Learning to learn

My grandmother seemed to know instinctively, although she wasn't formally educated, that attending classical music concerts when she was carrying my father in utero, was a worthwhile endeavor. It must have been beneficial to his brain development, because although he was the firstborn (which we all know gives a child an edge) he also went on to be the first person in his family to attend college, and the first to earn a PhD.

Tom Limbert wrote an article about what parents can do to prepare their child for the earliest days of school. Beyond color, number and letter recognition, he talks about social skills, knowing how to listen, take turns, be resilient. I hope our government officials read Mr. Limbert's article. I hope that parents read Mr. Limbert's article. Society will soon need to recognize the importance of the very earliest years and the impact that parenting has on the most critical time of a child's development. Moms & Dads, if you're waiting for school to do the teaching, you will have let tens of thousands of hours of teaching moments slip by. We each need to make sure that our homes are loving, nurturing environments, enriched with materials that foster the natural learning that takes place when parents interact with their children.

There are some wonderful Discovery Toys games that can aid in this effort. You'll want to consider games and activities that help your child think and learn how to learn, not just memorize facts. Play games that teach your child to take turns, be patient, follow instructions. Busy Pets and Short Vowel Fun are simple 3-year old beginning games. Zingo and AB Seas are good for 4-year olds. Friendship Island and Flip Flop Faces Emotions in Motion (now in French, too!) are both good for associating feelings with the words that describe them.