When Mommy & Daddy Run Preschool | Part 2
Sep 13
Teaching Through Experiences
One thing we can do to begin the teaching process is exposing our preschooler to different things/experiences, as a way to teach them. If we treat everything as a learning experience then we are ultimately creating a thirst for knowledge. A classroom setting, especially for young children, can make learning feel like a requirement. For example, we can take our children to the park and have a picnic. While we are eating we can spend time observing different animals, say squirrels, ducks or ants, and talk about them. A small child learns very well through experiences because of their small attention span. You can even teach about numbers at the park as you count trees, swings or clouds.
The great thing about this type of learning is that you can give one on one interactions. Because you know your child you can make the most of learning by tapping into their interests, such as the outdoors or animals. You are also there and available to answer their questions, even the unasked ones.
Keep in mind that this does take a lot of patience and attention to the details around you as well as an in depth knowledge of your child. But keeping learning fun and spontaneous is well worth the effort of practicing!!
Listen to today’s podcast for more insight on this topic.
When Mommy & Daddy Run Preschool | Part 1
Sep 12
Choosing To Teach Your Child
For the past two or three generations moms have been lead to believe that they were not able to meet the needs of their pre-schooler to get them ready socially, emotionally or academically as well as preschools. Some moms have no option. They must put their two or three year old in preschool so they can help put food on the table. But other moms, who could make the choice to keep their child at home, have been lead to believe that its always best for the child to take him to the “experts”. That is just not always so.
Why has this been an easy sell to moms? First, moms of course want to give their children every advantage. Secondly, it is exhausting spending 24/7 with a preschooler. Finally some moms may not feel equipped or creative enough to teach their preschooler.
There are few reasons why it is worth the effort to learn how to be equipped to teach your preschooler, if you are in the position to do so. The first is the high privilege it is to be your child’s first teacher. The second is it promotes more mother and child bonding. Finally, you are there for those irreplaceable moments of the toddler/preschool years.
We will spend the rest of this week talking through how to do preschool with your child.
Listen to today’s podcast for more insight on this topic.
The Potential Negative Impacts of Daycare | Part 5
Sep 09
Spiritual Development and Last Questions About Daycare
One great thing that we can see happening around the country is that many churches have taken on having daycares as part of their ministry. Again, for those who have no option it is a great relief to know that the people who are caring for your children., share your spiritual beliefs. For those that do have the option, don’t make the mistake of thinking that a church daycare will do a better job then you will at your child’s spiritual development. We need to get away from the mentality that it is the churches job to grow us spiritually. As parents it is especially easy to think, well my child went to Sunday school, small group or youth group this week, and check their spiritual development off your list. This is not the case even for a Christian daycare. A daycare worker cannot take the time for individualized teachable moments but parents can. We can take the time to teach our children how to pray and then apply it as a family member is sick or as we pass an accident on the road while we are driving. We can teach our children about the fruits of the spirit as we are teaching them why it is important to get along and share with their siblings. Remember that we as parents will be held accountable for the spiritual development of our children, not the church or daycare.
Listen to today’s podcast for more insight on this topic as well as some answers to questions that parents have asked about daycare.
The Potential Negative Impacts of Daycare | Part 4
Sep 08
Academic and Intellectual Development of Daycare
This is one of the great myths presented to parents. There is some research out there that shows academic development is higher for children at daycare, BUT this was only in areas where moms themselves were not academically able to develop their children.
Remember that mom can and should be the best teacher. Especially for preschool aged children, one on one attention is important. Mom can take the time to answer questions, and because they know their child even the questions that weren’t being asked. A mom can and will take the time to hear a child’s heart and will be better able to notice and develop their specific gifts.
If there is an area that you feel your child can develop more, a mom can take the time to educate herself in how to help her child and then spend the one on one time it takes to do so.
Again we have only scratched the surface of this topic, listen to today’s podcast for more insight.
The Potential Negative Impacts of Daycare | Part 3
Sep 07
Behavioral Issues As A Result of Daycare
One of the areas that we need to process is the behavioral impact of daycare. Our children are like little sponges learning how to do things by observing everyone around them. Especially impactful is what other children their age do or how they behave. Many parents can testify that potty training their younger child was easier because they had a role model in their older sibling. I even had one mom tell me that her 14 month old daughter taught her self to use the potty because big sister had just learned. Because of this studies by the NYU School of Medicine and by NIH(National Institute of Health) state that children who spend most of their day in daycare were three times as likely to exhibit behavioral problems in Kindergarten as those who were cared for primarily by their mothers.
There are several reasons because there are so many children for workers to focus on it is difficult for them to be consistent in discipline. There is just no way for them to “catch” everything, nor do they have the time to specifically deal with every child for every infraction. Because of this there can be an every man for himself mentality in the children or he who screams the loudest gets heard.
One of the ways that daycare workers are inherently different from parents, other then the obvious, is their role is to be a manager not a trainer. Therefore, they will not take advantage of the teachable moments that are there because they role is to be a manager of the class. A final reason there are behavioral issues is sometimes a parents guilt, or the “I haven’t seen you all day mentality” tends to dilute our discipline at home.
We have just scratched the surface of this topic, listen to today’s podcast for more insight.
