Do you want your child to go exploring beyond the four walls of the classroom and become a lifelong learning? Here’s how to instil a love for learning in your child, according to some experts.
As parents, we always want the best for our children. So we want them to grow up to be happy, successful and fulfilled individuals that thrive in an age of constant change and innovation. One of the best things that we can do to help our children achieve these goals is to instil in them a love for learning.
So, how do we do that? How do we tell our children that learning goes beyond the four walls of their classroom and that there’s so much more to discover?
At the recently concluded Singapore Parenting Festival 2023, parents were schooled about how to instil a love for learning in their children through a very insightful and engaging webinar entitled, Cultivate the Joy in Learning, featuring two child experts in childhood education.
Featuring Angela Yang, Director, Professional & Education Development at PAP Community Foundation and Fynn Sor, Early Learning Expert who is also the Author and Founder of @happytotshelf, the discussion tackled ways to nurture a child’s curiosity and inspire a passion for knowledge. Want to know the important points in this webinar? Read on to learn more.
Table of Contents
How to Instil a Love for Learning
The first thing that parents should know is that children are natural learners. They came out of the world ready to learn and explore. But somewhere along the way, their curiosity goes down and they start to lose interest. Why?
We need to understand that children will naturally not want to learn if learning becomes a chore for them. If everything becomes so mundane and monotonous and it’s all about the grades, that’s when their love for learning wanes.
We don’t want that. What we want is for our children to have the willingness and desire to learn beyond the needs of school and work. We want them to see the learning process as one that enriches their life and brings profound joy and satisfaction to them. More importantly, we want them to be self-directed learners.
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So when we talk about the joy of learning, what do we mean exactly? Why is it so important? And how can parents help spark joy and sustain joy in that children’s learning journey?
How do we instil a love for learning in our children? Angela shared 5 things that parents need to remember:
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Make learning fun.
When we think of learning, we almost automatically think about school and grades. But the best way for young children to learn is actually through PLAY. According to Angela:
“Play allows our children to emulate what they see in practice the skills. Play also allows our children to explore, experiment and wonder about things that work. And as they do that, they actually make sense of things around them and learn.”
We also want our children to be intrinsically motivated to learn, to engage in an activity and genuinely like doing that.
“Because when they are motivated by their own interest and enjoyment of the process, parents will not need to use rewards, threats and punishment to push our children to learn,” she said.
Moreover, when children are having fun, they will take ownership of their own learning. They will be ready to take on new challenges and excel in what they are doing, which leads to the development of a growth mindset.
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It’s not all about grades.
As much as we are concerned about the academics of our children, we need to remember that success is not determined solely by our children’s academic performance or their test scores.
The test scores will only indicate the level of mastery our children have for a particular subject. And that’s for yesterday’s knowledge. But what about the future?
This is where executive function skills come in.
Executive functions are a set of cognitive skills that enables us to focus, plan ahead, to self-regulate our emotions and adapt to new situations. And as research shows, executive functioning skills are better predictors of success than grades and test scores.
“Children with strong executive functions are able to manage their time, organise their thoughts, manage their own behaviour, and build positive relationships with others.
They are more likely to engage in self-directed learning, and are better equipped to handle challenges and curveballs that life throws at them,” shared Angela.
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Acknowledge that learning is a lifelong pursuit.
To instil a love for learning in our children, we need to remember that learning takes place in different contexts and spaces. It could be in school, it could be in the community, in a mass house or at home.
Simply put, learning doesn’t just take place in school. And as parents, we need to set up opportunities for our children to continue to have fun learning in informal settings.
“Parents play a very pivotal role in their children’s education journey. Research shows that when parents are involved in their children’s education, children are more ready to transition to formal schooling, and have better self-esteem,” shared Angela.
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Work with your child’s teacher.
Schools nowadays are very aware of the positive benefits of strong parental involvement. Some of them even plan several activities to involve parents in their children’s learning. So maximise this opportunity.
Join these programs and learn how you can better support your child’s learning through meaningful activities that allow you to bond and have fun with your child.
You can also find out more about how your child is learning by communicating with their teachers.
“Some questions you may want to ask your child’s teachers can be: ‘What are my child’s strengths? What can I do to support my child’s learning at home?’” shared Angela.
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What to Do with a Learner With a Short Attention Span?
One of the questions that was raised during the webinar was how to combat a child’s short attention span.
For Fynn, the first thing to do is to manage our expectations when it comes to our children’s attention span. Because the younger the children, the shorter the attention span.
Another important piece of advice she gave on how to lengthen the attention span is this – do not interrupt your child when they are focusing.
Put yourself in the role of a spectator instead of a commentator. You do not have to narrate every little detail your child does.
“Just watch. And then when they are ready to engage you, they will look up and they will look to you. ‘Oh, Mommy, look at this that I built’. That’s when you know.
This is a natural breaking of focus. That’s when you can step in, and then you can engage with them. And then when they’re back in the flow, then we just keep quiet,” the child expert advised.
How to Engage Your Learner If You Don’t Have the Time
A lot of parents are struggling with this question, as we are all so constrained by the busyness of day-to-day life.
However, Angela suggests a way to work around it by incorporating learning into daily activities that we do with our children, such as teaching mathematical concepts when cooking, or body safety skills when you’re giving your child a bath.
The early education expert said that daily routines are “great opportunities for parents to interact and facilitate some discussion when it comes to you know, the things that they see day to day.”
“And I think that’s also learning for the children as well,” she added.
The Importance of Reading
The experts agreed that if you’re really pressed for time and can only do one thing to support your child’s learning, it’s this – read with them.
“The benefits of reading cannot be underestimated. Even if it is just 15 minutes a day. Read with your child, talk about the illustrations together and encourage your child to read with you increase the number of books made available to your child,” said Angela.
In fact, she shared a study from Singapore Kindergarten Impact Project that found that the frequency of reading together, the number of books available to the child, and the child’s interest in reading had the most significant influence on their language and literacy skills.
Children also learn reading skills better from reading with their parents than from being taught how to read by their parents.
“Other than building a strong literacy foundation in your children, they also open up the whole new world to your children beyond their own experiences,” shared Fynn.
“So I want to encourage you if you just have one time to do one thing with your children, just read to your child,” she added.
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Every Child Is Unique
The key here, parents, is to take the time to get to know your child. Find out what their learning style is, or what interests them.
“Every child is unique. They are strong, competent, and capable. They enter the world ready to learn and they have different interests and personalities and develop at different paces in their own way and rate,” said Angela.
So mummies and daddies, take your time to get to know your child. Understand their likes and dislikes and learn along with them.
Remember to praise them when they try something new. It encourages them a lot. Play with them, read to them, and discover the joy of learning together.”
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