“Learning is a life-long journey” – this is a phrase that I’m sure many has heard.
As a full-time Early Childhood educator in the past, and now a parent cum private tutor, I have heard many thoughts and common worries about how the education or learning journey of the young ones.
Learning through play is something I believe strongly in. But how do we ensure that learning is effective during play?
Here are some tips:
1: Plan play objectively, or provide play materials with clear intentions.
From the play materials that we provide to the questions we ask as we interact with the young ones, pay attention to these details to direct the children’s learning objectively.
2: Allow space and time for exploration.
It’s easy for us to blurt out the answer or answer our own questions when the children are still taking time to think. Take a pause. Allow children to process, ask bite-sized questions to prompt the children instead of giving them the answers quickly.
3: Focus on the process, not the result.
As simple as 1 + 1 = 2, instead of reciting the answer and drilling it into the children, we can provide concrete materials for them to find out that 1 + 1 = 2. Go through the process to help them find the answers themselves. Once they understand the concept, the answer of 2 + 2 will easy to them, instead of having to memorise a whole chunk of answers and equations.
4: Keep the suspense.
Ask children open-ended questions. Plenty of them. This is to make them curious and excited to find out the answer. With the strong curiosity, they can stay very motivated during the entire learning process, eager to find the answer.
Try these will your little ones and incorporate into your learning experiences. Enjoy the process and make effective and fun learning happen!
