perseverance
- Show your love of learning to your kids
- Make learning relevant to their life/current situation
Parenting Challenge: Learning can take place in a variety of places (classroom, playground, home, church, etc.). We as human beings learn things every day and can pass this on to the younger people in our lives.
