There is an old riddle that goes:
Can you name the group of geniuses that can learn any language in the world in less than two years?
The geniuses are babies! Every human baby ever born has the genius within them to master the most complex of all human achievements, mastery of a language, and do it in about two years. In short any child that learns to speak has already demonstrated the ability to be a genius! If I told you I could guarantee that you could have your children able to read, count to twenty, and know their colors by the time they entered kindergarten would you be willing to listen? If I told you could do this for your child all by yourself at little cost or training would it be worth it?
If you answered yes to the questions, or would answer yes if you believe it was possible, then I have a deal for you. I will show you how to teach your children to become learners and love it. I will guarantee you can do it and see the results before they enter school.
How and Why It Works
Educators know that most of the skills that make us good learners are developed before we enter kindergarten. But you don’t have to be a teacher to know that little babies are “learning machines”. They spend every waking moment exploring and testing their surrounding. You don’t have to do much with young toddlers to fire their curiosity, and this is what you must understand, babies only need gentle guidance and support to progress. Yet children can start to benefit from learning techniques almost from birth. It is important that we start by recognizing that we (parents and family) are our children’s first and most important teachers. We must be prepared to be our children’s guides and source of motivation to learn.
There are some things you can do from the very beginning to help your baby maximize their genius. As your child grows his/her needs change rapidly and you should recognized with a change in approach. To properly prepare there are three stages in this early development:
1. Birth to 1st year
2. 1 year to first conversation
3. First conversation to school entry
Birth to 1st year
While there are some things you can do almost from the time of birth to help aid your child’s intellectual development, it is important to understand that in the first year your job will basically be to put things in the way so your child can discover them. Colors, sounds, and shapes give much of the learning stimulation your baby receives. However the most important and exciting thing in your child’s learning is you! From the first moment of their lives you are the greatest source of learning for your baby! Babies need personal contact and stimulus not only to develop mentally, but also to survive. It is a proven fact, babies who are denied or have limited human contact suffer in both physical and mental development. By recognizing the importance fact and consistently providing care and attention to your infant, you will become the power that continues your baby’s genius.
Hold and talk to your baby. While this may seem obvious, picking up your baby and talking using regular language, especially avoiding baby talk, is a key part of your work in keeping your baby’s natural genius. Conversation with the little one, even though it might seem silly, is a powerful learning tool. A baby that knows it is cared for responds and by exploring its world in comfort. Just watch your baby as you talk and you will see that face as it tries to focus on every word and understand and respond to you. Make your words real and talk to your baby everyday and watch your baby’s genius grow. Surround your baby with music, pictures, and shapes. Toys are important to babies, but if you can’t provide your baby with toys use pictures, music, and make sure your small one has something they can safely handle. A variety of stimulating experiences helps develop your baby’s physical and mental capabilities. If you make sure your infant gets their share of experiences everyday you will be serving your baby’s early educational experiences.Play with learning. If from the beginning you associate learning with play you will be reinforcing the value of mental development for your child for a lifetime. By making learning part of everyday fun, your baby learns early that learning is something that is for them.
First Year to first conversation
By the end of the first year your baby has become a totter. Walking and exploring your tot is getting into more and becoming more inquisitive. While not yet able to talk, your child lets you know they understand you and is capable of following directions. Your baby also is capable of starting to learn some important basics. There are a couple of things to remember however, this is not a time for formal learning or classes and there is no reason to expect a response from your input.
Talk in Conversation to your child. As the person with the most influence on your child’s development, your tot is watching, thinking about, and imitating you all the time. This is why when you talk to your youngster you try to give them as much information as possible. By adding a word or two to a sentence when you speak to your child you can increase their learning enormously. Because children practice what they hear, by starting to use complete sentences, adding descriptive information when you address your child, and by keeping aware of what you are saying you aid the learning of your tot will be enhanced.
Give detailed instructions. If you speak to your tot and tell them: “Give me the book.” You are conversing with your child, but by adding a word or two of description you multiply the effective learning for your child. By asking: “Give me the blue book please.” You are adding and association with the color and giving a lesson on proper manners at the same time. By adding detail you start to teach colors, numbers, manners, and just about anything you want. “Pick up the two books red books please.” Gives your child associations with numbers, colors, and manners. While your child might not understand right away, the continued associations will grow your child’s knowledge base.
Reward correct responses and ignore learning failures. If your tot follows your instructions and carrying them out, it is important that you acknowledge children’s success. Every success should be recognized. Make it a big deal that they got the “two red books”, or the “yellow pen”. Be sure you say thank you and tell them how proud you are of their accomplishment every time a task is completed. Make learning successes a big deal that is important to you. However it is just as important to not even discuss the things that the tot doesn’t do.The tasks you assign the tot verbally are not lessons for the child for which they will be graded. It is most important that only positive statements are given about tasks. The learning that the child achieves will always be recognized and rewarded with positive verbal acknowledgements.
Label the house for word recognition. One of the most effective ways to increase reading skills is to increase a child’s recognition of words. By labeling objects in your home you expose your young child to words in a way the makes them real and tangible. Labeling things your tot sees everyday exposes them to the words and associates the words with the thing. This also allows you to teach passively. By letting the child associate words with objects colors and numbers they teach themselves.The house that is labeled is like an advertisement for words, numbers, and colors. Every room in the house should have labels. Labels should be on everything possible; refrigerator, wall, table, television, picture, vent, and chair are a few of the things you should have labeled for your child. Every object possible should be labeled clearly in simple print. Pictures with labels for colors and numbers should also be placed in the child’s room and throughout the house.
This period should be one where you give your child information without expectation of response. However, when the child makes learning responses they are to be rewarded by you with recognition and praise. Also it should be remembered that there is no failure, because anything gained here is a successful learning experience.
First conversation to school entry
This is a time of maximum opportunity to develop the babies learning skills. Once the baby has began to express themselves through speech, the need for your influence is at its highest. This is also the time when your child has greatest need for you as the provider of information. The way you respond to this need tell your baby how important you think learning is for them. Read in front of, to, and with your child at every opportunity. Your child should see you reading something everyday. If your children see you reading books, magazines, and newspapers it lays the ground work for them doing the same later. As adults we should read to children. Reading them stories entertains them, teaches them about culture, and improves their understanding of the world around them. Reading with your child helps them enjoy reading (they get the chance to share it with you), improve their word recognition and vocabulary, and encourages them to read for themselves.
By reading in front of your children everyday you set a positive example and exercise your reading skills at the same time. You also expose your child words, pictures, and ideas. It also provides a source of learning materials for other activities that will be mentioned later.
Reading to your children everyday provides a number of benefits for the whole family. Think about what it means to a child to have a parent or other relative take time to read a story to them. The bedtime story is a time to put things in order, end the day and be entertained by the most important person in your child’s life, you! Reading to your children is a rewarding activity for everyone involved. Bedtime isn’t the only time that can be used to read. The important thing is that time be allotted everyday for reading to children. By making reading important you send a message that you value reading. By showing you value reading you teach your child that reading is valuable.
Make flashcards for words, numbers, and colors so you can teach your child to read. Again the key element is you taking the time to work with your child. For the child who has just started to talk, building flash cards is a fun way to bond and to teach your child at the same time. The creation of the flashcards, as well as the daily activities with the cards, provides a game that allows you to share creative time with your youngster. The materials you need are; scissors, tape or glue, white index cards, and a source of pictures. You start by getting old or discarded magazines or newspapers to use as a source for pictures. You cut out pictures of items with simple names such as; man, woman, boy, girl, chair, car, window, door, airplane, ball, etc. Once you have cut out the pictures you will paste or tape them to one side of an index card (only one picture per card) and print the descriptive name on the back of the card.
Education today is the issue on everybody’s mind, and with good reason. Our youngsters are challenged by under funded schools, low-test scores, and questions about their ability to compete intellectually. Our children have to overcome poverty, racism, and a hostile society that is willing to spend more money to jail them for a year than it takes to put through four years of college. We know that if help is to come for our children, it must come from us. We cannot expect anyone to help us create the geniuses that our children will have to be to successfully compete in the worldwide economy of the 21st Century.
It’s unrealistic to believe that in an increasing competitive society our children will be given for positions those of us who want the most for our children. Consider the riddle that began this work and its answer. The truth in it means that all our children are geniuses just waiting for someone to teach them how to tap their potential. Who better than we who love them to do it?
