The art of learning

Hey guys!

Today I’d like to take a little time to write about the art of learning.

I firmly believe that we’re all born with an instinct to learn. It’s part of our humanness and we can see it clearly in the way babies learn and how their brain operates on genius level. They don’t need structured lessons, a school or a teacher who tells them what to do to learn anything.

We do depend on people around us to learn how to walk, speak, do things that happen in our environment etc but these people are serve more as examples, we don’t need them to sit down and explain things to us. At least not in the beginning. Later, when a child can communicate better, especially using words, kids ask questions and adults should answer them.

I once read in a book that 4 year olds have around 20 Why questions per hour. This diminishes to 1 question per hour when the child starts daycare. Playing and interacting with other children is important but so is play and interaction with adults.

The one-on-one time with an adult - any adult, it doesn’t need to be a parent but the child should have access to the mother or father when he or she feels the need to be with them - that a life without school gives to a kid is invaluable as you can see.

Every child learns differently. Not all of us ask 20 questions per hour. Others prefer to learn by watching, doing, receiving instructions etc. To get to know your child’s learning style it’s important to spend a lot of them with her and to follow her cues. She won’t tell you ‘I learn best by doing‘. It’s something she does and knows unconsciously and as long as you are there to support her in her ventures, you don’t need to find out through a questionnaire or an expert psychologist.

Learning happens from the day we’re born. Unfortunately, our society puts children into the schooling system at a certain age - and each time younger and for a longer period of time - even though it’s not just not necessary but it harms the intrinsic motivation to learn that we have. It also stifles our innate knowledge of how we learn best and makes learning a nuisance for most children even though we’re all born carrying a love of learning that not many adults have been able to keep alive.

When you don’t interfere with this natural super power by setting expectations, getting annoyed when your child doesn’t get it right quick enough or even punishing when she makes a mistake then she will always be in touch with her natural way of learning and thrive in a world that requires us to adapt quickly, learn fast, be resilient and above all know how to solve problems.

At APTB we give children this environment to grow and learn freely, celebrating the individuality and uniqueness of each child and giving the necessary support tailored made to each child because every child knows best when it comes to their learning style, interests and needs.

I would love to hear your thoughts and maybe even concerns about this so please leave a comment below or send me an email to info@aplacetobe.me.

Yours

Sylvia

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash