Teaching Children at Different Ages in the Home

By Christopher Bode, Stay-at-Home Parent and Member, Dubuque County Empowerment Board

So you’re a stay-at-home parent who might be wondering how to help your young children learn? You may have no training in education. Well guess what? For thousands of years, parents have been the primary educator of children. Even in the age of “educational” videos and games, it is still the parent with the most influence on what a child learns.

But if you have more than one child of different ages, you are just trying to make it through the day. I hear you as I have three children age five and below. But don’t give up! There are many simple and effective ways to help your children. Really, 15 minutes a day, a couple of times a week, can result in meaningful learning.

Let’s start with the youngest age, like six months to when a child starts using real words to communicate. This is a perfect time to use simple sign language. Research has shown even a few signs like “all-done” (at mealtime), “milk”, “eat”, “potty” (for diaper change), “pain” (point to a body part), and “nap” are effective at reducing frustration and that ear-splitting crying.

Once your child masters those signs, move on to signing specific items like foods and activities. Trust me, it will lower you and your child’s frustration. Besides signing, work with your toddler on signing parts of the body. Such knowledge will be helpful if your child gets a boo-boo. Your child will be able to sign “pain” and point to that part, especially if you ask “does you foot hurt?”

Moving up to preschool age (two to four), you will want your child to know certain concepts. These include colors, shapes, counting (slowly and related to actual objects), and number/letter recognition. Vary your presentation of concepts from using books to tactile resources (such as shape sorters/crayons, etc.) to songs – you will find concepts are better reinforced in ways that connect passageways of the brain.

Perhaps you have a child about to enter kindergarten. What should you work on? Phonemic letter sounds are a great starting place. Methods that allow manipulation by the child include using letter blocks or magnetic letters. To connect a child’s brain best, use a cluster of a few letters to create three-letter object noun words. For example, the letters a, c, h, m, t, and r can result in short object noun words like cat, ham, arc, art, rat, arm, and more.

Don’t forget mathematical skills such as adding and subtracting single-digit numbers. Start to work on place-value by showing that the number 10 has two place values as opposed to a single one, and why that is so.

You do not need to spend a lot of money on new specialty items to encourage learning. Garage sales are a wonderful resource to find magnetic letters, blocks, and books. Items around the house (noodles, beans, marbles, Legos, etc.) can be used for counting/math exercises. Don’t underestimate the value of music, even if you make up something yourself. Children learn by repetition, and making it fun is both rewarding and effective.

Most parents want to help their children learn but wonder how they can be more effective. I hope I have given you a place to start, so your children will be prepared for future education as well as giving you peace of mind that you have done well as a parent.