Toddlers are interesting little people. You may think of yours as a baby until they start talking. Then, you soon realize that they’re always asking you questions. If you have been wondering what usually goes on in toddlers’ brains, then this post is for you. As an educator (this applies to both parents and teachers), it’s important to understand a child’s brain activity. How do you effectively teach toddlers?
You first need to understand your child’s behavior. This will help you set the right expectations.
Child behaviour in the preschool years
Preschoolers are fascinated by the world around them, so you can expect lots of ‘who’, ‘what’ and ‘why’ questions. You might need to allow more time when you’re doing things with your preschooler – for example, so she can stop and look at a bug on the footpath.
As they try to understand the world, preschoolers can sometimes get distracted. It might seem like your preschooler isn’t listening to you – but he might still be trying to figure out something you said five minutes ago.
Independence is important to preschoolers, who are very keen to do things for themselves. But your child needs your support to build confidence and self-esteem. Lots of positive attention, praise and opportunities to practise new skills will help.
And preschoolers are getting better at self-regulation, which is great for getting along with others at preschool or playgroup. But your child still needs your help with expressing strong feelings appropriately and managing behaviour, especially in challenging situations. Read more at Raising Children Network…
Your toddler’s constant inquiring about the reason for everything is perfectly normal. Even so, there are some behavioral concerns to watch out for. These include anxiety, bullying, fighting, or lying. It’s best to address these as soon as you notice them.
So, in what ways should your toddler experience growth? Is it possible that your child will thrive in one area while another is neglected? What can you do to ensure your child experiences balanced growth and development? Let’s take a closer look at these questions.
There are five domains of early childhood development. For children to grow into strong, healthy, and giving adults, their education in the early years should meet specific developmental milestones in each of the five domains.
Some without another may result in an incomplete or unbalanced education. And yes, while some of these skills seem to develop naturally through child’s play, they still are all skill areas that should be included during lesson planning.
Cognitive Developmental Skills in Preschoolers
Cognitive development pertains to skills regarding learning and thinking. It is not remembering facts and trivia. Cognitive skills include:
- asking questions
- developing an increased attention span
- problem solving
- visual discrimination, matching, comparing, sorting, and organizing Read more at Stay At Home Educator…
Your toddler needs to gain physical development skills like muscle control. They also need socio-emotional skills like regulation of emotions and language development among others.
With all that knowledge, it would be impossible to teach these skills without the knowledge of how children learn. This is adequately answered in the following post:
Every child has different learning preferences. Among the different ways of learning, some prefer to learn by hearing, some by seeing, others by doing, some by reading and others by asking questions. One thing all students have in common is that they all learn best when they can incorporate items and topics that interest them into their studies, for example, building blocks, music, fashion, airplanes, etc.
While there are different learning styles, your student will likely favor several styles and not just one. However, you may be able to see patterns in their learning preferences. For example, a student who is a visual learner may also be a very social and verbal learner who prefers to learn especially difficult topics using their primary skills. Read more at Time 4 Learning…
Your toddler needs a multi-faceted approach to learning. A deeper knowledge of their specific learning style can be an added advantage. Plus, working with educators that appreciate and incorporate all this information in their teaching methodology is the perfect recipe for successfully educating your child.
At Spanish for fun!, we give your child a learning experience they will remember for the rest of their life. We have a holistic curriculum that offers your child the extra benefit of becoming bilingual. Our 5-star rating across all our campuses is proof of our commitment to excellence. Call us today at 919-881-1160 to learn more about us or schedule a campus tour. We look forward to showing you why your child will thrive with us.