Children learn best when they have reached play, when they are excited and engaged, when they are on an adventure! The careful parent who is creating ripe experiences for their child be capable of turning everyday into an adventure. Even the most relatively mundane experiences, with care to encourage curiosity, excitement and investigation, can be become an adventure. An errand at the supermarket can be become a look for round product containers. Or trip to the Laundromat can be become an artistic inspiration, watching the colors in the appliance drum blend together. Every experience-from cooking to gardening, flip washing to setting the table-can be an adventure when the parent uses it as to be able to encourage curiosity, investigation, query and proposal.
The word adventure implies excitement, thrill and built-in motivation. Learning with this strong emotional inducement can persuade children to greater Chuan Teik Ying achievement that learning that is simply push upon them. The effort and accomplished end that a child attains in the “adventurous” activity is greater than any attained via an activity charged upon him. Any and everyone who has seen a child at work on a task that she has picked himself can verify this fact. The tenacity with how the child holds fot it activity, the concentration and effort, and now the achievement of their desired end, are evident to everyone. Daniel Goleman, a renowned psycho therapist and innovator in the ideas of attitudinal and social sciences, puts it this way: inch… the mastery of any skill or body of knowledge should ideally happen naturally, as the child is attracted to the areas that automatically engage her — that, in essence, she loves. That initial passion can be the seed for high numbers of accomplishment, as the child comes to realize that pursuing the field — whether it be dance, mathematics or music — is a source of the flow. And since it takes pushing the limits of one’s capacity to sustain [that thrill], that becomes a prime motivator when getting better and better; it makes the child happy! inch
The thing then of any teacher must be to invigorate, not to impose. Yes, there are skills that must be attained, to which initially a child may be indifferent even compared with. However, the teacher’s own passion for the adventure, if genuine, and her own excitement, if true, can kindle similar interest in the child. Imposition and force however will likely drive the child away from the required skill, or at best if it is attained, the desire to continue the pursuit will not be awakened.
Often as adults we think of playfulness and adventure as the opposite of work and learning. But when examined as the self-motivation necessary of learning, playfulness is simply the child’s expression of passion and passion. Playfulness and adventure are thought patterns which complement learning, not oppose it. Doctor. David Elkind, a professional psycho therapist and early childhood education advocate, explains it this way: “Play has to be reframed and seen significantly less an opposite to work but instead as a complement. Curiosity, imagination and creativity are like muscles: if you don’t use them, you lose them. inch
In creating a learning experience, a teacher must be careful to infuse her own enthusiasm while respecting and encouraging the child’s own enthusiasm and inspirations. As much as a teacher-caregiver is organized and purposeful, her order and goals should not squelch the joy and levity of the everyday adventure. Yes, a teacher-caregiver should have developmental goals and plan in mind as she approaches each day, and each experience; however, she must also feel free to go with the inspiration of the moment, as you on an adventure often does. Though television with paddle and map for course, rarely does the white water rafter know exactly when or how the waters will rush and that is the main thrill. Stiff, forced and hyper-controlled teaching is the antithesis of a teacher-caregiver’s goal. Adventure and excitement is the way to go.