sending child to nursery?!

[Buckeroo]

But the important thing about teaching children is the love and interaction we give to them through the learning, so it doesn't matter whether you are trying to teach them to walk, speak, draw, signing or phonics, as long as you do it in a way that the child feels happy rather than pressurised and stressed, it's ok to start at a very early age.

I agree with Bubby that what's important in the learning is that your child is having fun while doing so --especially in the early years. Teaching them the alphabet could simply be stepping (or hopping) on a letter in those rubber alphabet mats that most parents have at home. It's so important to make learning fun... they're learning even without being aware that they're being "taught" something. :)

[carang]

agree, any learning has to be fun...problem in hk is that many local parents don't understand that a child's JOB is playing. that's how they learn...

do you know the number of times i've heard "but all my child does is play!" (we're talking 2-3 years old here, not 7 or 8).

i have to explain that doing a puzzle is great for spacial awareness, sorting, colour recognition, pattern recognition as well as developing the fine motor skills.

i have to explain that playing with block is great for the same type of skills, plus learning about centre of gravity, balance etc.

many parents don't "get it" until i explain it to them and then they begin to understand that even when "playing" the children are in fact, learning.

[peainpod]

Well said, Cara! There's a book "Einstein Never Used Flashcards" which delivers a similar message about the importance of unstructured play for children.

[carang]

all that said, i do about 3-5 minutes of "flashcards" at my playgroup. the idea is not necessarily for the kids to 'LEARN' the words, only to introduce them to words they might not have encountered yet. we work around a theme for the month and many of the songs will have the words in them.

i use the flashcards as a talking point for the kids and we have fun with them.

i don't have a problem with a little structure. playgroups shouldn't necessarily be a free for all. however, the kids need to be left to play and figure it out on their own as much as possible.

i usually choose a variety of toys/games and put them out around the room, the kids are free to select what/whom to play with and then move on when they've finished. if i find that one toy is not going over so well one day, i will remove it and put something out in its place.

it seems to work quite well

[mosmom]

buckeroo, i didn't mean to sound judgmental. but i guess we (the mentioned parent and i) have different perceptions on what to introduce when to our children - fair enough.

that being said: on the one hand, there are things you know about your child as a parent, and on the other, there are certain scientific facts about developmental readiness in language acquisition (or in any other area a child may learn).

[Buckeroo]

Yes, I agree that there are all these published articles about developmental milestones /readiness that we as parents consult with reference to our own children. I do that. I do accept that most of these are based on scientific research, but then again, we do have to bear in mind that what they give us are ranges with regard to when a child is supposed to be ready for a particular skill and there always will be children who fall outside of these ranges (e.g. early- or late-talkers/walkers). These are meant to be broad guidelines and not to be taken as the bible as to when we should (or should not ) start teaching our children something. That said, I know how easily one can fall into the trap of using these charts to start babies on something in the hopes that they might be perceived as more advanced than their peers.

Sorry to go off the original topic...

[mosmom]

hi buckeroo, this is so true!

maybe i should've given more specifics about the parent i mentioned above. well, her 18-month-old can't really speak yet (though he understands everyday language), and she's been teaching him phonics for a long time now. now, she's concerned about his "slow progress". hmm, but can a child learn phonics while he's not able to put a few words together in speaking yet? you know, this kind of case i'm talking about.

what cara mentioned above about parents saying "oh, s/he's just playing all day long.." is such a common thing.. unfortunately.

take care!