Queen Essays

C hapter3

C hildren's B

rains at W ork:

F rom

N ursery to Schoolroom

, A ges T

w o to

Seven

O ne m

orning w hile I w

as observing a prekindergarten class in a top-ranked school, a little boy's parents w

ere also taking a look, trying to decide w

hether they should enroll him the follow

ing year. W

hile he delved happily into the sand-and-w ater table, they

circulated around the room . I sensed som

e skepticism about w

hat they saw

, and I guessed the reason. T his program

for three- and

four-year-olds w as designed to prepare children for a high-

pow ered academ

ic setting-but it looked like too m uch fun!

In one corner children intently m easured sand and w

ater as they engineered a dam

. N earby, in the block area, tw

o boys and three girls w

orked on a "W hite H

ouse" w ith a sliding ram

p to capture "bad guys." A

teacher in the art corner helped children classify w

obbly clay anim als for an im

aginary zoo, and several youngsters in the dram

atic play area discussed their shopping list for a pretend T

hanksgiving dinner. N o w

orkbooks w ere present in the literacy

area, but an aide read a story aloud and engaged a rapt group of children w

ith questions, predictions, and evaluations. O ne sm

all boy spent the entire free play tim

e fondling and talking to the class's pet rabbit.

I could see the visiting m other peering hopefully into the five-

year-old room next door. W

hen she again found no desks or w

orkbooks, she gave up. N udging her husband, she w

hispered, "This school isn't w

orth the m oney. They don't do any w

ork here!" As adults, w

e have a pretty clear idea of w hat constitutes "w

ork" and "play." M

ost of us believe that in order to learn som ething, w

e m

ust w ork hard at it, and too m

any have forgotten that the process of m

eaningful learning can be fun, exciting, and even playful. Y et

the hum an brain changes during developm

ent, and the "w ork," as

w ell as the fun, that is appropriate for teenagers and adults is not

right for young children. Those w ho believe that "valuable tim

e" is being w asted or that their children w

ill "get behind" if they are allow

ed to

learn in

a developm

entally oriented,

creative curriculum

-w hich often looks like "play" even w

hen carefully planned-are sadly m

istaken. A s w

e shall see later, highly creative and successful adults are often those w

ho once learned to play w ith

objects and now play w

ith ideas and innovations. In this chapter w

e w ill look at the exciting developm

ents that occur during the preschool and early prim

ary years. Parents and teachers w

ho understand the unique and dynam ic nature of this

age period are best qualified to guide the process.

SE 'IT

IN G

T H

E ST

A G

E F

O R

L E

A R N

IN G

B

rain-B uilding E

nvironm ents for T

oddlers

Studies show that the right kind of "enriched" environm

ents prom

ote brain grow th and lay good foundations for a lifetim

e of learning. B

ut w hat does "enriched" m

ean at different ages? First of all, good nutrition continues to get top priority. V

arious parts of the brain seem

to resppnd to different nutrients; as just one exam

ple, recent studies indicate that adequate

iron is

im portant

both for

m yelination

and for

a specific

region (hippocam

pus) that contributes to m em

ory. M any such specific

relationships w ill continue to be found, so it is w

orth the tim e and

effort it takes to help your child learn to m ake good nutritional

choices. "Enriched" w

ould include stim ulating playtl1ings that becom

e increasingly im

portant for cognitive developm ent after age one.

Interesting and challenging play m aterials in children's hom

es after the first year predict later IQ

and school achievem ent in

reading and m ath. A

s in infancy, a child's firsthand involvem ent

w ith objects and experiences is a catalyst for brain grow

th. In a m

arket of num bing electronic glitz, the fact rem

ains that sim

ple, open-ended toys are still best. A toy should encourage the

child to m anipulate, interact, or figure som

ething out. W hen there

is only one "right w ay" to play, or if toys try to "teach" routine

academ ic

skills, opportunities for

experim entation

and new

discovery are lim

ited. C om

m on household objects such as tools,

cooking utensils, and gadgets provide great possibilities for

creative problem

-solving and im

aginative play.

N esting

and

58 of 330

stacking toys or objects, containers for dum ping and pouring, art

m aterials, and stringing or sorting different sizes of beads and

buttons, for exam ple, all require active handling by the child and

teach about relationships: top, m iddle, bottom

; sm all, big, bigger,

biggest. W ooden unit blocks in graduated sizes and shapes are all-

tim e w

inners. Toys that encourage m

anipulative play help higher levels of the brain develop fine m

otor control and sequencing, w hich are

related to later attention and self-control skills, handw riting, and

proficiency in the arts. L arge m

uscle activities integrate hands, eyes, and m

uscles (as in throw ing and catching a ball, or clim

bing a jungle gym

) and prom ote coordination of both sides of the body

-im portant for building intellectual skills based on connections

w ithin and betw

een the tw o sides of the brain. A

ctivities involving balance, spinning, or som

ersaults exercise the cerebellum , w

hich also contributes to academ

ic learning later on. B etw

een the ages of tw

o to four, the m otor cortex has a m

ajor spurt in activity, so this is a tim

e for new physical challenges-

as long as they're m

anageable and fun. L

ook also for toys that encourage children to pretend, such as a dress-up box, toy tools and utensils, or sm

all play figures. It is discouraging to hear reports from

early childhood teachers that m

any of today's m edia-saturated youngsters are so full of other

people's plots and im ages that they can't pretend or im

agine. D on't

let this happen to your child!

G uidelines for C

aregivers

O ther factors are also critical in determ

ining the quality of preschool environm

ents. In a day-care setting, research show s the

m ost positive outcom

es, both for intelligence and behavior, are related to sm

all group size; a close, affectionate relationship w ith

the caregiver and other adults; language stim ulation; and the level

of education of the caregiver. H ere are further research-based

ideas that any adult caring for your child should heed:

• M aintain reasonable rules so iliat the child's safety needs can

be m et w

ithout discouraging exploration.

• C hild-sized furniture, easels, and chalkboards give a com

forting feeling of control.

• Try for

em otional consistency and

a reasonably stable

em otional clim

ate. •

A void

harsh physical

punishm ent

or overly

restrictive discipline, and help the child feel successful.

• A positive em

otional clim ate also includes giving children

insight into the feelings of others ("T im

is crying because you took his ball." "Sarah feels sad because her puppy is sick, and w

e should be especially kind to her today.") C

hildren w ith better developed

em otional and social com

petence at ages three and four show

better adjustm ent in kindergarten. This "theory of m

ind" also helps children m

anage their ow n em

otions; it should be evident by about age five.

• Let the child take the lead in play. Show and guide; don't direct

or boss. Be open to new w

ays to play or use m aterials.

• D on't "protect" your child from

m aking a few

m istakes-

and learning from

them . C

om plim

ent process ("Y ou're trying hard")

rather than outcom e (''Y

ou w on!").

• Even toddlers can m ake sim

ple decisions. "W hat color Play-

D oh w

ould you like today?" "W hich book do you choose to take in

the car?" O ffer uncom

plicated choices that you both can live w ith

-an d

then stick to them .

• A t this age it is appropriate to start suggesting that the child do

som e self-evaluation. "H

ow did I do?" "D

id I finish?" Encourage the child to m

ake positive statem ents about him

self. "I stuck w ith

it." "I thought of a new w

ay and it w orked." "I did it on m

y ow n."

• Provide varied sensory stim ulation and m

any opportunities for active m

ovem ent and exploration. A

llow plenty of free play as w

ell as planned and m

eaningful play experiences. • T

he sensory aspects of play can be linked w ith language. "H

ow

does that

look/sound/sm ell/taste/feel?"

T his

is a

good opportunity for vocabulary building (e.g., sm

ooth, bum py, sharp,

delicious). • Encourage the child to talk about her play. Show

that you are interested by listening and asking questions. Encourage her to guide her play by talking about w

hat she's doing. • A

s the child gets older, select a w eekly topic for play exploration.

For exam ple, you m

ight put out a m agnifying glass, collectingjars,

sorting boxes, and picture books for nature study. Let the child's interests guide you.

• Ideas for creative projects m ay be found in m

any m agazines.

Focus on the child's involvem ent, not on the finished product.

• A void w

orkbooks or other purchased "learning" m aterials that

"teach" rote-level academ ic tasks of letters and num

bers. T hese

w ill com

e later. • K

eep electronics to a m inim

um . R

eal intelligence and social com

petence com e from

real experiences and real people. • Easels and paints, clay, sand, Play-D

oh, fingerpaints, w ater,

construction paper, glue, and m ud are exam

ples of m aterials that

help refine and organize sensory intake system s. If you tend to be

a fanatic about cleanliness, close your eyes and im agine synapses

connecting inside that m uddy head.

I once saw a little boy w

ho becam e alm

ost panicky w hen he

spilled som e m

ilk on the table in his day-care center. Later his teachers told m

e they w ere w

orried about his learning. "H e's

sm art," they said, "but he's so afraid of m

aking a m istake that he

never tries anything that looks hard." H

elp your child risk the adventure oflearning.

Security to L earn

C hildren w

ho feel safe because they can depend on an adult are able to reach out to new

experiences. C hildren w

ho are secure as babies and toddlers tend to be better learners later on: m

ore playful, m

ore curious, m ore responsive to adults, and able to focus

attention m ore effectively. In our zest for stim

ulating children's m

inds, w e shouldn't forget that a loving and safe hom

e is alw ays

the first order of business. If you find your concerns about your child's intellect getting in the w

ay of sim ple affection, stand back

and ask yourself, "W hat's really im

portant?"

H O

W D

O C

H IL

D R

E N

T H

IN K

? A

ges an d

Stages from T

w o to S

even

C hildren's thinking ability undergoes several m

ajor changes along

60 of 330

the route to adult-level reasoning, paralleling the m aturation of

new netw

orks in the brain. T he years from

tw o to seven are

characterized by cycles of m yelination and synapse refinem

ent that lead to

new stages of learning,

so dram

atic shifts in

understanding can seem to occur very quickly-

although a child m

ay regress until the connections are firm . D

ifferent types of studies have indicated so m

any different "spurts" or "w aves" of

grow th that it is hard to find a tim

e w hen this brain is not actively

developing som e sort of ability. By age seven, sensory system

s have becom

e m ore integrated, language has m

ade m ajor leaps, and

m aturation of higher-level association areas enable the child to

reason m ore logically and reflect on questions and ideas. By the

end of second grade, w e hope to have basic foundations in place

for reading, m ath, and handw

riting as w ell as an ever-expanding

grasp of facts and concepts and a solid basis of attention,

m otivation, and independent problem

-solving. A

t each stage in this process, certain types of experience are im

portant. Since later developm ent builds on earlier experience,

a child w ho gets the brain food he needs at each stage has a better

chance of reaching the top of his cognitive ladder. T he speed of this

clim b is partially related to innate intelligence, but life experiences

and individual developm ental tim

etables also play m ajor roles.

A ccording to w

ell-know n theorist Jean Piaget, the child creates his

ow n intelligence at each level by puzzling out inconsistencies

betw een his bits of know

ledge, or "schem as," and the reality of his

daily experiences.

D ifferen

t H ook

s

If you and your child w atch a TV

program on the w

orkings of the brain, chances are each of you w

ill learn very different things from

it. A n adult can "get m

ore out ofit" by hanging the new inform

ation on to

previous pieces

of know ledge-m

ental "hooks" about

biology, psychology, and years of practical experience w ith one's

ow n brain. The term

"schem as" w

as~sed by Piaget to describe these m

ental hooks, the bits oflearning that com bine to form

each person's structure of thought. T

he better the fram ew

ork and the bigger the hooks, the m

ore w e can rem

em ber and learn from

each

new experience.

Since your child's fram ew

orks are sm all and im

m ature, her

learning in any situation is qualitatively different from yours. Y

ou can try to lend her your schem

as by explaining them , but if she

lacks the personal experience, your w ords w

ill fall right off her incom

plete hooks. T his theory m

ay explain w hy each generation

seem s to have to m

ake its ow n m

istakes instead of taking the good advice of its elders!

W hen you talk w

ith your child or student, you can help bridge the schem

a gap.

1. A s you solve problem

s together, talk through your ow n

questions. "I w onder how

I should start." "A re these tw

o alike?" "C

ould I put them together?" "Is it w

orking?" "W hat's going to

happen?" "H ow

did I do?" 2

. A sk your child sim

ilar questions. 3. G

ive the child plenty of tim e to think and answ

er. 4. Let the child reenact each solution several tim

es in order to understand it.

5. E ncourage understanding. A

sk, "W hy do you think that

happened?" "W hy did/didn't that w

ork?" 6. A

s a teacher, I learned that if things w eren't going w

ell, I needed to ask m

yself, "W hat am

I assum ing about this situation

that the child doesn't yet understand?" It helps to ask w hat the

child is thinking or seeing, and then listen carefully to her answ er.

A S

m all P

iece o f L

earning

I once had a conversation w ith a six-year-old that taught m

e about one child's m

ental "hooks." D uring the first snow

storm of the year,

the level of classroom excitem

ent rose steadily until dism issal

tim e. A

s the day ended, M arcy lingered behind, staring at the still-

barren grass outside. "W hy isn't the snow

sticking on the ground?" she asked. N

ot w anting to deprive her of the chance to do som

e thinking (and learning) for herself, I replied, "W

hat do you think?" "W

ell," she replied, "I don't know because snow

is supposed to stay there after it com

es dow n-w

hy isn't it?" "It does seem

to be disappearing," I acknow ledged. "D

o you know anything that w

ould m ake snow

disappear?" M

arcy thought for a m om

ent. "N ot really. Snow

is cold and it stays. W

ell, m aybe if you put w

ater on it." A

t this point I realized that M arcy's notion of snow

w as both

inaccurate and incom plete, so there w

as no w ay she could grasp

the principle involved. Instead of trying to explain it to her, I took her outside, grabbed som

e snow flakes as they fell, and w

e w atched

them turn into w

ater. Finally w e felt the ground tem

perature and M

arcy drew her ow

n conclusions. She enlarged her "snow " schem

a to include her observation that w

arm th m

akes it m elt, and she w

as forced to change her ideas to accom

m odate this new

inform ation.

It is through countless such firsthand experiences that children develop know

ledge and the ability to m anipulate it m

entally. For this type of learning, parents or thoughtful caregivers are the.first and best teachers.

A s schem

as develop and enlarge, they are com bined into m

ental operations, or patterns, that enable the child to think about relationships in m

ore abstract w ays. For exam

ple, a tw o-year-old

m ust line up blocks in order to see w

hat they look like; an eight- year-old can think about lining them

up w ithout actually doing it,

and a fifteen-year-old m ay be able to m

ake com binations in his

m ind to test scientific relationships am

ong them .

L evels o

f P rocessin

g

D oes experience alone account for these changes? A

child's ability to com

bine new ideas also results from

m aturation of three special

system s in the brain that neuropsychologistA

lexander L uria called

"functional units." A s

the child

handles m

illions of bits of

experience, chains of neurons link together-first w ithin and then

betw een different brain areas. In a sense, the thinking child m

akes his ow

n brain fit together. Low

er-level netw orks com

e first. A t the bottom

are reflex responses and directing attention, then com

es the ,.eception of countless pieces of incom

ing inform ation and association of the

pieces w ith each other for understanding. W

hen enough pieces have been taken in, the child finally begins to inte1·p1·et them

and plan responses.

63 of 330

H ow

does L uria's m

odel w ork in a real situation? Let's say you

are trying to get your child to leave the TV set.

T he first functional unit regulates consciousness and initial

attention. T o be consciously processed and rem

em bered, the

inform ation m

ust cross the attention threshold. "O

ops, I hear M om

's voice." O

nce the m essage gets into conscious aw

areness, it is directed to a specialized reception area w

here the second functional unit converts it into a m

eaningful signal and sends it to the appropriate part of the cortex, in this case the centers for auditory processing. First it m

ust be received and sorted out from other auditory

stim uli:

"W hat did she say?"

then sent to higher-level system s to be analyzed and organized into

som e sort of m

eaning: "W

hat does she m ean, 'C

lean up your room '?"

and finally, associated w ith inform

ation from other senses or from

m

em ory for com

plete understanding: "O

h, I rem em

ber, I left m y clothes and toys all over the floor and

she's having com pany tonight."

O nly after all these steps are com

pleted can the thirdfim ctional

unit, corresponding to the prefrontal lobes of the cortex, do its w

ork of evaluating the inform ation and planning behavior:

"G uess I'd better pick up that stuff as soon as this program

is over."

For m ost parents this particular exam

ple proves L uria's point

that the m ere presence of a neural structure does not guarantee

that it can (or w ill) be used! Practice is the essential ingredient,

and it takes all of childhood and m ost of adolescence to perfect and

connect all the system s.

E A

R L

Y L

E A

R N

IN G

: T H

E P

R E

SC H

O O

L Y

E A

R S

M ak

in g C

on n

ection s

A child's first m

onths lay the groundw ork for consciously directing

attention, taking in bits of inform ation to each of the senses, and

practicing w ith body m

ovem ents.

D uring this "sensorim

otor" period, the brain is not ready to deal w

ith m uch beyond im

m ediate

physical experience. A s w

e saw in the last chapter, at around eight

to nine m onths of age the prefrontal cortex begins its long m

arch tow

ard m aturity, and the child suddenly starts to use m

em ory to

link past and present experience: "O ops, here com

es the sitter- tim

e to cry!" By eighteen m

onths, m ost children begin to understand and

associate e>..'Periences in m uch larger fram

ew orks. M

ore com plex

patterns of m ovem

ents (m otor program

s) are m astered, an

d –

m ost exciting of all-language develops. C

hildren w ith poor

foundations in reception areas m ay fall behind w

hen they have to start associating ideas. The higher levels at w

hich understanding occurs are probably the m

ost sensitive of all to environm ental

stim ulation.

W ith an increasing base of neural connections, the toddler sees

the w orld in new

w ays. The developm

ent oflanguage and sym bolic

play represent the beginning of abstract thought. A child talking

to G randdad on a toy telephone show

s that she has a m ental

representation of both G randdad (out of sight) and the general

function of real telephones. W hen she asks for a cookie that you

have previously put in a cupboard, she show s that she has

organized and associated ideas one step beyond cookies she can only see or touch. M

any believe that the roots of creativity also lie at this junction of concrete and sym

bolic experience w here pretend

play arises. C hildren w

ho are good at pretend play also get along better socially.

U ntil som

etim e around age six or seven, children's "w

ork" is to develop the basis for abstract thought by m

astering their physical environm

ents, and by learning to use language. The preschooler is m

ainly caught in present reality w ith only a vague concept of

past, present, and future. H e is "stim

ulus bound," w hich m

eans that his attention is easily draw

n to any new stim

ulus. Thus he has genuine trouble keeping his m

ind on any one task or idea. H e has

difficulty w ith other people's points of view

. The ability to "decenter," or m

ove out of his ow n perspective, occurs very slow

ly, as any m

other w ho expects a child to see he,. point of view

can confirm

! For this reason, preschool learning m ust arise from

firsthand experience and interest. Perhaps the m

ost im portant

thing to rem em

ber is that the child com es at any situation w

ith a different set of hooks than yours. Parents and teachers w

ho respect

the unique quality of early intelligence have the best chance of helping it grow

.

W hat Should Preschoolers L

earn?

C hildren w

ho don't learn to search for m eaning are often good

"technicians" in the first and second grades because they can deal w

ith isolated data, but w hen the dem

ands for com prehension

increase, they "hit the w all." They have difficulty organizing

inform ation into m

ore abstract ideas. "I don't get it" becom es their

A fter years of studying young children's learning, I am

increasingly th

· d th

k .

11 . .

em e song.

convm ce

at patterns are the ey to m

te 1gence. Patterm ng

inform ation

really m

eans organizing

and associating

new

inform ation w

ith previously developed m ental hooks. "G

ifted" children have an unusual ability to pick up all kinds of patterns and relationships in everyday experience. O

ne bright little three- year-old, w

ho w as being tested for adm

ission into a com petitive

prekindergarten, had

im pressed

everyone w

ith her

huge

H elping C

hildren C reate M

ental Patterns

D uring preschool years, our job

includes being intellectual challenger for both boys and girls. Som

e D ads in particular tend

to challenge sons and expect m ore thinking from

them than from

daughters. N

o fair! H ere are som

e com m

onsense guidelines for vocabulary and outgoing personality, but she com

pleted the sales everyone:

job w hen she surveyed the artw

ork on the w all and said, "Look!

The patterns in that picture are the sam e as the ones in m

y dress." Children w

ho can "see" relationships and organize input at a sensory level seem

to have an easier tim e organizing thoughts and

ideas. Som e youngsters com

e into the w orld w

ith nervous system s

that are better equipped for this assignm ent than others, but w

hile the brain is still developing rapidly, you = help any child. Focus on helping the child m

ake physical and m ental connections

through lots

of self•organizing play

activities rather

than em

phasizing specific bits of inform ation. Because of im

m aturity

in parietal lobe areas that connect sight, sound, touch, and body aw

areness, it is still difficult for young children to com bine

processes from m

ore than one m odality, such as in looking at a

letter form and copying it, or sim

ultaneously dancing and singing w

hile listening to m usic.

Even babies can be conditioned to associate tw o stim

uli that are presented repeatedly together, but this learning lacks real m

eaning for the child and m

ay use inappropriate parts of the cm tex instead

of those best suited for the job. In fact, forcel{learning of any type m

ay result in the use of low er system

s since the higher ones that should do the w

ork have not yet developed. The "habit" of using inferior brain areas for higher-level tasks (such as reading) and of l'eceiving instruction rather than C1"eating pattel'ns of m

eaning causes big trouble later on.

66 of 330

• R em

em ber that the brain at tw

enty-four to thirty-six m onths is

buzzing w ith extra connections that are desperately trying to get

sorted out into concepts, relationships, and patterns of m eaning

such as cause and effect, tim e sequences, and social rules of getting

along w ith others. This is som

etim es a difficult brain to 1ive w

ith -fo

r both you and the child-so be patient. • The brain needs dow

ntim e to firm

up all this w ork. M

ake space for quiet reflection and pondering. A

ppreciate your child's w isdom

as w

ell as her skills. • H

elp your child figure out m eanings and relationships in daily

events; his continual "W hy?" questions are a w

ay of expressing his need to m

ake these connections. O ften, "w

hy" sim ply m

eans "I need m

ore explanation about this." • Introduce skills of sequencing-arranging objects according to

size, or rem em

bering w ords or events in order. It is beneficial to

talk about abstract sequences such as "If you go outside w ithout

your shoes, your feet w ill get cold because it's w

inter"; "If you don't take your nap this afternoon, you m

ight fall asleep at dinner"; but preschoolers m

ust stick to objects and im m

ediate experience if they are expected to put things in order them

selves. • M

ental patterns are built on netw orks of sensory connections.

Call the child's attention to patterns in the sensory w orld: "W

hat does that taste like?" "D

o these look alike?"

• V isual patterns are present all the tim

e. "Look at the tree branches against the sky. D

oesn't it look as if the tree has arm s?

M aybe w

e could draw a picture."

• Puzzles and com m

ercial m aterials can be helpful in visual

patterning. Parquetry blocks, dom inoes, and kaleidoscopes are

exam ples. "W

hat is w rong w

ith this picture?" links visual and cognitive skills.

• Patterning in stitchery activities is fun for both sexes, and links visual and m

otor developm ent.

• E ncourage auditory patterning w

ith rhym es, instrum

ents, tunes, fam

iliar stories, or attention to sounds around the house. T

ap out a sim ple rhythm

O ong, short, short) and see if your child

can im itate it. See chapter 7 for tips on language patterning.

• W hen children are old enough, sim

ple carpentry tools, w ood,

large nails, screw s, nuts, and bolts are excellent m

aterials for m

aking perceptual and m otor connections. M

easuring, cooking activities, and gardening all involve patterns of relationships.

• M otor patterns need to be practiced over and over-using

utensils and tools; cutting; catching and throw ing a large, soft ball;

or playing gam es of copying finger or body m

ovem ents, for

exam ple. Self-help skills and household jobs are very im

portant for the child to m

aster- help your child, but encourage him

to do it him

self even if the job isn't done exactly your w ay! I have w

orked w

ith children w ho are afraid to attem

pt even sim ple tasks because

M om

has alw ays jum

ped in and done the job for them . T

hey often appear inept and even disabled w

hen they start school. • If a child truly needs help w

ith a m otor pattern, scaffold the

learning by gently guiding her body through the action sequence several tim

es in order to lay the neural path, or divide the action into a series of sm

aller activity units. D on't expect a child of this

age to copy com plex actions (kinesthetic) that you show

her (visual)-a

llow her to learn w

ith one sense at a tim e (in this case,

her body). If your child has serious problem s w

ith coordination, consider

consulting an

occupational or

sensory integration

therapist. • G

ive your child tim e to organize his ow

n play. M others w

ho hover m

ay im pede the child's ability to form

m ental patterns of his

ow n; one study even show

ed that too-frequent offering of food and drink to

toddlers w

as negatively

related to

later school

achievem ent.

• B e sure to let your child m

ake reasonable choices w henever

possible. L earning to m

ake sim ple decisions-

and m inor m

istakes -is hard but necessary. C

hildren's conception of reality needs to include close personal experience w

ith cause and effect. ("lfI press too hard on the crayons, they w

ill break." "If I pull out the bottom

shirt from the pile, the others w

ill fall on m e.")

• R ead aloud frequently and look for patterns in stories. H

ow is

this character alike or different from that one? W

hat parts should stories have?

• E lim

inate or set clear lim its on screen tim

e, and choose a day- care center w

here children do not w atch m

uch-if any-T V

or video. O

ccupational therapists tell m e they are now

treating m any

"video kids" w ho have m

issed out on som e of the m

ost basic m otor

patterning, and the attention skills and intellectual grow th that

accom pany it.

W h

at ab ou

t Sports?

H ow

did w e get the idea that w

e have to start training our children for the O

lym pics before they can read? A

t a m eeting of a parents'

counseling group in a large m etropolitan area, I recently heard one

m other assert: "If you don't have them

in organized soccer lessons by the tim

e they're five, forget it!" W

hen I pressed her a little, she acknow ledged that she got her

inform ation from

a coach w ho w

as trying to sell her a program for

her son; she also adm itted that w

hat she really hoped for w as to

have him be good enough to w

in a soccer scholarship to college. Is it true that all is lost if kids don't receive early training in one

or m ore sports? It is true that because the m

otor strip in the cortex m

atures early, m ost young children can m

aster som e large-m

uscle activities fairly easily, including som

e of the basic m oves of soccer,

such as kicking. M any preschooler~can sw

im , ski, and do creative

dance m ovem

ents such as D alcroze w

ith enjoym ent-

if they aren't forced. Ice skating m

ay even fall into this category, depending on how

it

is taught.

These activities

do not

require intricate

com binations of visual and m

otor skills. Sports such as tennis and

69 of 330

baseball-as w ell as understanding the rules, field positions, and

directionality of soccer, how ever-add fine visual-m

otor, visual- spatial,

and abstract

thinking challenges.

C om

petence and

enjoym ent of such sports is far beyond m

ost children until age seven or so.

"B ut she w

ants to do it!" is a frequent parental cry. A s alw

ays, children w

ill try hard if they sense their parents care a lot about an activity. W

hat a sham e, though, to saddle them

w ith expectations

they can't m eet or pressure for com

petition before they have the physical coordination or m

ental perspective to deal w ith it.

E xpert soccer coaches w

ho are not pushing program s agree that

it is "foolish" to feel that a child m ust be in lessons or a league at

age five; som e have told m

e that a m otivated child can becom

e a good player even as late as seventh grade. T

hey do agree that the best w

ay to prepare for any sport is to play, inform ally and w

ithout pressure, w

ith the basic skills of catching, throw ing, and kicking a

large ball, m oving the body rhythm

ically and bilaterally, running, hopping, skipping, clim

bing, follow ing directions, learning that

gam es have rules and that you can't alw

ays w in, and all the other

subskills that eventually m ake som

eone an athlete. Y ou

can certainly hire a professional to do this, but even if you're not an athlete yourself, your child w

ould prefer your attention and the closeness that ensues from

playing together.

A s

to placing

expectations-such as college- on an activity that is m

eant to be fun … don't be a parental spoilsport!

A few

rare youngsters are "naturals" at alm ost any age, but if an

activity doesn't take, back off and w ait until that little brain and

body are ready to exercise together.

Intellectual B uilding B

locks

"Play" is considered so im portant by child developm

ent experts that huge books of research studies have been published about it. D

uring the preschool years, m anipulative and sym

bolic fantasy play are particularly im

portant. R em

em ber the children building

the W

hite H

ouse w

ith w

ooden unit

blocks? T

hey w

ere m

anipulating and pretending, but their teacher pointed out that they w

ere also "actively involved in testing tw o im

portant scientific

ideas: 'system s' and 'interactions,' as w

ell as getting a solid understanding of m

athem atical concepts" ("W

e only need half as m

any of these." "The living room should be a rectangle, not a

square."). Early physics lessons w

ere also m uch in evidence

("D on't m

ake that tow er too tall or it'll fall over!").

C hildren playing w

ith blocks also enlarge and change their schem

as of relative space ("H ow

do I get this block to bridge these other tw

o?"), num erosity (each block is som

e m ultiple of the basic

unit), sym m

etry and proportion, balance, stability, and gravity. O

ne child, attem pting to construct a roof to bridge four w

alls, soon discovered that the w

alls w ere too far apart and tried out a num

ber of hypotheses

before m

astering the

relationships involved.

Fortunately, no one interrupted her or stole her chance to learn by "show

ing" her how ! A

nother youngster w as busy constructing

som e m

ental schem as about num

ber. H e lined up eight blocks in

a row and counted them

in one direction, then backw ard to see if

they w ere the sam

e. Then he stacked them up into a tow

er and counted them

again- up and dow

n. C onvinced that "eight" is

"eight" from all directions, he skipped off, unaw

are that he had just m

astered an abstract m athem

atical idea.

T he P

ow er of P

retending

Fantasy play w ith others gets children to enlarge their m

ental fram

ew orks, get outside their ow

n m inds, practice using language,

and gain inform ation about other values and points of view

. In a "pretend" household in the classroom

, for exam ple, they w

ere also using sym

bols: blocks as "food," an em pty can as a "telephone,"

and a ball as a "yucky baby." This level oflearning separates hum an

thought from that of all other species. Play, in this sense, is the

gatew ay to m

etaphor, to scientific insight, and to invention. Choose a school that will encourage children to open this gate before expecting them

to perform advanced m

ental operations.

PL A

Y T

IM E

A S

A G

A T

E W

A Y

T O

L E

A R N

IN G

• Playtim e should be relaxed and pressure-free. Constructive

play usually begins only after a child feels fam iliar and

com fortable in a setting. A

ctivities should not be sw itched

too often as long as the children are satisfied. • The best play m

aterials suggest im aginative uses rather than

being too literal-m aterials for building a "pretend" house,

for exam ple, rather than one already fitted out w

ith perfect furniture and accessories; lengths of fabric rather than costum

es; large em pty boxes, etc.

• C hildren use play to gain im

portant feelings of m astery and

control or to deal w ith issues that m

ay be troubling them .

• C hildren should be able to express "forbidden" feelings in

play at school about real events in their ow n lives. For

exam ple, a child w

ith a new baby at hom

e m ay tem

porarily adopt rough play w

ith baby dolls at school. She gets rid of som

e of her feelings w ithout doing any dam

age to the real baby, and sensitive adults m

ay encourage her to "use w ords"

to help resolve the conflict. • Rule-governed gam

es are fun for adults and children and prom

ote m any kinds of learning, as fong as they do not

substitute for exploratory and pretend play. You should know

that one of the best predictors of your child's first-grade m ath

achievem ent is how

m any board gam

es and card gam es you

have played together. Learning to m ove a m

arker a certain num

ber of spaces in order, sequencing m oves, recognizing

w hether 10 is bigger than 3, taking turns, follow

ing rules, applying strategies, and learning that the w

orld w on't end if

you lose- all are great lessons for m

ath and for life. O ne study

show ed that a com

puter couldn't sim ulate this learning,

m ainly because the verbal "coaching" of the a~

lt w as the

critical aspect. , Children playing together often m

ake up their ow n "rules,"

w hich m

ay seem incom

prehensible to an adult. A s long as the

children are satisfied, adults should stand aside. They don't

72 of 330

have our schem as for rules, and w

e have forgotten theirs. • D

ram atic play teaches social skills m

ore effectively than any type of instruction.

• C reative pretense activities are often used by a child to firm

up new

understandings about the w orld; good schools allow

tim

e for a child's em erging thought.

T H

E E

A R

L Y

SC H

O O

L Y

E A

R S

N ew

C hallenges in L

earning: T he "Five-to-Seven Shift"

From ages five to seven or eight, the brain is in one of its m

ost dynam

ic states of change as it practices com

bining sensory patterns from

different m odalities and m

oves into new form

s of sym

bolic thought. U p until now

the child has been creating her ow

n concrete sym bol system

s such as using w ords, developing

ideas about num bers, and m

aking pictures of things she know s.

N ow

she starts to deal w ith m

ore form alized sym

bol system s-

w ords in books, m

ath equations, m ental im

ages for thinking and rem

em bering.

N europsychologists talk about the "five-to-seven shift" because

so m uch change occurs in the brain during these years. O

ne study found that a specific area involved w

ith language and spatial aw

areness had changed 85 percent betw een ages six and seven in

one girl's brain. So your seven-year-old is really seeing things from

a new and different view

point! By age seven or eight, grow

th in the higher association areas enables m

ore flexible intersensory com m

unication (e.g., reading for m

eaning, w riting sentences from

dictation, reading m usic

w hile playing), and during this period m

ost brains are avid learning m

achines. A lso by about age eight, the tw

o sides of the brain have developed firm

er com m

unication links w ith each other,

enabling better bilateral (tw o-sided) control of the body (as in

holding a paper w ith one hand and w

riting on it w ith another), and

the ability to form im

ages or thoughts in w ords inside the head-

fundam ental for later creativity and m

ental planning. (N ot all

children follow this exact tim

etable, how ever. Check out the next

chapter to learn m ore about different developm

ental tim etables.)

Still to com e is the real flow

ering of tertiary areas, so it's unfair to expect m

uch forw ard planning or serious decision-m

aking. Inform

ation still needs to be presented m ainly w

ith concrete, hands-on,

and personal m aterials. C

hallenging projects and them

e-based curricula can excite young intellects w hile still

em phasizing basic skills. C

hildren need im portant and interesting

topics to think about at a tim e w

hen the brain is eager to guzzle up every bit of learning that com

es along. A second-grader recently

stunned m e at a dinner table by spontaneously retelling several of

the tales of the G reek m

yths, com plete w

ith m ultisyllablic nam

es, w

hich he had been studying through storytelling, reading, w riting

about, and dram atizing them

. H e doesn't realize that he w

ill be very grateful for this base of inform

ation in both high school and college-right now

he just thinks it's interesting and fun. N

ow is the tim

e w hen parents first get involved w

ith helping w ith

assignm ents that have to be done at hom

e. Som e also need to cope

w ith the challenge of choosing an elem

entary school. Let's deal w

ith the school choice first.

C h

oosin g an

E lem

en tary S

ch ool or H

om esch

oolin g

I get m any questions from

parents w ho face a serious dilem

m a

w hen they have a choice of schools for their child. M

y m ain

suggestion is that the parent first becom e fam

iliar w ith each

school, w hat each one stands for and their basic philosophies about

how children should learn. A

sk for an appointm ent w

ith the principal, if possible. Every school-

public or independent- has

its ow

n character,

differing even

w ithin

the sam

e district.

M ontessori or W

aldorf schools are specific exam ples of schools

founded on a philosophy and m ethods derived from

the thinking of one individual: M

aria M ontessori or R

udolph Steiner in these cases. E

ach has clear ideas abouttl1e im portance of curriculum

and teaching that conform

to a child's developm ental needs.

W hatever your options, sit in on a class if possible, and decide

w hether the environm

ent "feels" right to you. If it does, your child m

ay have a better chance of feeling com fortable there. T

alk to other like-m

inded parents for a candid appraisal. M y general advice also

is to choose w hat is best for your child at any given age period; for exam

ple, I w ouldn't advise picking an elem

entary environm ent

w ith w

hich you're uncom fortable just because the associated high

school has a good record for college adm issions. C

hanges can com e

later. Som

e parents

feel that

their child

m ight

benefit from

hom

eschooling, an option that has becom e increasingly viable for

m any fam

ilies. I continue to gain respect for hom eschoolers as I

am privileged to speak at som

e of their conferences and m eet the

children as w ell as the parents. R

easons for and im plem

entation of hom

eschooling ( or even "unschooling") are as varied as the fam

ilies involved.

O ne

of educators'

m ajor

criticism s-that

hom eschooled children are deprived of peer relationships-is m

et by form

ing groups w ith other hom

eschooling fam ilies for social

and educational

activities. M

any fam

ilies also

supplem ent

hom eschooling w

ith enrichm ent activities and traditional school

courses w hen the child outstrips a parent's know

ledge in particular subjects, such as science or m

ath. M

any excellent guides for alternative approaches to schooling have been published; I have included som

e in the bibliography.

H elp

in g w

ith Schoolw

ork at H om

e

I am not the only educator w

ho is concerned about the am ount and

quality of w hat passes as "hom

ew ork'' in the early grades. A

t these ages, it is a sham

e to let schoolw ork and extracurricular activities

deprive children of active playtim e after school.

If you are concerned that your school is overdoing it, ask for a m

eeting w ith

parents and teachers to discuss the issue together and determ ine

som e age-appropriate ground rules.

Specific guidelines for helping w ith hom

ew ork w

ill be found in chapter s. R

em em

ber that lots of repetition w ill be necessary

before a child's skills becom e autom

atic, as they are for you (e.g., w

riting, spelling,

using the

m ultiplication

tables, follow

ing directions-even setting the table and playing ball). It helps if you m

odel thinking skills in everyday situations as w ell as w

ith schoolw

ork. H ere are som

e steps to help a child "get I~ together":

1. Before you try to w ork on anything together, m

ake sure you

74 of 330

have the child's attention. Y our child w

ill absorb your level of enthusiasm

(or lack of it). If possible, let the child ask you for help rather than hovering. T

his is her w ork, after all.

2 . L

ink new inform

ation to old w ith ilJustrations, analogies, and

exam ples; help your child m

ake the associations. ("This looks like a problem

you had yesterday …. " "C ould you m

ake the sam e kind

of study cards for m ath that you m

ade for your spelling w ords?")

3. H elp the child pretend to act out or draw

the idea ("If M ary

had eleven oranges and ate tw o … ").

4. Show connections, com

m on them

es, or organizing principles of new

m aterial ("These all seem

to be types of flow ers, even though

they look different." "W hat vow

el pattern do all those w ords

have?") 5. T

ry to get the child to think up personal connections. ("D id

you ever feel the w ay Jose did in the story?")

6. Tie abstractions to concrete experience. ("Let's see if w e can

cut this paper in thirds. W hat ifw

e cut each third in half?") 7. Pictures or diagram

s help organize m any types of m

aterial. H

elp your child m ake charts, m

aps, or lists of things in categories, or draw

"cartoon" sequences to get inform ation into m

anageable form

. 8. R

em em

ber that the child still needs m any specific instances

before generalizations can be m ade.

M oving tow

ard A

bstract T hought

A s children start to put ideas together in new

w ays, they begin to

get beyond the im m

ediate physical characteristics of an object and understand the principle involved. For exam

ple, the reversible equation 4 + 5 = 9 is the sam

e as 9 = 5 + 4, and even 9 -4 = 5, and 9 –

5 = 4. A younger child has a great deal of difficulty w

ith a problem

like this; he believes that these things are different because they look different. H

e cannot pull out the essential relationship and tlrns he cannot "undo" and turn around the sequence in his m

ind. H

ow do children get to the stage w

here they understand these relationships? I am

w illing to blam

e a certain am ount of neural

readiness, but it is clear that they m ust practice and experim

ent

w ith hundreds of exam

ples. T he m

other visiting the class at the beginning of this chapter didn't realize that her son w

as w orking

on this im portant type oflearning as he played at the sand table.

A nother m

ajor area of grow th is in categorizing, classifying, and

class inclusion. M any school tasks contain subtle requirem

ents for classification; outlining is one exam

ple of a job that is difficult for students w

ho don't get the idea of subtopics being part of one large, m

ore abstract topic. M

any things that seem ridiculously obvious to adults are not

clear to children. W e can explain until w

e're blue-in the face, or w e

can insist the child m em

orize w hat w

e w ant her to know

-and w

onder w hy she has "forgotten" it the next day. O

ne task that is difficult for prim

ary students is the "m issing addend" so popular

in early m ath books (3 + ? = 8). T

eachers and parents alike are frustrated because, at this age, m

ost students can learn to perform

this operation only by rote-the m inute they have to rem

em ber or

organize it them selves, they "forget" because they never really

understood it. I also rem

em ber having a near argum

ent w ith a six-year-old I

w as tutoring one sum

m er about w

hether "bigger" m eant "older."

She w as convinced that her daddy w

as older than her m om

m y

because he w as "bigger," and I couldn't change her m

ind. H aving

tried to m ake m

y point by every pedagogical m ethod at m

y com

m and, including w

aking m y (large) grow

n son from a nap for

a firsthand dem onstration, I finally accepted the fact that I w

as dealing w

ith a literal thinker w ho w

as convinced that "taller" w as

"m ore." T

his experience reaffirm ed for m

e the fundam ental truth

about learning-you can lead the child to the problem , but you

can't m ake the m

ental leap for her. She has to be ready, and she has to do it herself

P rom

otin g C

ognitive C onflict

H ow

can w e prepare youngsters to fit those connections together?

A s I learned the hard w

ay, attem pts to explain to children w

hy their reasoning is incorrect are doom

ed to fail. T he trick is to give them

lots of firsthand experiences w

ith the subject in question, then get them

to see the inconsistency in their reasoning and to w ant to figure it out. W

hen som ething doesn't "fit," a state of "cognitive

disequilibrium " sets in, and the child can be pulled tow

ard new

levels by an adult asking the right questions. T ry these ideas:

• A sk questions rather than explaining w

hat is "correct." (C hild

says, "This lem onade straw

is broken." Parent, seeing that the straw

is blocked, asks, "Is there anything in the straw that is

keeping the lem onade from

com ing through?" rather than, "T

hat straw

isn't broken. H ere, let m

e clear it out for you.") • W

hen the child asks you a question, respond w ith a question

that is just hard enough to m ake him

w onder, but not so

com plicated that it w

ill frustrate him . U

se the child's response as your guide.

• A t any age, hands-on experience is the first step. For exam

ple, if your child is gaining concepts of classification, you m

ight suggest sorting the fam

ily laundry or m agazine pictures into piles and then

com bining them

w ith a general category label. M

ore suggestions are included later w

hen w e discuss m

ath and science. • A

sk yourself, "Exactly w hat is it I expect this child to do, and

w hat is her fram

e of reference for it?" • H

elp the child identify the relevant aspects of a problem . ("W

hat w

ould you have to do to m ake that track long enough to reach the

other one?" instead of "H ere, put this piece in there.")

• If you don't know an answ

er, adm it it. N

ow you have the m

ost exciting opportunity of all-to show

your child how you ask

yourself questions and seek inform ation._

• H elp your child see the discrepancies betw

een his language or m

ental operations and actual reality. (C hild says, "It is snow

ing because I put m

y boots on." Parent asks, "Let's think about that for a m

inute. Pretend w e're at the lake in the sum

m er. Y

ou have your bathing suit on. N

ow , let's pretend you put your boots on [child

acts out the scene]. W ill that m

ake it snow ? Is it snm

ving because you put your boots on?")

• A s in the above exam

ple, m any of a child's inconsistencies in

reasoning are a result of faulty interpretati~h or use of language ("because" in this case). Be ale1t for situations in w

hich you can use real experience to m

odel language concepts. ("W hy did the

paint spill? B ecause … ")

77 of 330

• B e tolerant of "w

rong" answ ers if they are part of a process of

new learning and m

ental exploration. • R

em em

ber that rules can be taught, but understanding can't. • M

ake sure that playing w ith peers is a regular part of your child's

life. C hildren often ask each other the questions that prom

ote positive cognitive conflict.

• T ry to present your child w

ith m anageable problem

s rather than constantly providing solutions-it is her struggle w

ith the available data that sparks cognitive grow

th. • Piaget suggested that w

e stop w orrying about how

fast w e can

m ake intelligence grow

, and concentrate on how far! W

hen people asked

him w

hether w e could accelerate children's progress

through each stage, he scoffed at w hat he term

ed "the A m

erican question."

A B

oss for th e B

rain

H ow

long does the brain's childhood last? M ature reasoning does

not occur until som etim

e after age eleven or tw elve, and can even

com e as late as thirty, w

hen the frontal lobes finally becom e the

"boss" of the brain. U ntil then, thinking has certain lim

its. It is natural for children to be literal thinkers, stuck in their ow

n point of view

. Preschoolers have trouble telling reality from fantasy and

m ay appear to "lie" because of an inability to sort out the difference

betw een w

hat really happened and w hat w

as im agined. C

hildren of ages five to ten tend to becom

e very literal and rule-bound in their m

oral judgm ents, but they are also notorious for their

difficulty in im agining consequences. A

pleasure at hand is m uch

m ore pressing than som

e future punishm ent!

L ate-m

aturing areas

also control

m uch

of w hat

w e

call "m

otivation." A young child usually has trouble planning for far-

off goals or developing and executing a plan of action. A s you w

ill see later, there is a lot w

e can do throughout the early years to put m

otivation on track, but w e need to be realistic. I frequently see

parents (and teachers) w ho lam

ent, "I don't understand w hy she

is so unm otivated-she doesn't seem

to be able to see w hy this is

so im portant!" O

ne fam ily prom

ised their eight-year-old son a new

bike in June if he got "good grades" all year. U nfortunately, these

term s w

ere far too vague, June seem ed very rem

ote, and the plan failed.

C hildren of this age need help in planning, organizing, and

follow ing through

on sm

all interm ediate

goals. B

e w ary of

dispensing rew ards; ideally, the child's rew

ard is his ow n feeling

of satisfaction in a job w ell done. It is never too early to establish

the idea that w e are each responsible for aim

ing at our goals and for feeling good about ourselves w

hen w e reach them

. Likew

ise, young children cannot objectively evaluate m oral

issues or even put heavily em otion-laden m

aterial into perspective, and parents m

ay have to stand in to protect them and interpret

input they can't handle-even at higher grade levels. I once w orked

w ith a group of nine-year-old girls w

ho w ere sent to m

e in desperation

by their teacher. A lthough they w

ere all bright children, they w

ere unable to concentrate in class and seem ed to

be in a perpetual state of excitem ent. It didn't take them

long to close the door and start telling m

e that they w ere really "w

orried" about a lot of the sexual inform

ation they had picked up from

babysitters and the m edia-

and w hich they w

ere naturally busy exchanging w

ith each other. W

hen their fears and m isconceptions started to pour out, I

understood w hy they felt so threatened by this barrage of

frightening half-truths. N o w

onder they couldn't concentrate in class! O

nly one child in the group felt com fortable talking to her

m other, w

ho had alw ays m

ade a habit oflim iting TV

, w atching it

w ith her, and discussing w

hat they saw . For these girls, a '1earning"

difficulty turned out to have far different roots. Y

oung children are even m ore susceptible to inappropriate

content. It's a hard parental assignm ent, but try to be aw

are of potentially anxiety-producing inform

ation to w hich your child is

exposed, and m ake yourself available to help put it in perspective.

TV violence and even current events are hard enough for adults to

com prehend, but im

possible for children. They need protection, help w

ith interpreting w hat they see, and lots of reassurance in

dealing w ith the com

plexities of the w orld.

C H

IL D

R E N

A T

W O

R K

E

valuating E arly L

earning

C hildren betw

een the ages of tw o and seven need intellectual

challenges they can understand and pursue actively. They also need solid basic skills, but not in a "drill-and-kill" form

at. Som e

very able brains sim ply take a little longer or need special teaching

m ethods in order to absorb these basics, as w

e shall see in the next chapter. A

bove all, w e w

ant them to em

erge from early childhood

excited and confident about learning. Let's take a m

inute to return again to the classroom described at

the beginning of this chapter to evaluate the "w ork" in progress.

The children m easuring cupfuls of sand are m

aking m ental

patterns -putting

together visual

and m

otor learning

w ith

concepts of size, density, texture, volum e, and fractions. H

andling the m

aterials brings im portant tactile inform

ation-a n

d new

synapses-into their

brains. Because

m aking

judgm ents,

predictions, and plans are a part of this play, they are laying groundw

ork for the brain's executive control function. Language develops as they discuss their project, and attention is sharpened as they ignore the other play in the room

. In the book corneF, a great deal of literacy instruction is

occurring, even though it just looks like story-reading and telling. A

s you w ill find in chapter 9, listening skills, com

prehension, vocabulary-building, questioning techniques, and aw

areness of the sounds m

aking up each w ord-

not to m ention pleasure in

reading- are the im

po1tant "basics" for later skill developm ent.

The clay anim als in the art corner integrate not only creativity

and fine m otor skills but also vocabulary and descriptive language.

W hen a parent volunteer noticed that several children w

ere inventing im

aginary anim als, she encouraged them

to dictate a book of original stories, m

ake draw ings, and create a plaster-of-

paris relief m ap based on their m

ythical anim al w

orld. H

ow about the pet rabbit? It enabled one little boy to get som

e badly needed tactile stim

ulation aslfell as a feeling of com fo1t and

im portance as he assum

ed the respiinsibility for its feeding. This is the type of classroom

you should seek for your young child, and the sam

e principles hold for early prim ary grades even

80 of 330

as the curriculum becom

es m ore academ

ic. Learning that arises from

personal

experience helps brains at

any age receive,

associate, organize, and com prehend at the appropriate neural

levels. Far from m

arking tim e, w

ell-planned program s at each level

develop the hooks of m eaning that underlie intelligence.

W hat's th

e H urry?

T he parents choosing a school for their son at the beginning of this

chapter finally enrolled him in an "accelerated" class w

here children spend a lot of tim

e sitting at desks, filling in w ork sheets,

and "being taught." H e m

ay, of course, becom e a good student if

he can overcom e the m

onotony of this introduction to learning, but his chances w

ould be far better in a school that understood young children's needs. Studies show

that four-, five-, and six- year-olds in heavily "academ

ic" classes tend to becom e less

creative and

m ore

anxious- w

ithout gam

lilg significant

advantages over their peers. Y oungsters in w

ell-structured "play" – oriented preschools and developm

entally appropriate prim ary

grades develop m ore positive attitudes tow

ard learning along w ith

better ultim ate skill developm

ent. If

tasks are

too inappropriate

for this

child's level

of developm

ent, m oreover, or if patterns of m

eaning are neglected, he could end up as a "behavior problem

" or be m istakenly labeled

"learning disabled."

By overlooking

the developm

ental im

peratives of childhood, these parents have deprived him of the

richest possible foundation for future learning. G

ive your child the gift of patience for the broad-based m ental

experiences that v,rill underlie joyous learning throughout life. Pushing academ

ic skills before the levels of sensory reception and association are in place is like trying to build a large penthouse on an

apartm ent

building before

the interm

ediate floors

are com

pleted. It m ay look good for a w

hile, but eventually you're in for a collapse. C

hildhood is a process, not a product, and so is learning. In a society that often respects products m

ore than the processes of creation and thought, it is easy to fall into the trap of anxiety over m

easuring achievem ent in isolated skills. H

ave faith –

in childhood and yourself. C hildren's brains generally seek w

hat

they need, and nature has given you the instincts to help them get

it. R ecently I w

as pleased to have as houseguests a friend from

A ustria and her charm

ing five-year-old daughter, a bright little girl w

ho has lived in tw o countries and is fluent in both English and

G erm

an. D uring their visit I w

as particularly struck by the close relationship betw

een m other and daughter and the little girl's

sunny disposition, w hich survived both jet lag and a hectic social

schedule. In a rare quiet afternoon, w e sat on m

y porch and talked w

hile the child entertained herself inventing gam es w

ith a few

pieces of plastic packing m aterial.

"She's so sm art," I finally said to m

y friend, a m ath teacher. "A

re you ever tem

pted to try and teach her to read or do m ath?"

"T hat's nonsense!" she replied. "I w

ant her to be eager for it w hen

the tim e com

es, not spoil it for her." R

elax, parents, your children w ill not get behind if you allow

them

the tim e to accom

plish the natural w ork of childhood.

sn n f ~

~fl