teaching your toddler-preschool kid

[princess lorraine]

^that's what my mom told me sis. I can't help comparing my daughter to other kids of her age. I know it's not right. Sabi ng mom ko she will surely learn how to read and write when she goes to school.  thanks so much sis marose! 

[DV]

^In my child's school hindi rin sila ikino-compare sa ibang bata. They are individually assessed before the beginning of the school year para malaman ng teacher kung [textspeak!]-ano ang skills at levels nila. At the end of the sem, they are assessed again tapos yung 1st and 2nd assessments ang iko-compare at idi-discuss sa parents para makita kung nag-improve ang bata and what else needs improvement. Walang class grading system.

When she wasn't schooling yet, I kept track of the skills she has learned, is still mastering, etc. every month. Then doon nakikita ko yung progress nya. Ang laki ng difference ng months (so mahirap i-compare ang dalawang 3-year-olds kahit months lang ang pagitan). Yung dating ayaw nyang gawin, in a few weeks or months kaya na nya o kabisado na. I also looked at  the child's milestone chart on BabyCenter as basis kasi helpful din na makita how your child is doing against the average (not with 1 child or 2) para ma-address ko kung saan pa sya kailangang mag-improve, expect developing skills, or at least para mabantayan kung may delay in whatever area.

Here's the milestone chart that I was referring to. Look for your child's age na lang.
http://www.babycenter.com/0_milestone-chart-31-to-36-months_1496595.[textspeak!]
Please replace the [textspeak!] na lang with the letters b and c. Hindi ko alam kung paano ayusin.

[tiggerlily]

the usual problem is naiinip tayong parents sa skills ng bata specially sa handwriting. but this skill can be developed faster if we do exercises that will strengthen their motor skills through playing - clay, puzzles, chalk doodles sa wall or sidewalk, building blocks, bricks. i had to rest for a bit sa handwriting ng anak ko kasi parang nasasawa sya (lalo na sa boy) so i did all of the above plus he discovered domino race (search nyo lang sa youtube). so we have 2 sets of dominoes that we use for the domino race. ayun, kung ano anong tricks ang ginagawa nya for the domino race. after 3 months, his hands are really steady and he is starting to have an interest on writing his name. finally!

[iceebaby]

My daughter can read sight words but I want to teach her how to read talaga. How? Tinuturuan ko sya ngayon yung basic syllables.. Mahilig sya sa books talaga and she wants na to be able to read on her own.. Parang nagiguilty tuloy ako na diko sya natuturuan pa.

Sis... try Stairway to Reading (http://www.societyforqualityeducation.org/index.php/stairwaytoreading). It's free with dowloadable PDF (with printable materials) which you follow for everyday lessons! Just do a reading assessment then follow a 20 minute a day reading session. She'll learn in no time.

If you want medyo fun-based - readingeggs.com.

[iceebaby]

Naku sis Princess Lorraine, mahahanap mo din ang hilig ng anak mo. Magugulat ka nalang na marunong pala siya in something na ikakagulat mo na alam pala niya.

By age 10, kids will level in equally. They will all read, write well, and know the basics.  The only question is - did we train them to love learning and be resourceful to find knowledge? Or spoon-fed and filled them with stress and worry everytime hindi enough ang grades nila.

[ladylucille]

glad i came across this subject.  i was thinking of teaching na my 1yo baby.  she just turned 1yo two weeks ago.

isn't that too early? 

[iampennylane]

^no sis. My daughter learned the abc's when she was 8months by the time na mag 1 yr old ang alam nya na yung mga shapes na hexagon, pentagon, yung may mga zoid Now that she's 4, sobrang galing na magbasa. Pero don't pressure you're kid

[Irtwisted]

glad i came across this subject.  i was thinking of teaching na my 1yo baby.  she just turned 1yo two weeks ago.

isn't that too early?

The question sis is why do you want to teach your kid as early as 1 yo. Unless she shows interest, don't introduce early intellectualization to a kid, it will just lead to frustration. Yes, it's very nice to see toddlers reading but is there real comprehension and love of learning? One mantra that I personally subscribe to is that the child's activity should be based on the child's needs. It shouldn't be about me (and my pride).

[iceebaby]

There are age appropriate activities. I wouldn't mind introducing my 8 month old to shapes, colors, textures. But, teaching reading might be too much for that age.  Just gauge the readiness if she is responding to it. But, you can always try but not pressure and definitely never compare another kid to your child.

Each child is unique and beautiful just the way they are.

Just keep reading and talking to your child (not in a babyish talk). Let him touch lots of textures (clay, jello, sand, fur/feather on a sensory bin). Aside from the usual things we know, ABC or 123... There are more ways to teach for that age.

[marose17]

@ladylucille, Rather than "teaching" (I really do not know the extent of teaching you are planning to do; very broad term) your baby, I suggest that you expose her to activities that will lead to discovery about her world.  Go to the park so she can be introduced to colors.  Take her to the zoo so she can get to see animals.  Teach her to hold a spoon properly to refine her motor skills.  I agree with Irtwisted and iceebaby.  I do not believe that it is appropriate to introduce or "teach" intellectual activities at this age.  What is the point of a child being able to read early?  Wala talaga akong nakikitang advantage here except yabang points for the parents.  Of course, reading daily to your child is a must.  Remember too that young children need lots of play time and I am talking about free play.  Let your child enjoy and explore and discover the world.  This is the age of discovery.

The development of social skills is also important.  Expose your baby to other children through play dates or playing in the playground or park.

Lastly, no tv muna if you can help it.

[DV]

In fairness to ladylucille, wala naman syang sinabing tuturuan na nyang magbasa ang kanyang 1-year-old. In my opinion, it is never too early to teach a child. For a 1yo, my suggested activities would be about the discovery and development of her 5 senses (you can also first teach her the body parts).

For example,
Week 1, sight: You can teach about light and dark--take her outdoors, look at the sky/clouds, point to the passing airplanes and birds, then at night time, look at the stars/moon, blinking airplane lights. Have a shadow show. Make funny faces in front of the mirror.

Week 2, smell: You can expose her to different smells--take her to the garden/park and smell flowers and cut grass, to the kitchen to smell cooking food (and/or coffee, vinegar, fruits).

Week 3, touch: Teach her about hot and cold, wet and dry--get a cup of warm water and dip your fingers, get her to play with ice cubes. Introduce her to different textures--let her play with slippery soap, sticky glue, dip her hands/fingers in a container of uncooked rice/grain/pasta, tickle her with cotton balls, touch an emery board/sandpaper, finger paint, pet some animals (if not allergic).

Week 4, hearing: Play music/musical instruments (teach loud and soft), sing songs, listen to the sounds of animals in your neighborhood, read books to her.

Week 5, taste: Feed her different kinds of food and describe the taste of each.


^For us naman, ang advantages of early reading are better communication within our family (my daughter and her Dad sometimes exchange text messages, and we write each other letters/notes), and independence for her (she can read her books anytime she wants even while I'm doing chores; she can read food labels, instructions at home and in school), and she becomes more aware of her surroundings (imagine the many things you can learn and discover--for an adult, think what it's like if you're in Japan and you can read and understand Japanese characters, di ba it's like a whole new world opened up?).

In my opinion, it's important for a parent to teach her/his child at an early age, and present a lot of learning opportunities, so the mom/dad can see for themselves where their child's interests lie (whether in reading, painting, dancing, singing, etc), and encourage/build on (not put pressure) those interests.

[marose17]

My point is that when we set ourselves up to "teach" our toddlers, our goal should be the total development and not just certain aspects of intellectual development that appeal to us as parents (the sources of pride/yabang points), such as having a child who can read/do mathematical operations, etc. at an early age.  That is my point and I am not saying that ladylucille wants to teach her child specifically to read at an early age.

As a parent, my goal is to instill the love for learning in my children. 

[iampennylane]

^i agree with you sis Marose. Sa mga kids ko naman, andun yung urge nila matuto at such an early age. When she learned the abc's, dahil yun sa posters na nandun sa room niya. Every morning when she wakes up, dun sya kagad pumupunta so I introduced it to her. Nung nakita ko na she has this thing for reading I just supported her, like I taught her how to read yung mga labels sa delata, sa cereal box etc. Ok lang matuto ng maaga, basta don't push the child para lang masabi na sobrang galing ng anak mo, or naiiinggit ka sa ibang parents na nagyayabang ng mga anak nila.

[soumy01]

mga sis pahingi ng advise
 Yung anak ko kasi ,turning 5 siya this july30 kinder siya ngayun. nung nursery letter sounds ang tinuro sa kanila saka konting blending nung last part na ng klase.  natuto siyang magbasa ng mga simple words ,mga words na short vowel lang ang gamit. nitong summer tinuruan ko siya magbasa na nung words na with mga long vowels na etc. kasi buong araw lang siya nag gagames sa mga gadget niya kaya naisip ko dapat kahit saglit lang sa isang araw meron kaming reading activity, hindi siya masipag mag aral kaya dapat saglit lang kasi naiinis na pag lagpas na yang ng 1 hour.Natuto na siya magbasa  , yung comprehension kung mga 4 sentences short story, kaya pa niya yan iabsorb. pero pag mahaba na hindi na. yung comprehension pa yung kaylangan mag improve sa kanya.
 Ngayun yung books (reading) niya sa kinder simple words pa rin ang mga content (words,phrases,short story). Ganun din sa math , ang alam na niya kasi hanggang sa addition (w/regrouping), subtraction, fraction. pero yung iba subject hindi naman niya alam yung sa science,geography, language (sentence structure).
 ang problema ko baka mabored siya last year sinabihan niya si teacher niya ng "tr paulit ulit ka". ayoko naman ilagay sa prep kasi hindi pa siya magaling mag express ng sarili niya, ( medyo late naging clear yung mga words niya, operated kasi yung lip niya saka palate niya).nung pumasok nga siya nung nursery hindi pa niya mapronounce maigi yung name niya.
ano kayang pwede kong gawin para hindi mag-regress yung alam niya? ano kaya mga ok na books na dapat kong bilhin? any suggestions mga sis sa pwede kong gawin. salamat

[DV]

^For reading, take your child to a bookstore and let her/him choose the books that he likes. Or you can also have him choose from the I Can Read series. I particularly like this for my child because there are books appropriate for her reading skill, and you can see the progression. My daughter also enjoys her Leapfrog Tag Reader because she can choose to read the books as is or play the games. We buy the book sets (for short vowels, long vowels, consonants, and advanced vowels) because there's progression also (and come out cheaper than the individual books).


For math, I teach the applied way. When we bake, I let her read off the recipe from the cookbook, we measure the ingredients together, and I let her put everything into the bowl and mix. From this activity she learns addition and fractions (when your child is ready for bigger numbers, you can make use of an abacus, blocks, pasta, nuts, etc). Actually, ang daming activities sa bahay that you can turn into a game where your child can learn, like food preparation, sorting laundry, grouping toys, etc. You just have to make it fun and challenging because children at this age are more intrinsically motivated (driven by personal interest, vs extrinsic--driven by rewards or pressure), and I believe mas nare-retain yung concepts kapag alam nila yung application (for writing, I let my child make greeting cards instead of drilling her with workbooks).


For science pala, we also engage in outdoor activites. We do gardening (plant seeds, water the plants, watch the caterpillars and butterflies (lesson on metamorphosis)), take her stargazing (right now my daughter is very interested in astronomy so we bought her books about outer space, take her to science museums), play in the rain). The Tag Reader also has a book on outer space pala, which she thoroughly enjoys. Sa geography, I let her look at maps (and GPS) and point out the places we've visited. Saving up for a globe (kasi 'yan ang paborito nyang tingnan sa Toys R Us).


In short, my suggestion para hindi mag-regress ang alam ng anak mo ay to make the activities more hands-on (except for reading na kailangan mo talaga ng books).

[babymom20]

How about writing? How do you encourage your 3yo to write? Every writing time, lahat na masakit sa 3.8yo daughter ko.Tired na daw body nya, sakit head at belly na. Ayay hands na daw kahit wala pang naisusulat. Thanks.

[soumy01]

thanks sis DV.

gawin namin yan mga nasabi mo, lalo na yung stargazing. pagnagbabake ako sumasali naman siya pero para manggulo lang mas gawin ko nga educational nga .
MEron kaya sa National bookstore nung i can read.

ok lang ba na hindi na align sa tinuturo sa school yung ituturo sa kanya (math and reading lang).

sis babymom ganyan din yung anak ko hindi mahilig magcolor or magsulat, dati bili ako ng bili dami nga niyang coloring book eh iniisip ko kasi na baka magka interest magcolor pag nagustuhan niya yung mga characters pero wala eh. pero sabi naman ni teacher maganda ang grip ni miguel ,maayos din siyang sumulat, pati color niya maayos, kahit hindi siya madalas magpractice . ang binili ko lang sa kanya mga building blocks, lego,parang lego, basta yung naa- assemble nabasa rin dito yung dati eh.

[DV]

^^babymom20, how do you go about with the writing exercises? Do you follow lines na ba? Or trace letters? Some parents do it this way, pero in our case I find this rather frustrating. Sinubukan ko nang pagsulatin ang anak ko sa blue-red-blue paper pero hindi sya masyadong nag-enjoy. For me, kapag ayaw gawin ng bata, ibig sabihin hindi pa sya ready, or the teaching method is not effective (so it's up to me kung saan ako mag-a-adjust). So pinapagawa ko na lang sya ng greeting cards which she enjoys decorating with stickers and paints. Then she writes something (I love you, or Thank you) for the person she's going to give the card to. Using colorful pens & crayons when writing helps too. Or in your case, maybe you have to do strengthening activities for the hand muscles muna (using scissors, lacing beads, etc--daming tips in the previous pages for developing fine motor skills). I remember one of the earliest writing activities we did was--I drew block letters in construction paper, my daughter cut them out and pasted them on another sheet tapos she drew lines inside, following the shape of the letter, then we looked for stickers of objects starting with that particular letter and decorated the paper. We did that one letter a week, starting from A to Z.

^soumy01, meron sa National ng I Can Read books pero mas marami sa Powerbooks and Fully Booked.

Sa akin OK lang na hindi aligned sa school curriculum ang reading, especially if your child shows proficiency in it. If everyone in class is still learning CVCs, you can proceed to long vowels, and so on. Sa Math, for me, mas maganda na supplemented yung kung ano ang lesson sa school. For example, if the lesson is about addition, if you think you're child is advanced in that area, you can give him more challenging activities revolving around the same concept, but with bigger numbers.

[soumy01]

salamat sis DV. nabawasan gulo sa utak ko.   

[cldy_1981]

Hello Mommies,

I've been backreading on this topic because its really close to my heart especially since my baby boy is now turning into an active and curious toddler.

I just want to ask the mommies how I can cultivate his curiousity while still instilling discipline? For example, my 1 yr & 3 month old boy is now walking independently and has been poking around the house (i.e electric sockets, plugs, cables, wires, internet modem, DVD players - in short things that are not his toys but real life objects) as much as I want to allow him to explore and learn, I always end up finding myself saying NO - which I said I will try my best not to do. But its so hard to balance him being curious about the wind coming from the fan vs him wanting to touch the fan.

I try to bring him out with us even when we do errands because I figured he'll get to observe things and interactions of people. He often goes out with his grandparents to the mall or just on a joy ride, we've also enrolled him in Kindermusik and done Gymplay at Gymboree. We've taken him swimming, we're taking him to to beach - but I feel as if I'm not doing enough? I'm a working mom and it takes us 2 hours to get home from our office so by the time we're home, my husband and I are dead tired and we can no longer match our toddler's energy. How do you moms (especially working moms) do it?