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A Chat With Parents |
A CHAT WITH PARENTS
I found there is a disconnect between the
potential parents see intuitively in their children and the kinds of learning
opportunities available to those parents and their preschool children. I remember sitting with my good friend
in a popular weekly music class for our preschool children and watching our
usually engaging, playful children whine with boredom. After class, we agreed that we could do
better than the instructor, even given the less than inspiring teaching
materials. It would be five years
until I took that seed of an idea to the next level.
In those intervening years, I read
everything I could get my hands on about parenting. Most of that deluge of information was set aside as I
learned to trust my instincts and my intuition. I read about the importance of early learning and of reading
and talking to babies from birth.
Today’s moms and dads know their babies are little sponges that soak up
new information about their world.
Modern parents know that certain childhood ages present windows of
opportunity for learning that may be closed later in life.
What is not agreed upon is what kinds of
information are appropriate for babies and children at each age or developmental
stage. I believe that all learning
and information is appropriate for children and babies if it is presented in an
age-appropriate context and with age-appropriate explanations and expectations.
Every time an “expert” on childhood
development suggests that certain curricula are age-appropriate, he or she may
actually be setting a kind of limit on children’s intellectual
development. Of course, it is up
to parents and sometimes society to limit some kinds of content for mature
themes. Otherwise, there is simply
no empirical or logical reason to label or categorize information according to
age.
Teachers trained before 1950 were
generally taught that children could not be taught to read until age five or
six. Since this “magic age” rule
coincided with most teachers’ first opportunity to teach those children, this
was a convenient story. Even at that
time, a number of children discovered reading on their own or with a
progressive parent. These children
were, however considered anomalies.
This limiting thinking persists among many educators and “experts”
today.
Many parents and educators rightly fear
that children who are given structured academics too early can suffer
burnout. I couldn’t agree
more. That is why I made each Thinkadink™
class a chance to jump, spin, play and interact with other children and their
parents. Thinkadink™ kids
want to come and play. They
enjoy using their special readers at home for lap time with mom or dad.
Young children are naturally attracted to
books. Books provide a tactile
experience as they actively turn pages and a mental and emotional experience
through storytelling. This is a
heady combination for a preschooler.
At age 2 ½ to 5 ½ most children are experiencing a surge of language
skills and a driving need to exert their independence. What better time to introduce the joy
of the printed word. How empowering
it is for these young children to be able to control their environment a little
bit through reading!
That is what the Thinkadink™
preschool reading program is all about.
The encouragement and confidence that comes with each level of
achievement can carry over into a lifelong love of learning and a can-do
attitude.