10 WAYS TO MAKE EARLY CHILDHOOD LEARNING INTERESTING

Remember when you were a child and learning about new wondrous things in the world was fun and interesting? No? Well, that is how it should have been for you, and that is exactly what you can do for the little ones eager to learn.

It is important for a child’s development that both classroom and at-home learning is interesting, involving play and active learning techniques. It helps them develop the necessary language, communication, problem-solving, and motor skills alongside other fundamental concepts required for formal education later on.

Here is what you can do to promote early childhood learning by making it more interesting:

1. Design Fun and Interactive Learning Centers

Creating an atmosphere that enhances learning by incorporating interaction with the environment is vital for the cognitive development of young children. A fun early learning centre can be designed with any combination of artistic tools for children to express their emotions and ideas or blocks to improve their motor skills and teamwork.

You can include a literacy corner to help them develop their reading and writing skills in addition to exploring their interests. A drama centre is a great place for kids to act out adult roles to learn about behaviour, community and culture, or a discovery and exploration corner to foster their understanding of the universe and natural world around them by bringing the outdoors to the indoors.

There are many creative ways in which a children’s learning centre can be designed for useful and educative play while making it cool, fun and interesting for growing young minds.

2. Teach the Way They Learn Best

It is crucial for teachers to adopt different ways of educating children. A Harvard professor of education, Dr. Howard Gardner, in his Theory of Multiple Intelligences, suggested that adults and children have eight different abilities, rather than one encompassing ability, through which they learn and grow.

These include the abilities to work with words and language, numbers and reasoning, visualization, physical activities and control, musical skills, empathy and understanding people, self-awareness with emotions and motivation, and in connection to the natural environment.

You can appeal to children’s interest in various subject and topics using a mix of different teaching styles based on how each child learns.

3. Build a Rapport with the Children

As teachers, it is important for you to know about your children and lives outside of the classroom. Reach out to them by consistently talking to them in groups and individually, and learn about the cultures and communities they belong to.

You can ask them to keep activity and thought journals and talk to them about their entries, attend and participate in their extracurricular activities, give them personality and learning style assessments, and hold group meetings.

While at it, open yourself to them and let them know you, too. This will build a relationship of trust and rapport with them, allowing them to accept you and be interested in what you have to teach.

4. Fewer the Rules, Greater the Fun

Children most often do not like being told what to do all the time, and it makes even learning dull and boring. Make only a few and the most important class rules that you are likely to attain and sustain. Such as, a no-bullying rule must be there and should be there.

A little noise and laughter just might do the trick if done freely and keep the young ones engaged in plentiful learning.

5. Appreciate and Celebrate Achievements

It is of dear importance to a child's development that they hear appreciation from role models such as parents and teachers. It encourages them to do better. A little reward goes a long way in promoting good behaviour and boost learning.

You can treat them with their favourite food or snack for finishing a task, buy them a toy of their choice for finishing a book, taking them to the zoo for learning a new skill, and you will positively reinforce the habit of learning.

Celebrating their achievements and rewarding them for little milestones will inspire them to improve their skills and keep it interesting by looking forward to the next reward.

6. Take Inspiration from Everyday Life

As you get to know the children in your care, you will learn more and more about their experience of the world and the things that attract them, and they interact with every day. Use this knowledge to transform your classroom lessons to teach them their core subjects and expand their understanding of the world in a way they can relate to personally.

Have they ever been to the beach? That is an interesting opportunity for them about the seas and marine life.

7. Explore the World with Them

You can create wonderful real-life experiences for them, too. Regularly take your students to field trips for them to engage with the real world and participate in some hands-on learning.

Take them to a museum tour to excite them about history, visit a park for bird watching to improve observational skills, or a trip to the nearest observatory for a glance into the cosmos and learning more about the universe.

8. Nurture Social Bonding

Your relationship with your students is important, but their social bonding with other students is equally central to their education. Building friendships and finding playmates gives young children a sense of belonging where they can openly express themselves to a peer and engage with them in playful learning.

Introducing class-building games at an early learning centre that are non-competitive and foster cooperation will ensure their interest in learning new things with their friends and eagerly anticipate coming back to your classroom.

9. Encourage Daily Reading

Nothing opens up a young mind's imagination, like regular reading. Keep plenty of books, encyclopedias, and other reading material for children to explore. Make sure you cover a wide variety of subjects for them to choose from.

Regular reading will fill their heads with new ideas and knowledge, expand their understanding of the world, and give them more to talk about and discuss with their peers and you. It will incite their hunger for learning more about their interests.

10. Build Their Strengths

Different children tend to lean towards different subject areas and interests. It is critical for you to understand that each child is unique. If some children do not get as many marks in mathematics as you would have thought, check what else they might have done better at.

You will find that some were better art, while others wrote a fun poem, and others were better at physical activities. While you will also find the areas where they need improvement and what you need work at, you should also encourage them to keep on working at what they find the most interesting and master that skill.

Conclusion

Young kids have a curious mind ready to soak up everything. It is only by making their leaning environments highly engaging, interactive, and interesting can parents and teachers capture their attention. Each new child is unique and offers a different challenge, and so teachers must constantly adapt and learn to make learning more fun for children.

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