Baby J is almost 18 months, and people have been asking me if I am planning to send her to Childcare soon. My answer is "No." I am saying No because the minute your child goes to school (be it childcare, pre-school, kindergarten, etc), they are automatically more prone to infections. Next, no one really watches what they eat in school anymore, unlike when they are at home being watched over. Another reason is the debate of when is it too early to send your child to school. Some people say that it burns out the child too early if they are sent to school at such a young age. Some studies have shown no major difference if you send your child to school early or late, but others are showing that children tend to perform better if they are not prematurely made to go to school.
Mine is just a personal opinion. I am not imposing it on anyone, and I am not judging people who send their kids to school early. To each his own. No one has the right to say that he is right and you are wrong. But one thing is for sure, to make kids learn, they should find enjoyment in what they do. I would just like to share what Baby J and I do to make learning fun for her.
1. Teaching through music. Baby J loves music. She would even stop walking when she hears a song just to dance to the beat. She would also verbalize the song she wants the hubby or I to play. So, because of this interest, I try to teach her by way of music. I teach her ABCs by singing different versions of the ABC song. I teach her body parts through song as well. She gives me her undivided attention when I sing her songs, at the same time, she is learning through the song as well.
2. Let the environment be your book. I take advantage of the things we see around us, and the places we go to teach Baby J. When we see a bird or a dog in the park, I tell her about them. When we see fruits in the grocery, I tell her what they are, even discussing their colors with her. By doing this, I know I am imparting knowledge while she is out exploring her surroundings.
3. Functions of daily living can be a lesson as well. Everyday, when I play with Baby J in the shower, I try to teach her the different parts of her body. I also teach her how she should clean herself in the shower. As a result, I am proud to say that as early as 15 months, she can already identify 7 body parts (when, based on the Developmental milestone, she is only required to be able to name 2 to be at par with age). Now, she not only points to those body parts when asked, she can even name some of them herself.
4. Tell her stories. During our down time, I just tell Baby J stories about the things around us. She listens intently to my stories when I do that, and even tries to converse with me in her unique baby language. We also never used baby talk with baby J. I think this also helped her to understand adult words faster. Even before she turned one, she could already follow simple commands, proving to us that she really does understand what we are saying.
5. Correlate with things your baby already knows. I am proud to say that I taught baby J how to say her auntie's name (A-i), by teaching her to use the words and sounds she already knows. True enough, after teaching her just once how to say it, she has learned it and has been fondly calling her "A-i" a lot!
I am not lucky enough to spend the whole day with baby J as I am working full time as well. But every spare minute I have, I try to spend it with her, taking advantage of whatever situation we experience to allow her to learn things. You will be surprised how fast babies and toddlers learn. Do not think of teaching them as a chore, because in the process of teaching them, you will learn many things as well. I hope you've picked up a few tips and tricks from this.
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