As DS is approaching "school" age and I am thinking more and more about how he is learning, I'm looking for any advice, from the general to specific, you could offer. You know, the kind of advice you wish you had had when you first started out.
More specifically, I'm thinking about how to know when your child is ready to learn something. DS, at 4.5, is gradually learning to read, but aside from story time with us or at the library, or the occasional educational show on television when he is visiting with my parents, I'm giving him very little instruction. I ask him questions in our conversations like, "what is the first letter of...", or he will even ask me something about reading or spelling and I'll try to get him to figure it out on his own. As for printing, he can print his own name but has a rather short attention span for any sit-down sessions with pencil and paper. And with DD, at 18 months close at hand, I find it challenging to do anything specifically geared to DS's learning. She's just too wiggly and curious with whatever we're doing, and I have to limit our activities to things that we can include her with. I'm not particularly stressed about how much DS is learning at this time, because I think he's learning what he's ready for. But I am wondering how any of you knew when your children were ready for something, such as reading/writing, or formal music instruction, and how you overcame challenges of having other children on hand who were demanding your attention too. Do children learn anyway, with minimal instruction, as long as you provide an environment that is stimulating and set a good example?
Also, how did you work out scheduling issues? Did you find that a more structured day worked better, or a more free-flowing approach? Do you limit how much "extra-curricular" activities you involve your children in (sports, music lessons, clubs, drama, etc. not taught by you)? Do you wish you had done less/more in this area? Do you wish you had started them earlier/later on certain things?
These are just a few of the questions I can think of right now. I'm sure there are more! Really, I'm looking for anything you've got, things you wish you had known when you were starting out. Even if it's something really obscure. Anything goes!
More specifically, I'm thinking about how to know when your child is ready to learn something. DS, at 4.5, is gradually learning to read, but aside from story time with us or at the library, or the occasional educational show on television when he is visiting with my parents, I'm giving him very little instruction. I ask him questions in our conversations like, "what is the first letter of...", or he will even ask me something about reading or spelling and I'll try to get him to figure it out on his own. As for printing, he can print his own name but has a rather short attention span for any sit-down sessions with pencil and paper. And with DD, at 18 months close at hand, I find it challenging to do anything specifically geared to DS's learning. She's just too wiggly and curious with whatever we're doing, and I have to limit our activities to things that we can include her with. I'm not particularly stressed about how much DS is learning at this time, because I think he's learning what he's ready for. But I am wondering how any of you knew when your children were ready for something, such as reading/writing, or formal music instruction, and how you overcame challenges of having other children on hand who were demanding your attention too. Do children learn anyway, with minimal instruction, as long as you provide an environment that is stimulating and set a good example?
Also, how did you work out scheduling issues? Did you find that a more structured day worked better, or a more free-flowing approach? Do you limit how much "extra-curricular" activities you involve your children in (sports, music lessons, clubs, drama, etc. not taught by you)? Do you wish you had done less/more in this area? Do you wish you had started them earlier/later on certain things?
These are just a few of the questions I can think of right now. I'm sure there are more! Really, I'm looking for anything you've got, things you wish you had known when you were starting out. Even if it's something really obscure. Anything goes!