'Back to Basics' means...
- Raising children with morals, manners and a respect and empathy for others.
- Encouraging and supporting natural learning and curiosity.
- Reducing screen time and promoting play and exploration.
- Providing quality books with time to read.
- Connecting with and enjoying nature.
- Ensuring proficiency in the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic.
- Fostering an appreciation for music, art and theatre.
- Creating life-long learners.
Learning is an organic process.
Don't get caught up in the academics...
Parents, particularly new parents, are bombarded on a daily basis with information, ideas, do’s and don’ts, activities, resources, plans and so on and so forth for raising the most well-rounded, educated, literate child possible. After reading every article, watching each video and listening to every word of advice out there, it can begin to feel overwhelming and make even the most assured parent feel inadequate and unprepared.
RELAX!
Don’t stress!
Learning is an organic process. No child has to be taught how to learn. Children are, by nature, curious, inquisitive and have a deep desire to explore and investigate their world. Therefore, there is no need to carve out specific chunks of time throughout the day to devote to educational endeavors. The most beneficial and captivating learning opportunities occur spontaneously and should be taken advantage of in the moment. Don’t get caught up in the academic approaches to literacy and language instruction. Instead, ensure there are opportunities for your child to read, explore and play throughout the day by having a variety of books and toys readily available. (Helpful tip: keep books on a low shelf or in baskets on the floor so children can access them whenever they like.)
Now, not all toys are created equal. The best toys are those that allow a child the freedom to exercise their own imagination and creativity. Think basic when shopping for toys: blocks (or other building/construction toys), puzzles, shape-sorters, stacking cups, dolls and other such toys that do not utilize the electronics so highly favored today. A recent study from Northern Arizona University found that electronic toys do not promote language development and parent-child communication as well as traditional toys and books.
RELAX!
Don’t stress!
Learning is an organic process. No child has to be taught how to learn. Children are, by nature, curious, inquisitive and have a deep desire to explore and investigate their world. Therefore, there is no need to carve out specific chunks of time throughout the day to devote to educational endeavors. The most beneficial and captivating learning opportunities occur spontaneously and should be taken advantage of in the moment. Don’t get caught up in the academic approaches to literacy and language instruction. Instead, ensure there are opportunities for your child to read, explore and play throughout the day by having a variety of books and toys readily available. (Helpful tip: keep books on a low shelf or in baskets on the floor so children can access them whenever they like.)
Now, not all toys are created equal. The best toys are those that allow a child the freedom to exercise their own imagination and creativity. Think basic when shopping for toys: blocks (or other building/construction toys), puzzles, shape-sorters, stacking cups, dolls and other such toys that do not utilize the electronics so highly favored today. A recent study from Northern Arizona University found that electronic toys do not promote language development and parent-child communication as well as traditional toys and books.
Remember…children NEED to play.
Play is essential for a child’s development. With so many demands upon children these days and jam packed family schedules, it is more important than ever for children to have unstructured, free play time. Such play helps build imagination and creativity, foster social, problem solving and critical thinking skills and allows children to explore and work through their emotions. When children are playing they are actually working and learning about their world.
Children NEED to spend time playing outdoors.
Unfortunately, in this modern age of technology, children are spending less and less time connecting with nature and more and more time sitting in front of a screen indoors. Richard Louv, in his 2005 book The Last Child in the Woods, coined the term ‘nature-deficit disorder’ to explain this growing divide between children and nature. Children (and even adults) who spend more time outdoors than in are more intelligent, confident, creative, attentive, responsible and experience less mental and physical health issues, such as anxiety, stress, fatigue, obesity and vitamin D deficiency. For more information about the many benefits of getting children outdoors, read Why Kids Need to Spend Time in Nature from Child Mind Institute and Benefits of Connecting Children with Nature from North Carolina State University.
Stay calm and think simple.
Children are natural learners and the adults in their life need to offer opportunities for them to satisfy their curiosity, explore the world around them and exercise their imagination. When thinking of educating a natural learner think: flexible not rigid, basic not complicated, natural not artificial.