Teaching at Home

Every year the same questions come up at Parent Teacher conferences, "What should I be doing at home with my child?" or "They won't sit and do work for me at home, what should I do?"  These are difficult questions because as parents we want our children to be successful.  There is so much pressure from others to compare and "grade" children.  I know when my children were preschool age I would get caught up in what their friends were doing and wondering if they were falling behind, or if I was doing enough at home.  Even with years of teaching and child development experience I would still fall into this trap.   As Montessorians we believe that all children learn at their own rate and to try and "push" them ahead can be counterproductive.  A child in a Sensitive Period for writing may refuse to do any sort of Math activities.  Their minds and bodies are primed and ready for writing and fine motor activities, why try and force them into an activity they are not engaged in.  I think we need to ask our selves, "what is the outcome we are looking for?".

At 3 and 4 years old our children should be taking the lead in learning. Most of their education should be organic and not forced.   Certainly we as adults want to provide them with appropriate and well thought out activities, but we want to make sure it is an activity that fits them developmentally.   There are so many opportunities in a day to teach our children without asking them to sit and produce something for us, unless of course they want to.  Use everyday tasks to your advantage.  When setting the table ask them to count the forks, plates, bowls etc and add them up.   Take one plate away, ask how many are left.  Make grocery shopping a game.  Ask older children to find the alphabet.  Give them a copy of the alphabet and each time they find a word they mark it off.  For younger children do the same thing with colors.  Christmas is also a perfect time of year to have your child practice writing.  Let them sign your cards.  Write their name in a highlighter and ask them to trace it.  Grandma will LOVE it.

There is no easy answer to the questions.  We need to provide opportunities for our children to learn and allow them to develop at their own speed.  As parents we play an active role in this scenario but sometimes we are only the catalyst.  During these times we have to trust in our child to do the "work" and explore the world.