Personally, I believe in introducing concepts of giving and sharing from a young age. This helps to build on the childs' character and value set which forms the fundamentals of his/her being. Values and beliefs are fundamentals in guiding us in our way of life, our chain of thoughts, which in turn affect the type of person we will develop into and the kind of life we will lead. An optimistic caring child is more likely to enjoy life's sweetness and whizz through life's challenges compared to a pessimistic spiteful child.
A child who gives and shares happily, not only brings happiness to those around him but is able to derive happiness much more easily for himself/herself. More often than not, this makes him/her a much happier person. So, how do we instill these care and share values into them?
It is important to let the kids know what is sharing and giving. What better ways than to make the child himself/herself give and share! Sharing toys, sharing favourite food, sharing books are some ways we could slowly instill this into them. For a start, I explained to my son the concept of sharing and giving. I use the infamous quote "The more you give, the more you get". I explain to him that it is a blessing to give as being able to give is a blessing in itself. I explain to him that there are many underpriviledged children who wanted to give and share what they have BUT they do not have much to give or share. They do not own toys, they do not have books, some do not even have a home. Pictures and documentaries of the underpriviledge helps reinforce this concept. Next, we talk about actions! Make your child give. Eg : ask your child to share his favourite foods. ask him to give some to yourself. And, do not stop here, take and eat the food that the child have to offer! (I know that because of immense love for their kids, some parents will ask the child to give and when the child actually give, they will reject and ask the child to have the food for themselves!). For a start, you can expect your child to show signs of reluctance in giving and sharing. Practice this for long, it becomes second nature to them! It will come a stage where they will even remind you to share and give! My son was awarded with 2 lollipops and a small packet of japanese crackers from his swim coach this morning. He came home happily and placed his treats aside while he takes his bath. After his bath, he reached out for his treats excitedly. Surprisingly, he brought his treats, give 1 lollipop to me, give 1 lollipop to his papa and ask me to open the japanese crackers for him to eat. Than while he give, he says 'the more you give, the more you get' ;) I again reiterated to him the happiness/blessings with sharing and giving.
Looks like I have in the least made him willing to give and happy to share :)
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Children and Dogs
Children who grow up with pets are said to be more loving and responsible and they they learn to care for and take care of their pets. Their pets became their 'friend and playmate' whom they can talk and turn to. Is this the case? what are the challenges and learning experiences of taking care of children and dogs? Let's hear from my good friend, San on how she is able to make Isaac (her son) and Whisky (her big golden retreiver) live harmoniously together.
Me : Who came 1st? Whisky or Isaac?
San : Whisky
Me : Are there thoughts of sending Whisky away to make room for Isaac?
San : Definitely No. Whisky is also my baby. Will you send your baby away? The answer is clear
Me : How did you prepare Whisky to recieve Isaac?
San : I take things naturally. 1 step at a time. Take what come may. No preparations
Me : How did you train Whisky to love Isaac?
San : A Golden retriever is naturally mild , friendly and good with children. Thus, not much training required for Whisky. Nonetheless, we will bring Whisky to smell the baby Isaac when we 1st brought Isaac home from the hospital. I would consider this move as an introduction. Introducing Whisky to the latest member of the family
Me : How did you help the baby to love the dog?
San : We talk to Isaac about Whisky often. We will hold his hand and bring them to pat Whisky. This is some sort of 'playing' between them. However, we never leave them both alone, unattended
Me : What are the initial challenges of having a baby and a dog together at home?
San : Cleanliness, time and Money. The Golden Retriever shed and drools a lot and yet come an appropriate age, Isaac will need to learn how to crawl. We do not want to run the risk of having Isaac lick Whisky's saliva from the floor and thus we never allow Isaac crawled on the f loor. He learnt to crawl on the bed!
Me : How did you maximize your time taking care of the dog and the child?
San : I will bring Isaac and Whisky together for walks. This is the time when Whisky will do his big and small businesses. I will also get Isaac to help around Whisky eg : filling Whisky's feeding bowl. This not only save some time for me but also create a bonding between Isaac and Whisky.
Me : Were there ever any accidents that happened where the dog frightened or even bite Isaac?
Me : Who came 1st? Whisky or Isaac?
San : Whisky
Me : Are there thoughts of sending Whisky away to make room for Isaac?
San : Definitely No. Whisky is also my baby. Will you send your baby away? The answer is clear
Me : How did you prepare Whisky to recieve Isaac?
San : I take things naturally. 1 step at a time. Take what come may. No preparations
Me : How did you train Whisky to love Isaac?
San : A Golden retriever is naturally mild , friendly and good with children. Thus, not much training required for Whisky. Nonetheless, we will bring Whisky to smell the baby Isaac when we 1st brought Isaac home from the hospital. I would consider this move as an introduction. Introducing Whisky to the latest member of the family
Me : How did you help the baby to love the dog?
San : We talk to Isaac about Whisky often. We will hold his hand and bring them to pat Whisky. This is some sort of 'playing' between them. However, we never leave them both alone, unattended
Me : What are the initial challenges of having a baby and a dog together at home?
San : Cleanliness, time and Money. The Golden Retriever shed and drools a lot and yet come an appropriate age, Isaac will need to learn how to crawl. We do not want to run the risk of having Isaac lick Whisky's saliva from the floor and thus we never allow Isaac crawled on the f loor. He learnt to crawl on the bed!
Me : How did you maximize your time taking care of the dog and the child?
San : I will bring Isaac and Whisky together for walks. This is the time when Whisky will do his big and small businesses. I will also get Isaac to help around Whisky eg : filling Whisky's feeding bowl. This not only save some time for me but also create a bonding between Isaac and Whisky.
Me : Were there ever any accidents that happened where the dog frightened or even bite Isaac?
San : No. Whisky really loves Isaac
Me : Have Isaac ever ‘bullied’ the dog? If yes, what did he do?
San : Yes, he will try to pulll Whisky's tail and fur. Cheeky Isaac.
Me : How do you describe the relationship between both of them now?
San : They are not best pals but they live peacefully together. Aint' that how the world should be? Living peacefully together regardless of race, religion or language :)
Me : Do you plan to further develop the ‘friendship’ between them?
San : No solid plans to go about doing this. I would prefer it for them to develop their friendship at a natural pace comfortable for them both.
Me : Are there any considerations for the day when the dog will leave the family?
San : Only when and if Whisky bites Isaac.
Me : Some parents/experts mentioned that having a pet/dog at home helps the child in becoming a more responsible being who is more caring. Do you see this in Isaac?
San : Isaac's school teachers did mention that Isaac cares for his friends. This could possibly have been cultivated through his love and concern for Whisky! Thus, there could be some truth in this!
Me : What is your final advise to all parents who already have a dog and a baby on the way? Or parents who want to have a dog for the child’s company?
San : Do not ever give up their dog just because of the forthcoming of a baby (unless due to medical reasons eg : baby is allergic to fur). For parents who wanted to have dog for the kid, you need to think carefully as having a dog is just like having another baby. You will need to care for , spend time and needless to say spend monies for the dog. Eg : sending the dog for grooming, yearly vaccination, Vet clinic when sick. The dog will be with you for many many years to come. It will be irresponsible to simply give up a dog for reasons like no time to take care of the dog, tired etc. You must really really love a dog before you have decide to keep a dog. Having a dog for the sole reason to keep your child entertained or hoping the dog will teach your child basic human values is not sufficient reasons for you to keep a dog.
Me : Have Isaac ever ‘bullied’ the dog? If yes, what did he do?
San : Yes, he will try to pulll Whisky's tail and fur. Cheeky Isaac.
Me : How do you describe the relationship between both of them now?
San : They are not best pals but they live peacefully together. Aint' that how the world should be? Living peacefully together regardless of race, religion or language :)
Me : Do you plan to further develop the ‘friendship’ between them?
San : No solid plans to go about doing this. I would prefer it for them to develop their friendship at a natural pace comfortable for them both.
Me : Are there any considerations for the day when the dog will leave the family?
San : Only when and if Whisky bites Isaac.
Me : Some parents/experts mentioned that having a pet/dog at home helps the child in becoming a more responsible being who is more caring. Do you see this in Isaac?
San : Isaac's school teachers did mention that Isaac cares for his friends. This could possibly have been cultivated through his love and concern for Whisky! Thus, there could be some truth in this!
Me : What is your final advise to all parents who already have a dog and a baby on the way? Or parents who want to have a dog for the child’s company?
San : Do not ever give up their dog just because of the forthcoming of a baby (unless due to medical reasons eg : baby is allergic to fur). For parents who wanted to have dog for the kid, you need to think carefully as having a dog is just like having another baby. You will need to care for , spend time and needless to say spend monies for the dog. Eg : sending the dog for grooming, yearly vaccination, Vet clinic when sick. The dog will be with you for many many years to come. It will be irresponsible to simply give up a dog for reasons like no time to take care of the dog, tired etc. You must really really love a dog before you have decide to keep a dog. Having a dog for the sole reason to keep your child entertained or hoping the dog will teach your child basic human values is not sufficient reasons for you to keep a dog.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Preparing for Early School
Sending young children to school has always been an exciting experience for parents. Be it your child is 18mths, 3yrs, 4yrs or any older, parents will always hope for the child to enjoy school, to quickly get used to going to school, to make friends in school and to generally have fun while learning in school. What is an ideal age to send a child to school? When is he/she ready for school? How many hours per day should he/she spend in school?
Being a work from home mum, I had the flexibility to choose from the various options :
1) to place my child in a full day child care
2) to place my child in a 1/2 day child care
3) to send my child to a 3hrs daily kindergarten class
4) to send my child for ad-hoc classes (can be 2 or 3 times weekly)
5) to home school my child till I find him ready for school
Most childcare centers accept kids from 18months onwards and kindergarten from pre-nursery (3yrs old). Registration for popular childcare centers and kindergarten may start couple of years prior to them attending school. It is thus advisable to give some thoughts to your child's education path early on in the year. It is important to have some ideas on WHERE AND WHEN to send your child to school. 2 years back (in 2008) when a good friend asked me to register my then barely 1 yr old kid for pre-nursery in 2010 (yes its now!). I was in total shock and even brand him as a 'KS parent'. Who ever start registering a 1yr old kid for school due in 2yrs time? I was just beginning to enjoy life without having to go to public washrooms to express and throw away breastmilk, being able to sleep through the night. And???? I was told that I had to register my kid for school? I had not even given thoughts to when he should attend school, which are the school options available, what type of school I should send him to (childcare? kindergarten? montessori??). Nonetheless, I started my school search and research back then and narrowed down to a few choices before arriving at the final choice. Looking back, I was glad my KS friend pressed my panic button. I was glad I was able to place my son in a school of my choice (its not my hubby's choice cos he's got no preference! he says my choice is his choice. How helpful!)
What to think about when choosing a pre-school for your child?
1) School Type. Child Care? Kindergarten? Enrichment Programmes?
2) Logistics. Logistics is 1 of the most important factor to consider when zooming down on which school to place your child. While ideally it is great to be able to attend schools renowned for their teaching methods, it is even more important to ensure easy logistics for your child to get to and from school. Eg : Spending more than 45mins on a school bus to get to school daily will tire the child and yourself out in the long run.
3) Budget. There are renowned schools where fees are up to $5000 per term, which basically equates to about $1500 per month, there are schools where fees is $90 per month. Can all these renowned schools really bring out the genius in our children? Can they really steer the children to future success and produce children with good morale values? Does sending my child to a school which charges $90 equates to the child doing and learning nothing in school? I did not send my son to a school which charges exorbitant rates. I do not see the need to do so. I strongly believe that a child's learning at this age is best done on a one-on-one basis via the a method which best suits the character of the child. I too believe that child's main caregiver will have the biggest impact on the child's learning path. Ideally it will be better for parents to spend quality time learning with your child compared to sending your child to a renowned school which charges exorbitant rate. Remember, your duty does not end just by sending him/her to a so-called renowned school. Sending a child to school at this tender age is really just about sending him to play and have fun! Learning through fun and play. Nothing too serious.
How to prepare your child to school?
To minimise separation anxiety, this is what I do with the hope to better integrate my child in pre-nursery
1) I send him to parents accompanied classes for a start. 2 times a week. This expose him to what school is like.
2) I send him to class which requires himself to sit in the class without parents just 6mths prior to sending him to pre-nursery. This gives him an idea what it is like to be attending lessons without parents/caregivers.
3) I tell him that I will wait outside his class for him and come for him when class end. I make it a point never to be late in fetching him from class. This gives security and assurance. He knows for sure that I will fetch him from class once class ends.
4) I tell him that adults cannot attend children's class. Only children attends children's class.
5) I make school sound fun and full of play. I tell him in school "theres alot of friends, many toys, loads of books...WOW its sooo fun! i love it!". Make it sound exciting. Most times my son is excited too
Being a work from home mum, I had the flexibility to choose from the various options :
1) to place my child in a full day child care
2) to place my child in a 1/2 day child care
3) to send my child to a 3hrs daily kindergarten class
4) to send my child for ad-hoc classes (can be 2 or 3 times weekly)
5) to home school my child till I find him ready for school
Most childcare centers accept kids from 18months onwards and kindergarten from pre-nursery (3yrs old). Registration for popular childcare centers and kindergarten may start couple of years prior to them attending school. It is thus advisable to give some thoughts to your child's education path early on in the year. It is important to have some ideas on WHERE AND WHEN to send your child to school. 2 years back (in 2008) when a good friend asked me to register my then barely 1 yr old kid for pre-nursery in 2010 (yes its now!). I was in total shock and even brand him as a 'KS parent'. Who ever start registering a 1yr old kid for school due in 2yrs time? I was just beginning to enjoy life without having to go to public washrooms to express and throw away breastmilk, being able to sleep through the night. And???? I was told that I had to register my kid for school? I had not even given thoughts to when he should attend school, which are the school options available, what type of school I should send him to (childcare? kindergarten? montessori??). Nonetheless, I started my school search and research back then and narrowed down to a few choices before arriving at the final choice. Looking back, I was glad my KS friend pressed my panic button. I was glad I was able to place my son in a school of my choice (its not my hubby's choice cos he's got no preference! he says my choice is his choice. How helpful!)
What to think about when choosing a pre-school for your child?
1) School Type. Child Care? Kindergarten? Enrichment Programmes?
2) Logistics. Logistics is 1 of the most important factor to consider when zooming down on which school to place your child. While ideally it is great to be able to attend schools renowned for their teaching methods, it is even more important to ensure easy logistics for your child to get to and from school. Eg : Spending more than 45mins on a school bus to get to school daily will tire the child and yourself out in the long run.
3) Budget. There are renowned schools where fees are up to $5000 per term, which basically equates to about $1500 per month, there are schools where fees is $90 per month. Can all these renowned schools really bring out the genius in our children? Can they really steer the children to future success and produce children with good morale values? Does sending my child to a school which charges $90 equates to the child doing and learning nothing in school? I did not send my son to a school which charges exorbitant rates. I do not see the need to do so. I strongly believe that a child's learning at this age is best done on a one-on-one basis via the a method which best suits the character of the child. I too believe that child's main caregiver will have the biggest impact on the child's learning path. Ideally it will be better for parents to spend quality time learning with your child compared to sending your child to a renowned school which charges exorbitant rate. Remember, your duty does not end just by sending him/her to a so-called renowned school. Sending a child to school at this tender age is really just about sending him to play and have fun! Learning through fun and play. Nothing too serious.
How to prepare your child to school?
To minimise separation anxiety, this is what I do with the hope to better integrate my child in pre-nursery
1) I send him to parents accompanied classes for a start. 2 times a week. This expose him to what school is like.
2) I send him to class which requires himself to sit in the class without parents just 6mths prior to sending him to pre-nursery. This gives him an idea what it is like to be attending lessons without parents/caregivers.
3) I tell him that I will wait outside his class for him and come for him when class end. I make it a point never to be late in fetching him from class. This gives security and assurance. He knows for sure that I will fetch him from class once class ends.
4) I tell him that adults cannot attend children's class. Only children attends children's class.
5) I make school sound fun and full of play. I tell him in school "theres alot of friends, many toys, loads of books...WOW its sooo fun! i love it!". Make it sound exciting. Most times my son is excited too
(waiting for the lift to go to school)
(Intense concentration as 'aunty' is telling the story of the bear who doesn't care)
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Fiction? When is good to start?
"Chicken Licken : the sky is falling, we are going to tell the king! Henny Penny : I shall come too. We have Chicken Licken, Henny Penny, Turkey Lurkey, Goosey Loosey on their way to see the King".
"when the earth make 1 spin around the sun, it equates 1 day. To move 1 round around the sun it will take 365 days. At the furthest north pole is the Artic and furthest southpole is the Antartic. Only some animals can survive in the Artic and the Antartic like the polar bears, penguines, some species of seals"
It is easy to bring Chicken Licken to life, running together with Henny Penny, Turkey Lurkey, Goosey Loosey all the way to the king's castle. It is easy to captivate the child's attention and interest as children are able to imagine how a little chick looks like (a yellow feathery small blur eyed duckling look-alike bird). A small lil chick who goes running around yelling "The sky is falling" is easier and much more fun to be associated with compared to some talks about the earth, the sun and the orbit. Something moving around something, something making day and night. Even adults have difficulties understand these hard core facts. So how do we get our kid/s to be interested? When is a good time to talk and read to them about such?
I had started off with reading simple short stories to my son. Babies have shorter attention span compared to young toddlers, compared to slightly older toddlers. Once I see that my son is easily capitivated by books and stories and is able to hold short conversations, I see it as a good time to add on fiction to his list of books. And the trick to getting him interested in these fiction (hard facts) is to combine facts with a short stories for a start. Eg : The barosaurus dinosaur can measure up to 20+ mtrs in length. I held on to his hand to trace the outline of the dinosaur to make an impression of how long that might be. Following which, I talked about such a length means that the barosaurus is able to coil around and around lil boys and lil gals. They will ask how many rounds will that be, we could also use a fictatious number eg : 25 rounds for 25mtrs. This short story is able to captivate his interest in the barosaurus, being sooo very loooong. With the concept of the sun and the earth, I use an object (it could be any toy) and tell him, this is the sun...than using a ball, I make 1 spin while telling him this is 1 day. Using the same ball, I make the ball go 1 round around the sun. This I tell him takes 365 days/1 year. Thereafter, he is able to slightly understand the concept that the earth can spin and moves around the sun. At slightly past 2, he is still not able to understand the number of days and years concept. This I believe he will understand at an appropriate age.
Thus, the trick in introducing fiction, factual books to young readers is really to assist them in imagining what the facts is. Using objects and short stories will be 1 of the ways to help them along.
"when the earth make 1 spin around the sun, it equates 1 day. To move 1 round around the sun it will take 365 days. At the furthest north pole is the Artic and furthest southpole is the Antartic. Only some animals can survive in the Artic and the Antartic like the polar bears, penguines, some species of seals"
It is easy to bring Chicken Licken to life, running together with Henny Penny, Turkey Lurkey, Goosey Loosey all the way to the king's castle. It is easy to captivate the child's attention and interest as children are able to imagine how a little chick looks like (a yellow feathery small blur eyed duckling look-alike bird). A small lil chick who goes running around yelling "The sky is falling" is easier and much more fun to be associated with compared to some talks about the earth, the sun and the orbit. Something moving around something, something making day and night. Even adults have difficulties understand these hard core facts. So how do we get our kid/s to be interested? When is a good time to talk and read to them about such?
I had started off with reading simple short stories to my son. Babies have shorter attention span compared to young toddlers, compared to slightly older toddlers. Once I see that my son is easily capitivated by books and stories and is able to hold short conversations, I see it as a good time to add on fiction to his list of books. And the trick to getting him interested in these fiction (hard facts) is to combine facts with a short stories for a start. Eg : The barosaurus dinosaur can measure up to 20+ mtrs in length. I held on to his hand to trace the outline of the dinosaur to make an impression of how long that might be. Following which, I talked about such a length means that the barosaurus is able to coil around and around lil boys and lil gals. They will ask how many rounds will that be, we could also use a fictatious number eg : 25 rounds for 25mtrs. This short story is able to captivate his interest in the barosaurus, being sooo very loooong. With the concept of the sun and the earth, I use an object (it could be any toy) and tell him, this is the sun...than using a ball, I make 1 spin while telling him this is 1 day. Using the same ball, I make the ball go 1 round around the sun. This I tell him takes 365 days/1 year. Thereafter, he is able to slightly understand the concept that the earth can spin and moves around the sun. At slightly past 2, he is still not able to understand the number of days and years concept. This I believe he will understand at an appropriate age.
Thus, the trick in introducing fiction, factual books to young readers is really to assist them in imagining what the facts is. Using objects and short stories will be 1 of the ways to help them along.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Time Requirements and End Results
How much time do I have to spend reading to my child each day?
I am a working mum. I can only spare 30mins a day. Is this enough?
When I started reading to my son, it is with the main intent to develop his speech. I do not have a time frame for him to achieve various milestones. I do not have a specific time a day I should spend reading to him. I do not have a targeted end result to achieve as I know that each child develop at their own pace and I believe that reading should be done with passion and love. However, I do set a very minimal objective that I need to achieve. That is :
1) I must read to him on a daily basis. It can be 1 book or many books. A child can sense it when you read with passion. It is only when you read with passion that you evoke interests in children to listen. For most times, I spend an average of about 30mins a day reading. Typically : when he wake in the morning sitting on potty (now he poo with a book; not sure if he can poo without); before he naps in the afternoon and before he naps at night. I find these timing really convenient. For the 1st 15-20mins, my son will be so highly engrossed in the story that he forgot he need to sleep. However as the story goes on, sleep kicks in...
2) I talk to him as and when I can. I tell him about the birds and the sky as we walk in the garden. I talk about the trees and the flowers when our car passes by such. I talk about the fish and beef in his porridge as he have his lunch and dinner. The topics are varied, the topics are not important. Whats important is for us to talk and communicate with the child. I am not sure if this helps but at age 2, my son was telling me about the coconut trees he see as our car passes them by, about the worms that wriggle as it moves amongst the leave, about the mussels whose shells go open and close, open and close deep deep in the ocean. at age 2 and a half, he was about to pronounce and rememeber 4-6 syllabus dino names like : barasauras, giganatosaurus, caudipteryx and his favourite triceratops. Come to think of it, it helps that myself is a chatty person by nature ;)
3) I allow him TV shows like animal planet. It is educational by nature and it involves narration about animals - his love.
4) I send him to a playgroup mainly to establish friendships, to 'play' with other children and to be exposed to classroom setting learning. Again, I do not expect my son to know alphabets, counting, shapes etc when I send him for such lessons. The main intent is to play (and a secondary intent to learn as he play). By the end of the class, I am sure the child's speech development will improve. Even if it doesn't, his/her social communications skills will.
So, back to the question how much time is required daily in order to cultivate a child's love for books and reading? I would really recommend a very minimal 15mins of reading time. This plus the time spent on talking and play with the child, should add up to nothing less than 1hour.
I am a working mum. I can only spare 30mins a day. Is this enough?
When I started reading to my son, it is with the main intent to develop his speech. I do not have a time frame for him to achieve various milestones. I do not have a specific time a day I should spend reading to him. I do not have a targeted end result to achieve as I know that each child develop at their own pace and I believe that reading should be done with passion and love. However, I do set a very minimal objective that I need to achieve. That is :
1) I must read to him on a daily basis. It can be 1 book or many books. A child can sense it when you read with passion. It is only when you read with passion that you evoke interests in children to listen. For most times, I spend an average of about 30mins a day reading. Typically : when he wake in the morning sitting on potty (now he poo with a book; not sure if he can poo without); before he naps in the afternoon and before he naps at night. I find these timing really convenient. For the 1st 15-20mins, my son will be so highly engrossed in the story that he forgot he need to sleep. However as the story goes on, sleep kicks in...
2) I talk to him as and when I can. I tell him about the birds and the sky as we walk in the garden. I talk about the trees and the flowers when our car passes by such. I talk about the fish and beef in his porridge as he have his lunch and dinner. The topics are varied, the topics are not important. Whats important is for us to talk and communicate with the child. I am not sure if this helps but at age 2, my son was telling me about the coconut trees he see as our car passes them by, about the worms that wriggle as it moves amongst the leave, about the mussels whose shells go open and close, open and close deep deep in the ocean. at age 2 and a half, he was about to pronounce and rememeber 4-6 syllabus dino names like : barasauras, giganatosaurus, caudipteryx and his favourite triceratops. Come to think of it, it helps that myself is a chatty person by nature ;)
3) I allow him TV shows like animal planet. It is educational by nature and it involves narration about animals - his love.
4) I send him to a playgroup mainly to establish friendships, to 'play' with other children and to be exposed to classroom setting learning. Again, I do not expect my son to know alphabets, counting, shapes etc when I send him for such lessons. The main intent is to play (and a secondary intent to learn as he play). By the end of the class, I am sure the child's speech development will improve. Even if it doesn't, his/her social communications skills will.
So, back to the question how much time is required daily in order to cultivate a child's love for books and reading? I would really recommend a very minimal 15mins of reading time. This plus the time spent on talking and play with the child, should add up to nothing less than 1hour.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Introducing the World to Children
What better way to introduce the world to children than through books! While many of us know the importance of cultivating the passion for reading in children, many will wonder - how should I go about doing this?
Myself for one, loves reading. How did I cultivate the passion to read? The earliest memory has been primary one textbooks which introduced words like "Hand" (followed by picture of a hand; eyes (followed by picture of a big blue eye); early memories of lying on the bed reading Enid Blyton's books of pixies, goblins and fairies; thereafter the journey with books begin as I progress to teenage fiction; business, self help, diets, parenting and the list goes on...
As we plan for our kids, naturally various questions pop up in our minds :
1) Should I start with basic key words books for my child?
2) Should I start by reading various types of storybooks?
3) Is Phonics important? (I don't remember structurally learning phonics when young but is still able to read widely)
4) Should I start with Phonics?
5) Should I read and point to words? learn by sight?
6) Should I allow him/her to learn on his own pace? (Just like myself when young?)
There is really no right or wrong answers (whats new! authors love saying this to avoid unwelcome comments!)
WHAT DID I DO FOR A START?
1) Early Reading (Story Telling)
by this I mean reading to the kids. In another word - Story Telling. I had chosen books which are simple and interesting to read. Feel and Touch books are able to captivate some children's interest. Whats most important in story telling is parent's ability to make characters in these books come alive! Try to mimic the voices of characters eg : the BIG BAD WOLF (emphasize and slow down when reading these words). The BIG BAD WOLF says "Little Pig Little Pig can I come in?". This can be done in a low deep voice . Children are curious by nature. Which child can resist the "BIG BAD WOLF" who sounds sooo reeeeaaaaal?
2) Rhymes
reading rhymes to children is another way to cultivate their interests for books. Rhymes are easy for children to follow with their rhythmic tunes. My son was 1st engaged in "Thomas the Train" rhythmic touch and feel book at a tender age of 6months. It goes "Thomas loves to drive through the countryside. He toots at the cows as he passes by. Harold loves to fly high up in the sky. He loves to see the birds go flying by." Soonest he hear this rhyme, he hymns along.
Myself for one, loves reading. How did I cultivate the passion to read? The earliest memory has been primary one textbooks which introduced words like "Hand" (followed by picture of a hand; eyes (followed by picture of a big blue eye); early memories of lying on the bed reading Enid Blyton's books of pixies, goblins and fairies; thereafter the journey with books begin as I progress to teenage fiction; business, self help, diets, parenting and the list goes on...
As we plan for our kids, naturally various questions pop up in our minds :
1) Should I start with basic key words books for my child?
2) Should I start by reading various types of storybooks?
3) Is Phonics important? (I don't remember structurally learning phonics when young but is still able to read widely)
4) Should I start with Phonics?
5) Should I read and point to words? learn by sight?
6) Should I allow him/her to learn on his own pace? (Just like myself when young?)
There is really no right or wrong answers (whats new! authors love saying this to avoid unwelcome comments!)
WHAT DID I DO FOR A START?
1) Early Reading (Story Telling)
by this I mean reading to the kids. In another word - Story Telling. I had chosen books which are simple and interesting to read. Feel and Touch books are able to captivate some children's interest. Whats most important in story telling is parent's ability to make characters in these books come alive! Try to mimic the voices of characters eg : the BIG BAD WOLF (emphasize and slow down when reading these words). The BIG BAD WOLF says "Little Pig Little Pig can I come in?". This can be done in a low deep voice . Children are curious by nature. Which child can resist the "BIG BAD WOLF" who sounds sooo reeeeaaaaal?
2) Rhymes
reading rhymes to children is another way to cultivate their interests for books. Rhymes are easy for children to follow with their rhythmic tunes. My son was 1st engaged in "Thomas the Train" rhythmic touch and feel book at a tender age of 6months. It goes "Thomas loves to drive through the countryside. He toots at the cows as he passes by. Harold loves to fly high up in the sky. He loves to see the birds go flying by." Soonest he hear this rhyme, he hymns along.
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