Feeding a Toddler's Rapidly-Developing Mind

Ryan sharing a drum at his MusicTogether class.

Childhood should be fun, no doubt about it, and it should be carefree (for the children anyway) but it should also be looked at as the foundation upon which the rest of a child's life will be built. Preparing children for the challenges they will face in school and in life are the definite domain of parents.....

From Parents: A Child's First & Best Resource for Learning
Early Child Cognitive Development,
May, 2005

Early childhood is a time of wonder, openness, insatiable curiosity, and immense parental influence. The best way to help ensure your child's success later in life (from elementary school through adolescence and on) is to lay the groundwork for the education that will help them achieve their goals--whenever they figure out what those goals are. Early childhood curriculum should not be too demanding, of course, but it should present learning challenges.

From Build Confidence And A Love of Learning
Early Childhood Curriculum
November, 2005

Lately, I've been getting lots of inquiries from moms of preschoolers who are thinking about homeschooling their children. Many find the prospect daunting and aren't sure they're up to the challenge.

If you're an interactive parent, though, you have been homeschooling all day long since birth. Every time you sing, read, call out the ABCs and 123s with those puzzles and Leapfrog toys, color together, etc etc, you are homeschooling. (but see below) Elementary school homeschooling just takes the scope of what you're doing with your child to the next level.


Starting Enrichment Classes Before Preschool:Besides "home"schooling, I believe that a lot of pre-nursery school education for toddlers comes from enrichment classes and socialization with other children. We do know several children who haven't joined any baby-toddler groups until they've turned 3 and reached preschool. While I'm a big advocate of preschool, I can't help but think they've missed out on an important first step towards socialization, independence, and respect for group rules.  (Plus, even toddlers must get bored in the same routine every day!)

Playgroups:

The first piece of our toddler "un-home schooling" is joining a regular playgroup. Both of my boys have been in playgroups since they were infants. Brendan's group was so close that even today, five years later and 3,000 miles away, he will still name those playgroup playmates among his best friends. Likewise, after several months together, Ryan will happily list off his playgroup children when you ask him about his "friends."

One of the most important things we can provide for our young children are friendships. Playgroups provide an opportunity for peer bonding, empathy, sharing, learning to respect other adults and other people's homes and rules, etc. I'm sure psychologists can add a multitude of other benefits to my small list.

Ryan celebrating his and another playmate's 2nd birthdays with playgroup friends.

Library and Music Classes:
In addition to playgroups, I strongly encourage group classes. We've started both boys with the free library classes, where they sit with Mommy in circle time and learn new songs, stories, etc. Again, they're learning to take direction from a "teacher" and following basic group rules. Ryan also enjoys a music class, where he is learning language skills and rhythm with group play that I couldn't replicate at home. Brendan has been in so many different classes and camps that I couldn't begin to name them all.

Of course we all know that it's important not to overbook our children. I think one or two classes at a time is plenty to mix in to their week (though, admittedly, we tend to book more than that for Brendan with all the great offerings out there). It's not about WHAT class they're in; it's really about just exposing them to a group activity with other children and having a great time with it! 

Again, most of the moms in our circle don't even think about these activities as educational.  This is just what we do for fun with our children when we don't want the tv on all day.  What an added bonus to realize that we're homeschooling at the same time!!

Rote Memorization vs. Conceptual Understanding
I hear all the time from moms of seemingly-gifted toddlers who are amazed at the things they can get their children to memorize.  One thing I've learned is that the big caveat with memorization is that whether it's letters, numbers, presidents, states, etc., it's all the one same skill set, which is rote memorization.  This is clearly one sign of highly intelligent children, but it won't help them much in school unless they are also able to do the preschool skill sets that every child needs. 

For example, there is a big difference between being able to count to 10 and recognize numbers vs. being able to do 1-to-1 correspondence.  Many toddlers/preschoolers can count, but they can't look at a pile of 5 and tell you there are 5 there.  Children in general have an amazing ability to memorize, but taking it to the next level is where you will see them really soar.

Don't Forget the Motor Skills

When Brendan started 3 year old preschool, he could already have easily passed the kindergarten entrance tests.  Greg and I considered keeping him out and instead putting him in more age-advanced enrichment classes, but thank goodness we enrolled him.  Mrs. Rable, who has been teaching preschool for more than 20 years at that Catholic school, found things for us to work on that we hadn't even thought about.  She was the one who encouraged us to get him IQ-tested and first validated how unique he was, but yet showed us how his fine and gross motor skills needed more work if we ever decided to accelerate.  For example, he was a better pre-writer than most 3 year olds, but would've fallen to the back of the pack with the 4 year olds.  Likewise, while other children were playing with balls and jumping, he was reading and playing with trains.  While it's perfectly healthy to acknowledge that your child isn't super-athletic, we know how detrimental poor gross motor skills can be when they reach elementary gym class!

Mrs. Rable reminded us how important it was to put the books down once in a while and focus on basic skills that only come from playing wtih playdough, crinkling up paper, cutting, pasting, kicking and throwing a ball, etc.  THOSE are the "standards" that our children need to learn at this age.  Knowing world geography by kindergarten is fun to brag about, but it's useless information when they fall behind on their craft projects.

I just have to share this because it was a vital lesson we learned along the way.
Workbooks, Word Charts, Flashcards?

Now that Ryan is two, we're also starting to introduce preschool books with fun activities that he can enjoy while Brendan is homeschooling.  Workbooks aren't about dittos.  If you find good ones, they're just about starting pre-writing skills and spending time together with written activities.   I personally don't like flashcards or word charts, but seeing words over and over in whole-language print seems to put my children on the fast-paced reading track.  I also don't use hooked-onto-phonics or any of those materials.  Brendan learned to read at two by falling in love with Thomas Step-Into-Reading books.  Even now, 5 years old and a fully-proficient junior-high-level reader, he gets his vocabulary through whole-language.

This is a great free sampling of some wonderful early-preschool workbooks we found through Critical Thinking Co.  Ryan just turned 2 this week, but can easily do the first pages of the workbooks these samples came from with colors and shapes.  Plus, the logical aspect is much different than the usual trace-the-letter material in most preschool workbooks that 2 year olds just don't have the fine-motor skills to accomplish. These authors understand the constraints of fine motor skills, too, and the beginning lessons involve pointing rather than writing.  http://www.criticalthinking.com/company/free_gift_ebooks/Preschool-Academics-eBook.pdf

I also found a great "early mazes" book and a simple pre-writing book for 2 year olds by Kumon.  http://www.amazon.com/Book-Easy-Mazes-Kumon-Workbooks/dp/1933241241/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1271690636&sr=1-2-fkmr0;   We only do an occasional page here and there, but it's a great way to get a crayon in his hand for some early-writing skills that he'll need by the time he's three.

We also love Starfall.com for Ryan.  While it claims to be designed for kindergarteners, the "Let's Get Ready to Read" section is perfect for 2 year olds.  In a nice, slow format, they introduce each letter of the alphabet (upper and lower) with the phonetical sounds and several words that begin with that sound.  They also show the words in print and in sentences.  It's a fantastic way to show children the connection between letters, sounds, words, and sentences.   We use it in 5 minute increments when he's clamoring for the computer.


Footnote: I recently learned that I assume too much when I assume that all parents actively engage their children in basic preschool skills like letter/shape/color/number recognition, one-to-one correspondence, and early-writing skills. My eyes were opened when I worked in Brendan's kindergarten class and saw that half the children didn't have all of these basic skills. The studies are clear that the intellectual capacity of children 0-5 is staggering.   Children don't have to be gifted to quickly pick up these concepts, even with just a few minutes' time each week and through playful activities. How so many  children are missing these fundamentals in their first five years, I just don't understand.  For those who say "there's plenty of time later on," I say look at all that you're missing by cutting their horizons short at the beginning.  It's not about competing with other children; it's about maximizing your own child's potential.

More quotes on the topic of toddler education:

Preschool Academics: Feeding The Developing Mind
Preschool Academics, May, 2008,


Today it is widely accepted that young children are fully capable of learning to read, add, subtract, and use organized analysis to solve problems.  Although some critics of preschool academics believe that early childhood should be limited to play, it is generally accepted that preschool children are capable and benefit from academic development. Whether you’re sending your child to an academic preschool, a traditional play-based school, or homeschooling, adding preschool academics to your preschool curriculum can have a significant impact on your child’s academic experience.
We believe preschool age children should have fun. Drill and memorization does not work, but well designed preschool activities can be stimulating, engaging, and fun. Like older children, preschool children love to learn and exercise their minds when properly engaged. Preschool material must be colorful, easily understood, sequenced in small steps, game like, and solvable in a short period. In addition, we encourage discussion and one on one tutoring. 
We also engineer critical thinking into our preschool material to help engage students and teach them organized analysis. Discussion and critical thinking questioning strategy lead to deeper analysis of content. This makes the learning process more about absorbing and reflecting on all facets of the material in a natural and curious state. Here are a few examples of questions that invoke informal reasoning: “Why did you select that one?” “How are these different?” “What happened when you?” “What would happen if you?” “What can you do to make… happen?” “How do you think s/he feels about what happened?” These types of questions develop critical thinking skills and stimulate verbal development as the children try to communicate their reasoning. It also provides them with the opportunity to reason during the course of a discussion, an essential early cognitive development skill.
By designing critical thinking into preschool activities, we build self-esteem, lay a foundation for formal education, and develop a life-long love of learning....

Teach The Basics Even Before Preschool

Early Childhood Education

Through the tireless efforts of countless educators, parents, psychologists, and other concerned professionals, early childhood development has changed fundamentally. There was a time when children under five years of age were considered to be incapable of rational thought or of beginning their educations. Now, however, it is widely accepted that young children are fully capable of learning the basics before kindergarten.

Children that are exposed to basic arithmetic, language, and writing skills can enter into kindergarten with skill sets equal to those of many second graders. Small children are like sponges and they can soak up lessons that often astonish their parents. This early educational foundation can foster a joy of learning and, in later years, can put them far ahead of state and federal standards.