Children aged 3 to 9 years generally grow and develop a lot. At the age of 3 years, children are transitioning from infancy to childhood. They have a strong imagination, may also have strong fears, and enjoy playing physically. They will feel more independent and confident to try new things as they enter kindergarten age and then school age. Children's cognitive and linguistic abilities change drastically; they progress from asking "why" over and over again and begin to be able to tell stories and enjoy jokes and riddles. Regardless of your role in a child's life (whether teacher, parent, or caregiver), here are some ways you can make your child's learning experience productive and enjoyable for your child as well as for you.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Teaching by Play and Example
Step 1. Read a book to the child
Reading books to children is the most important activity that greatly influences children's linguistic development. By reading books, you will build your ability to associate words and sounds. This ability is an important indicator of future reading ability. In addition, you also build motivation, curiosity, memory, and of course the child's vocabulary. A person who has had a pleasant experience with books at a very young age is likely to find reading books as enjoyable for the rest of his life.
- Use picture books that are intended for children aged 3 to 6 years. Allow the child to stop asking questions, or discuss the book with him while reading.
- Place age or interest-appropriate books around the house or classroom to build your child's interest in reading on their own. Ask him what kind of books he likes and have them available.
- Continue reading aloud to older children. There is no age limit for reading books to children. The best time to read books to children is right before bed or before school.
Step 2. Participate in role playing with the child
Role playing is very important for the imagination and social and linguistic development of children. He will be very happy if you want to enter into his fantasy world.
- Occasionally follow the child's behavior. For example, if he picks up a rock and starts moving it around like a car, take another stone and follow the movement. Most likely he will be happy.
- At home or in class, provide a "property box" containing empty boxes, unused clothing or hats, bags, phones, magazines, cookware and dishes (which cannot be broken), dolls, rags or blankets or sheets. (to build a fortress), and other random items like postcards, used tickets, coins, and more.
Step 3. Do the art
Arts such as drawing, coloring, and making crafts, are not only activities that can please children on a rainy day. Art can also help develop a child's motor skills, introduce children to numbers and colors, and help them see scientific processes such as how glue works. Of course, use age-appropriate materials and tools, such as plastic scissors.
- For very young children, invite him to make finger puppets or jewelry out of paper.
- Invite older children to make magazine collages, play with clay, or make masks.
- Set up an "art center" in your home or classroom where you can store paper, markers, crayons, colored pencils, scissors, glue, and other art materials such as foam, brushes, tissue paper, and more.
Step 4. Sing a song and play music
Music has a close relationship with the development of mathematical abilities. Children's mathematical ability will be helped by listening and calculating rhythms, and their linguistic ability will be helped by listening to the lyrics. Physical abilities will also be helped because children like to run, dance, and jump while listening to music.
- Sing children's songs. Children tend to like the funny sounds and repetitions of the songs, and children try to sing along with you.
- Buy popular children's songs on CD or online. Play the song at home or when the children are changing classes.
- Older children (7-9 years of age) may develop an interest in certain instruments, or be interested in singing or dancing. Try to develop this interest by providing them with a beginner's instrument they like or taking them to music (or vocal or dance) lessons.
Step 5. Work out together
Exercising and playing with children is important for their physical development and motor skills. With exercise, you can also teach honesty, teamwork, and respect for rules, yourself and others.
- Choose a sport that you will often do with your child, then prepare the things needed to play. For example, if you want to play basketball, prepare a basketball and find a court that you can use. Or, invite your child to play ball with the children around the house.
- If you are a teacher/teacher, support your child's interest in sports by providing them with necessary equipment at recess, asking them about their progress in a sport, and by watching them at sporting events.
Step 6. Invite the child to finish the business
Of course, adjust this to the schedule and age of the child. For example, don't take her to the supermarket when she's supposed to be napping (unless she has to). By participating in completing various things that need to be done, children will develop the ability to complete their own affairs in the future. Teach him what you need to do to get things done in a way that he can easily understand. It's also best not to linger so that the child is not bored, tired, or frustrated.
- Set behavioral standards. Let your child know that while you do enjoy shopping with him, you don't want him to take things off the shelves without permission or complain about not getting all the sweets on the shelves.
- Talk about the prices of goods and the uses of the various goods and services you buy. Explain how a post office or auto repair shop works. Tell your child about the origins of the food he enjoys and how it was delivered to the supermarket.
- Enjoy your time with children. When done with children, your business will take longer to complete. Use this time to teach them about various things.
Step 7. Ask the child for help
By nature, young children love to help. He feels important and valuable. Cultivate these feelings into adulthood, asking them to help you with various tasks. Gradually, as your child learns to watch and follow your movements, he will learn to do certain tasks alone and develop a sense of responsibility.
- For a kindergartner, ask him to help organize toys into the right places. Give credit for the help.
- For older children (7-9 years), ask for help with certain tasks. If he does the task to completion and without complaining, give him a little extra pocket money. Suggest that he saves the money to buy something he wants to buy.
- For students in the class, develop a picket rotation system that they need to do. Give tasks, such as cleaning the blackboard, cleaning the teacher's desk, distributing the results of assignments, collecting homework, emptying the trash, and so on. You can also provide rewards for completing various tasks, as an added incentive.
Method 2 of 3: Live Teaching
Step 1. Break the new information into small parts
When teaching something to children, remember that what they know is on a different level from what adults know. You need to simplify various concepts and start with what they already know. This process of simplification and building from prior knowledge is known by teachers as chunking and scaffolding.
Find out what the child already knows about a new concept and build on his knowledge from that point. For example, if you want to introduce new words, use words the child already knows to define the new words. If you explain in certain words and you're not sure the child knows the words, ask, "You know this word?" If not, use another word to clarify
Step 2. Repeat frequently
When teaching a child, you may need to say the exact same thing, but in a different way. Especially if you are dealing with several children at once. Children learn in a variety of paces and styles. You need to be prepared to say something or practice something over and over again.
Step 3. Use visual aids
Visual aids, such as crafts, pictures, and graphics, can give children new ways to process information. Crafts you can use in class to help young children break down information into small pieces. This craft can also be used to group information in a variety of ways, such as creating sequences, cause-and-effect for a story, or creating categories for newly learned science terms.
Method 3 of 3: Talking to Children
Step 1. Listen and answer their questions
Children will naturally ask a lot of questions when learning something new. Listen to the question and try to come up with the best answer you can, one that answers the question directly and unequivocally. Sometimes you need to ask if you really understand the question being asked. The trick is to repeat the question again in a different sentence, then ask, "Is that what you asked?" After answering, ask, "Was my answer helpful?"
- If a child asks at a time that is not right for you, explain that now is not the right time and why. You can also use this when he invites you to talk at the wrong time. Children don't always understand that cooking an elaborate dinner isn't the time to chat about what they're going through.
- Say something like this: "Well, I'd love to hear your story (or talk to you about it), but this isn't the right time. Can we talk over dinner (or some other time)?"
Step 2. Speak well
When talking to children and other adults around children, use the variety of language you want the child to use. Children learn by imitation. If you want your child to be polite, you need to be polite. Pay attention to your tone of voice.
- Remember, you need to say "please," "thank you," "excuse me," and "sorry" when interacting with your child or with other adults in front of your child.
- Think about how your child's tone of voice is perceived. Children usually pay more attention to the tone than what you actually say. Have you ever heard a child complain, "Why am I being scolded?" even though you are not scolding / yelling? This is because your tone of voice is angry, frustrated, or unhappy; most likely without you knowing it.
Step 3. Take the child's feelings seriously
Children usually have very strong feelings, and sometimes about things that seem unimportant to adults. You need to know how a child feels about a particular event or situation. Help him understand his feelings in an easy way. Say something like: "I understand this is sad for you. Let's talk about why you are sad." You can then try to calm them down by explaining different ways to deal with their sadness or drawing on another point of view they may not have thought of.
Step 4. Be patient
Patience is a very important trait that you must have when dealing with children. This can be challenging at times, but remember, kids are just that way. Usually they don't try to annoy or mock you on purpose. Except when they're intentionally harassing or mocking you, and at that point, you can just keep quiet. You also need to take care of yourself if you have a lot of contact with children. Get enough sleep, drink enough water, exercise, eat a healthy diet, and give yourself time to rest, away from them.
