Tips for Teaching Young Children

How do we teach in a way that hooks into a child's natural desire to learn?

Children are naturally curious. They explore, experiment, touch, ask questions, and are motivated to learn. To them it's all play, and they don't need adults praising them for their efforts.

Wondering how you can help children succeed? Consider the following characteristics of how they learn to help you teach in ways that improve their ability to make sense of new concepts.

1. Young children learn when subject areas are integrated 

Offer children thematic units rich with content and they will be interested and motivated, especially if you can bring real things to touch and explore that relate to the theme.

Basic literacy and math concepts can be taught and reviewed as the theme content is shared. A "winter" theme offers many opportunities to teach the letter W, to count and record the number of mittens on snowmen constructed in an art lesson, or to create patterns for paper scarfs.

A child learning about the life cycle of a butterfly may act it out with creative movement and poetry, paint the process with a large paper and paint, illustrate and label the stages in science and literacy lessons and listen to related stories and songs. Avoid pursuing a theme if the children have lost interest. Ask yourself if you are presenting enough "real objects". New themes get everyone motivated and enthusiastic.

2. Children learn in lots of different ways 

Visual learners watch closely when you demonstrate an activity and like to draw and play with shapes and puzzles. Auditory learners understand ideas and concepts because they remember information they have heard, follow spoken directions well and remember songs easily.

Although all children learn through touch, some learn best combining touch and movement (tactile/kinetic learners). Some children like structure while others learn more easily in an unstructured environment.

If you want busy, happy and on task children, give them a variety of lessons that meet the needs of different learning styles.

3. Children often do not have the vocabulary to express themselves 

Inexperienced teachers sometimes misinterpret a child's unwillingness to participate as stubbornness or bad behavior when in reality, the child may lack the skills to explain himself. Use reflective listening to help children communicate why they are upset.

Sometimes children work well in groups, learning to share and develop ideas. At other times they just need to be alone with ample time to figure things out for themselves.

Do not expect perfection. Relax and have fun with your students!

4. Children progress when concepts are taught in a structured, step-by-step way 

When concepts are presented in a structured step-by-step process with each step building on previous knowledge, children learn with less effort.

For example, expecting a young child to understand the concept of a food chain without previous experiences with, and vocabulary about, chains and links is assuming too much.

5. Children's abilities to observe and process information develop at varying rates 

Some four-year old children have superb small motor coordination and draw and cut beautifully, but have delayed speech patterns. Other children may be verbally eloquent but be physically uncoordinated or be at a scribbling stage in drawing.

Just as children develop physically at different rates, they also progress academically, socially, emotionally, and artistically at varying speeds. Effective teaching happens when teachers remember that learning is developmental.

Offer open-ended activities to meet the developmental stages of all students. An open-ended activity involves children at a wide range of developmental levels. Children are less frustrated working at their own level and they do not have to compare their results to a set of identical worksheets.

6. Children learn best when given things, objects, and stuff to explore 

When teaching young children, always use concrete materials, as children need sensory experiences when learning new ideas and concepts.

Take advantage of the many educational learning materials available to teach geometry, number sense, pattern skills, symmetry, classification and other math concepts.

Use science materials like magnets, light paddles, scales, weights, and collections of birds' nests, as well as book character toys and puppets to enhance literacy.

7. Children need instruction, practice and time to learn new skills and concepts 

A child doesn't learn to ride a bike by only looking at the bike and exploring its properties, he/she also needs time to practice and guided instruction.

Practicing concepts and skills does not need to be dull and repetitive. Do not automatically think "worksheet" when you think of skills practice. There are lots of ways to practice skills using puzzles, games, diagrams, art and more.

8. Children won't learn if they are over tired, hungry, upset or worried 

Be flexible and understanding with young children. Check to see if kids are hungry. It's easier to let a child eat part of her lunch early, than attempt to make a hungry child concentrate on a task.

Sometimes a child needs to be left alone and creating a small retreat space in the classroom can help students who are too overwhelmed by home or other circumstances to cope with their peers or teacher.

9. Motivated children pay attention 

Young children are generally motivated to learn about everything. Unless they have often been made fun of when investigating or presenting their knowledge, they have a strong desire to find out and share information.

Reinforce thinking processes rather than praising the child. Saying "That's an interesting way you sorted your blocks. Tell me what you were thinking" rather than, "Samuel is so smart" will focus the children's attention on exploring the blocks. Making too much fuss of any one child can result in a competitive atmosphere.

10. Children learn by teaching others 

When children have an opportunity to communicate their new knowledge to adults or other children it helps solidify concepts. Some children need extra time to find the correct words to explain what they are thinking so patience is necessary.

To help children share their knowledge, use descriptive words as they play or work and they will copy your vocabulary.

11. Children Need to be Active 

If children have been sitting still too long, they will let you know it's time to move. Even the best, well planned, interesting lessons fail if the children need a break.

Take plenty of movement breaks, go for walks around the school, march around the classroom or jump up and down! You will have more alert and focused students.

Completing Homeschool High School Records

Do you have perfectly crafted homeschool transcripts and course descriptions, ready even now for the event (soon to come) in which someone will ask you for them? Most folks don't, either, so don't feel badly. I have a friend who called me recently in a panic, because she needed a transcript on Monday (it was Friday). Since she homeschools in California under the private school law, she had never even considered that she might need a transcript some day. When her son decided that he wanted to enlist in the Navy, surprise--the Navy wanted a transcript!

I have another friend that needed help with her homeschool records. Her problem was that she just wasn't quite sure what school work they had done. She said that she was a binder person, but when she showed me her homeschool binder during our first day together, I opened it up and there was nothing there! She had some labeled sections, but there were no papers, no curriculum, nothing there! So we dug through the tub of stuff that she had brought with all of her homeschool pieces, and I helped her put together a transcript.

We went through every little bit of her homeschool. We went over how many hours she spent on American Sign Language, and every little bit of their activities. As I was leaving, I asked her what her plans for the weekend were, and she said that they were going to a Latin competition. This was the first time she had mentioned Latin! Latin was not in her binder or her tub--she had forgotten that they did Latin!

When it comes to keeping homeschool records, it doesn't matter how gifted of a home educator you are and it doesn't matter what wonderful intentions you have; there also has to be at least a small amount of follow-through. To be real, you can do your follow-through the same way I do my taxes: once a year, I panic and do my taxes. If once a year you get your act together, that is enough follow-through for you. To be honest, if this mother had made her transcript every year, she would not have forgotten four years of Latin; you just can't forget four years of Latin year after year.

So make sure you take some time each year to record what you did that year! That way, you'll avoid trying to remember four years of homeschooling in one sitting, and be ready to create great transcripts for your high school graduate!

Forgetting about record keeping is one of "The 5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School." If you are thinking about transcripts, you are probably not going to make this mistake! Learn how to avoid all 5 mistakes in my free e-mail mini-course.

Teenage Home Schooling

The idea of homeschooling through high school can be scary for many parents and usually it is through feelings of inadequacy where the parents do not feel fully qualified for the job!

This happens when the parent does not have many qualifications themselves so ask themselves the questions of how could they be qualified to do that job.

It is a fact of homeschooling that many homeschooled teens can actually complete four years of traditional high-school studies in 24 months or less.

Really?

Well if you sat down and thought about it then it does seem possible when there are no distractions and the teenager is able to focus on the task at hand.

Now I am a teacher/lecturer myself and I can tell you that with over 40 years being in this profession I have witnessed major changes in the administrative workload that goes with the job. The amount of time that is spent on taking registers, collecting paperwork, preparing for activities and especially science classes, the time to tidy up and then the time spent on disciplining is all time that is eating into the actual teaching and learning times.

In fact to be honest I often ask myself the question.

"Did I train to be a teacher or an administrative manager"

Of course in the days when I completed my teacher training in the 70's it was all about developing your techniques as an educator in the classroom and all of us were assessed on our ability to relate to the students to pass on our subject knowledge in an effective and stimulating manner. In other words we were encouraged to become teachers that would inspire students to learn and develop. So be it... today we fill out forms and tick boxes.

Anyway I am getting carried away with the realities of being a teacher today but it absolutely true that the large part of a school day would be taken up in mindless administrative tasks that are totally eliminated with a teenager that is being schooled at home.

This could be one reason a family make the decision to home school their teenagers,others could be the travelling time to get to school, bullying issues, peer pressure issues or teenagers that have special needs that are not accommodated by the schools within travelling distance.

All of these factors can result in teenage stress which in turn affects learning and attainment levels.

If a family decides to homeschool their teenager then good planning and record keeping will be essential.

Of course most importantly your teenager must be up for the idea as well. You can plan your home school program with your teenager's strengths and weaknesses in mind. Also important is their learning style, are they a kinesthetic learner, a visual learner, an auditory learner or a combination of a few styles. Go for a program that will enable your teenager to pursue their interests and also cover the basics that they will need to progress further into adult education.