This is the latest in a bunch of enquirieswe have received about what to do with toddlers under 3.

Question:
My daughter is 14 months but I would like to start her on a homeschooling program when she turns 2 which will be in August 2007.  I know it is a long way away but I am doing research on the different available programs and yours has been highlighted to me.  Could you perhaps let me know how this can be adjusted for her age as your brochure states that your program is only from 3 yrs but can be adjusted for older or younger children.  Also let me know the costs involved as well as any other information that you think is important for me to know at this stage.

Answer:

My first word to you is: RELAX. At 14 months your child should still be free to play and do whatever she wants, without the stress of formal learning activities. Consider these quotes by educational experts:

“A mother’s first duty to her children is to secure for them a quiet and growing time, a full six years of passive receptive life, the waking part of it for the most part spent out in the fresh air.” (Charlotte Mason)

 “The idea that parents should hurry reading, spelling, writing, or math ahead of children’s normal development is not supported by a single replicable research study in the world or by any clinical experience in history. All history, research and common sense points in the opposite direction! We repeat: Any who push the three R’s early deny the readiness the Creator built in – reasonably mature vision, hearing, taste, touch, smell, reason, brain growth, coordination – as clearly documented in our books Better Late Than Early and School Can Wait.”
(Raymond and Dorothy Moore, The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook)

I suggest you read the article called Living Alongside on the Articles page on our Footprints site.

I know the pressure that we moms all feel to give our children a head start and to be able to prove that we are able to teach them and that they are learning, but having 4 kiddies of my own, I have now learnt that they all learn, each in their own time, and there is no need to put pressure on them. But I also used to suffer from what I now affectionately call 'first child syndrome' until I read about the damage that starting too soon can do.  I have learnt that as long as you create a warm, loving environment, they learn everything they need to naturally, in their own time, without much effort from the parents!  

At 2 years I really don't believe that a child needs formal learning. Perhaps a regular routine yes, like meals and a nap at regular times, story time etc...but not a structured programme. I would rather encourage you just to spend as much time with your child as possible to meet her emotional needs, which are more important for healthy development than 'academic' type of activities. I don't believe in trying to produce super babies - I think it is unnatural to stimulate children before they are emotionally and developmentally ready for formal learning activities.

As you go about your day, just talk to your child, about whatever is relevant or sing to her too. Classical music is also good for brain development in young kiddies, but I also expose my kids to other good quality music that I enjoy - various genres from pop to worship music to gentle opera! Whatever you enjoy!

Make sure she gets lots of outdoor activity, walking, running, playing ball, visiting play parks etc. to develop gross motor skills...and of course read her lots of stories. I have reviewed a whole lot of worthwhile ones in my preschool manual, ABC Fun & 1-2-3, but you could just begin at the library for now! She'll appreciate ABC Fun more when she is older (aged 3-6).

I know moms of 2 year olds that spend hours teaching their children rhymes, colours, shapes, counting etc ...but it is more to boost their own egos than for the benefit of their child. Kids of that age don't need to know that stuff yet in my opinion. Rather let them play and learn by exploring their world in their own time - they only get to be kids once...and once they start formal learning at school age, they can never get the freedom of those early years back again!

Children are naturally curious about the world around them. We need to trust in their ability to learn everything they need to in their own time…and not fall into the trap of comparing. Each child develops at his own rate and each has his own strengths.

Since you asked the cost, ABC Fun is R250 including postage in South Africa, but as I said, you can wait a bit before you start something like that. Rather play with balls and toys and other fun stuff!! 

Regards Shirley

P.S. ABC Fun & 1-2-3 can also be purchased online in ebook format for only $22, that's less than a dollar per week! Click here to learn more about it!

If don’t live in or near South Africa, the ebook format will be more economical – you could get it printed at your local print shop too if you like.

Freebies on the Web

In all three of our Footprints programs we have suggested bible memory verses, some are used as copy work others just for memorization. A site that we have enjoyed is NotebookingPages.com.  Debbie has literally hundreds of free pages for you to use where your children can write out their narrations and Bible memory verses.