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A:
Children love to learn! And while children are home for the holidays
you have time to encourage their natural curiosity. Each of your
children has a passion. Find out what it is, stimulate it and build
on it.
Does your daughter like listening to
music on car trips, baking cookies with you, watching birds, or does
she have a fascination for trains? How about encouraging her
interest with a musical instrument, her very own set of measuring
cups and spoons, binoculars, a family trip to a train museum? Best
of all -- giving her a great book on what she's most curious about
will encourage and motivate her to read, especially if she's a
reluctant reader. Ask your librarian to help make some appropriate
choices.
Does your son like trucks,
dinosaurs, baseball? Or is he interested in history? Perfect timing!
Chances are you'll have a couple of historians visiting you over the
holidays. Have him ask Uncle Fred about Vietnam or ask Grampa about
the first time he voted. Or invite an older neighbor over. Visit a
natural history museum -- you'll have the place to yourselves on
Christmas Eve! Again, best of all -- give him a great book on what
he's most excited about.
Preschoolers love to find out about
absolutely everything! They can be scientists or explorers. They
want to know how things grow and how things work. When you're
shopping for a toy, consider a science tool. They can learn a lot
from ant farms or bug kits, books and magnifiers. Keep in mind, too,
that the best toys for children are often the simplest ones. Why?
Because children have to use their thinking skills to decide how
they will play with them. We have all seen young children turn
something as simple as a cardboard box into hours of creative fun.
They can make up stories, pretend and build -- and come up with new
ways to play with it the next time.
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Once gifts have been given and
received, it's important to teach your children to say "thank you."
Gather everyone together. Have lots of pens and pencils. Make sure
you have stamps, a dictionary, and let your kids put on some music.
Two or three heartfelt sentences are enough. Mention the gift by
name and thank the giver for being so thoughtful. Is the gift a
"clunker?" Here's where you teach your kids that it really is
the thought that counts. "Thank you so much for thinking of me"
covers nearly any gift.
Write your own thank-you notes.
Remember, you are your children's most influential teacher.
* * *
For more information about helping
children learn or to submit your own question to The Learning
Advisor, go to
http://advisor.parent-institute.com. All questions will receive
a prompt answer by e-mail.
© Copyright 2004, The Parent
Institute.
Note: This feature follows the
"advisor" spelling used by the source, although guidelines for news
writing specify the spelling "adviser."
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