[KR258]

to try to teach my child math or writing or something more than just colors and numbers? What should I be teaching her right now.......??? lol I feel so lost as to what she should be learning. She'll be 15 months on the 22nd.

[MiracleBaby06]

aiyana is 17mos and we read, do drawing, shapes, body parts. i dont really to "teach" her as much as i let her figure things out through play but she also picks things up pretty easy

[pattiewrites]

Read the book Einstein Never Used Flashcards. It has research about how young children learn and talks about how to teach them through every day experiences, which is more meaningful to the child.

[Alejandros Mommy]

Aiden has a whole bunch of leapfrog stuff...the letters and sounds and the animals and sounds are a few..they teach words, sounds, recongnition and have music to them. We also do baby sign with him since 4mnths of age..he is now starting to say small words such as Night night, all done, bye bye, good morning etc... He alos loves to draw...we have washable crayons for the bath tub and he doodles all over the place. I think it is a great age to help your baby learn through play. But I do think she is a little young for math.

[ladysun1983]

i think asoon as possible really, try startin with things like the althebet toys and leap frog things like that,
they'll be fun for her too x

[ladysun1983]

We have just bought demi-lee an activity tabel with maths things on there to try give her a sence of knowing if that makes sence lol, she has alphabet blocks too that i play with her with, she's only 9months but i think its good to start them early, not too much pressure just fun learning x

[twinzplus3]

I totally have to agree with Pattie. I love that book and I also really like the book "Better Late than Early" which is really marketed towards homeschoolers but it is an excellent read. There is good research that talks about how interaction with a real adult is so much more meaningful and significant than electronic learning toys. (Remember the big broo-ha-ha over the "Baby Einstein" videos making your kids dumb?) That is part of it. ( Although I gotta admit my kids have love those fridge things from Leap Frog.)

There is also very compelling research on how when kids are just exposed to a variety of experiences as opposed to 'book and desk' learning it enables their reading comprehension ten fold. . .in other words, if you want to improve their reading. . .teach them letters and stuff later rather than earlier. There have also been a couple of studies suggesting that teaching writing too early actually leads to later problems like carpel tunnel bc their little bones just aren't ready yet. I could probably write a whole book on this subject but really, you don't need to be doing anything out of the ordinary with your daughter right now. Just enjoy her--don't be so anxious for her to grow up.

We do art stuff, music and lots of reading out loud of all types of books. . .not just "baby books". (We are currently into Beatrix Potter.) We play games, go to the park, the zoo and in the summer we garden. Learning should be fun at this age and remember, first impressions are everything. You are setting her up for a lifetime of learning and inquiry and honestly, I think just giving them things stifles their creativity and natural curiosity. I think following your child's cues are key as well. I certainly wouldn't discourage one of my kids from reading if they wanted to and pursued it on their own.

FWIW, preschool is totally optional at our house. . .if the kids don't want to do school they don't have to. (I mean the preschoolers before age 6. . .once they turn 6 I'm required by law to follow curriculum.) Television however is almost always off with rare exception. My older three children are several grade levels ahead in several subjects. . .one of those children has been "recognized" as highly gifted. . .and all this from playing, reading and exploring.

I'm sorry I've written a book. If you want more info let me know. . .

[ladysun1983]

Originally Posted by pattiewrites

Read the book Einstein Never Used Flashcards. It has research about how young children learn and talks about how to teach them through every day experiences, which is more meaningful to the child.

ooowww will look for that thank you x

[LovingJesusinAZ]

I'm not the expert Valorie (I LOVE your posts & blogs!!!!) but recently we had a pediatric physical therapist speak to my MOPS group and she was talking about how important it is to NOT "teach" our kids things early--just let them play, explore, and they'll learn that way (with our guidance, of course). She's written a book called "Building Babies Better" that's basically about developing gross motor skills and not even thinking about fine motor skills, including writing, until much later (at least 6, but preferably later than that) (BTW this lady is also a mom of kids from 23-17)

I was discussing all of this with a friend's mom who has been a 1st grade teacher for over 35 yrs (minus the 8yrs she took off to be a SAHM) and she was basically saying the same thing. She said she can tell in a variety of ways the kids who were "pushed" into doing things they weren't ready for. She said the best thing to do to develop a reader are a) read to them and b) sing the alphabet song. She said the same for math--just teach them to count if you feel the need to do "something". She said many parents get "bored" with counting and try to teach math, but just stick with counting and they'll get familiar with numbers that way so when they are older and formally learn math they'll get the concepts.

I'm not the most eloquent writer, and may not have communicated these points as well as others may have, but just want to pass on things older, wiser, more experienced Moms and experts that I respect have passed on to me.

[twinzplus3]

Thank you. . .that was very sweet of you to say. I'm definitely not an expert. . .but I am very interested in educational policy. So I spend a lot of time studying stuff.