Young kids, often get frustrated when they don't pick something up straight away. I've spend time with each of my girls, explaining, how learning takes time. It takes patience and focus and sometimes that can be hard and even if it's not, it will take a while before you can master it. My youngest (7) wants to learn to use chopsticks, her eldest sister, had recently started to cook Miso Soup with rice and noodles and she really wants o be able to use them, like her other sisters. The first time she tried, she couldn't do it and she got quite emotional.
My youngest, wow she is 100% with everything, she feels everything 100%, so when she feels disappointed, we all feel it. So I had to be quick to talk to her, before she started kicking things. Yeah, when she get's frustrated, she kicks things, it's all those emotions that are stirring inside every 7 year old, which she is trying to deal with. Whilst also trying to find her way in the world and learn to use chopsticks.
Watching my three girls grow and watching how they learn, has been quite something, these last few years. They all learn differently, because each of them are different, so of course, how they learn will be different. My eldest, needs to immerse herself, she needs to use her hands, when she learns. She has very much, taken control of her own learning, with me being there on the sidelines, when she needs me. She's finding her way. Focusing on the things that she in interested in. I have had quite the philosophical conversations with her. She is 15 and recently came to me, because she doesn't know what she wants to do.
"You don't need to", was my response. You still have lots of time to find out what you want to do. "I'm still figuring out what I want to do."
Learning is a journey, it's a life journey. It's crazy to me, that we push kids to learn intensively at a time when they are trying to navigate the world and deal with a whole range of emotions that are coursing through their body. With the expectation that you come out the end of it, knowing exactly how you want to spend the rest of your life.
It·s just so much pressure, that we put on young people.
That's why, I wanted to give my girls the time to discover how they learn. And allow them to decide what it is they wish to learn. Which is really what they are exposed to early on. Reading and writing, if you do that at home, then your children will want to learn how to do it too, because they understand that it is important to do both. Maths is really something that should just happen naturally, up to a point at least. But numbers, money, counting, all of that is a part of playing. Playing really needs to be encouraged, providing the resources they need in order to learn.
When my youngest, got interested in making mud pies and then green grass salad's, I made her a little cafe out of pallets. Nothing fancy, just put some together, create a space and watch them take over. Then they need to take orders and boom, they are using numbers. Counting is easy, count your steps, count how many jumps you do on the trampoline, count how many times Freya, our dog snores, the opportunities are endless. Allowing them to experience life, to ride alongside you sometimes, to create spaces where their imagination can run wild. Making sure they spend a lot of time outdoors in nature, so they can play and explore, allowing them to take charge of their own learning in a way that works for them.
You know, I don't have all the answers, I'm still learning myself, still finding my way. I'm only sharing my experience of raising three girls. But that privilege, has given me a wonderful insight into the importance of allowing each person the time to discover how they learn.
(Just as I'm about to finish up this post, I see my middle daughter sitting on the floor, with a wooden board in her hand which has map of the world on it, my youngest and her best friend are watching her intently, as she shows them where the different continents are. Learning just happening naturally.)
All photos that I have used in this post, are mine.
