Advice for Doing School with Toddlers

I'm __________ and i have a 16 mth old boy. I've been trying to find "curriculum" suitable for toddlers his age but cant seem to get them. I'm working part-time, so for those time that i'm home, i was wondering if i should be doing more "fruitful" stuff other than learning through play.. :)

Also, is there such a thing as a school for the homeschoolers? something like maybe a mum will teach math and another english.. so the kids will get together to learn (besides learning at home). If yes, any available for my son's age? If not, is there a playgroup that you would recommend for my son to attend say once a week?

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Thank you for your mail! I appreciate your taking time to pen your qns and I'm happy to reply.

For a 16 mth old, you would want to look at the development of the child. You do not want to do formal school with a child that young but you would want to do activities with them that will help them train their attention spans and discipline to sit still and pay attention. These skills will enable them to do well in a learning environment like school later on.

Reading to him is one such very excellent activity. Borrow or buy lots of picture books. If you see that he is able to sit with you and pay attention for extended periods (1/2 hour), repeat to you what you have taught him, start to recognize shapes of letters, identify sounds, he'd be more ready for formal learning.

Colouring helps to develop fine motor skills.

You can try getting flashcards. He could be absorbing lots (even if he doesn't tell you what he knows!) And the good thing about flashcards is that it is learning in short spurts.

You know what? Sitting still and finishing a meal is also excellent to train little ones in attention spans and sitting down.

But whatever you do, please do not push (as in expect) your precious child to do beyond what he is able to do. Just as we do not expect an infant to start walking without the natural process of growth and development, I believe it is the same as with learning. They need to be cognitively ready.

I know there are genius toddlers who can talk and read that young. I think it's the "nature" part that was ready and then the "nurture" part was injected. But try getting a typical toddler to perform what is expected of an older child, what we'll end up with is frustration and worse off, over time, the child's frustration develops into a negative attitude towards school and learning.   

As for the second part of your email, I think what you are referring to is a homeschool community. But usually at the ages of children such as your child, the mother will handle all the subjects. What I'm thinking is for older homeschoolers, like teenagers, perhaps, who need extra specialized coaching in certain subjects that his or her parent may not be able to teach, then they would go to another parent in their community for help, or tuition or other external sources.

But, hey, you can check with the Singapore Homeschool Group.

blessings,

Suwei

Comments

[moby wrap]

Infancy is the correct age to mold your child's personality.

[sam]

After going thru with my no.4 and having him read by 10months old in both english & chinese, I do believe that ALL normal children are able to! Bc we did nothing special but dvd flashcards! 2mins everyday. That's all. Too bad these were not available during our older 3 kids' time.