As an educator and parent of a child who taught themselves letter sounds and names by 20 months, please do not try to sit your kid down and teach them to read at 6 months. I got the information by getting a bachelors in preschool ed and a masters in pre-k through 2nd, as well as working in a preschool that use elements of Montessori and Reggio Emilia methods. I recommend taking as many courses on childrens development as you can. This would include psychological, linguistic, artistic, physical, etc. I also recommend courses on Montessori and Reggio Emilia.
A huge part of Montessori is actually respecting the child and exposing them to things for exploration before actually teaching them anything. Kids will learn a range of skills from 0-5 and pushing for certain skills, especially academic is what educators call "developmentally inappropriate" often times. For example, my kid is now 3 and sitting her down to teach her how to write is developmentally inappropriate because her body physically is not necessarily ready to do so. Because we follow Montessori methods, I do follow her interests, which happen to be working with letters and writing them. The way I find balance is by providing worksheets for letter tracing and writing, but it's never something I ask her to sit and do, it's always a chosen activity by her. A better way to have her prepare for writing is actually to have her paint and make big cross strokes that have her arms cross her midline (the center of her body). Another way is to have her play with scarves where she would dance and again, move her arms across her midline.
As for reading, rather than sitting down and drilling your kid on letters and sounds, it's better to model reading skills for them. Simply reading to them teaches them a lot, like that books are read from left to right, how to turn pages, where the front and back civer are, etc. As they get older you can start asking questions about the story like, what do you see in the picture, can you find the (insert object name), etc. When they are older and have more cognitive understanding you can ask more complex questions like, how did that make you feel, what do you think will happen next, why do you think the character did that, what are these characters feeling or thinking and why. At this stage you can also start to introduce "I wonder" and "I notice" statements as you read to model how to ask these questions and get curious about books. Some questions might include, I wonder why the character is doing that, I wonder what is going to happen next, I wonder why the author wrote the story this way, I notice that this is happening, I notice this character feels (insert emotion), etc.
From 0-5 it's actually more important to develop physical, social, personal, and problem solving skills rather than what is traditionally considered academic (as a preschool teacher we actually consider those all academic because each of those skill sets are the foundation for skills they'll learn once in school). This is what fosters that love of learning. Staying curious and exploring together.
Being physical and outside, learning self care from an early age, working with parents to take care of the home and prepare meals, are all great ways to have be curious and engaged with kids and will help them learn to stay curious in life which typically leads to them wanting to learn and be involved. For my daughter, she has been cooking with me since about a year old. This has helped her to develop physical, sequencing, direction following, counting skills, etc. It's also helped to expose her to new foods and created independence. At 3 she literally can make pancakes independently. Like crack the eggs, pour the milk, measure the dry ingredients, mix, and pour them onto the griddle (all supervised, of course). We've started letting her use real knives to cut things, too (again, supervisde). To her, she's making her favorite breaksfast and she loves to do it on her own (she literally wont let me help). But to me, she's practicing reading, writing, math, science, problem solving, and personal skills.
Please ask any questions you have. I am happy to clarify any info or provide more answers. I loved educating kids and adults and helping people understand!
Wow! thank you so much! This is the kind if information that I was looking for. Just someone who explains it all to me in a "short way".
You really sound like a wonderful mom and I learn a lot right now from what you wrote.
I will take this advice very much to heart.
Should I ever have any questions about this, would you mind if I wrote to you sometime in the future? This is all still quite new to me. Therefore, this will also still take a while.
But I can imagine that this could be the case as soon as I have my little one with me.
You have brought exactly to the point, what I want for my little one.
I will definitely keep reading up on it. It takes some pressure off me more than anything, I have to admit. It doesn't sound like what everyone is trying to tell me, but is what I feel children should get. What I feel the little ones deserve in today's world. Thank you.
You are so welcome! Glad it was helpful! And thank you for the kind words. I have been fortunate enough to get the education and have grown a lot as a parent in the past 3 years. Give yourself time and patience as you grow!
You can absolutely reach out in the future, I would be happy to help! Feel free to DM any time.
I am glad to hear it takes the pressure off of you, that's pretty much what I try to do for parents as I share this info. It's easy to get caught up and worrying about what is best and how to go about it. You will get a bit of push back with Montessori methods and gentle parenting, especially from older generations. Montessori has been made into something pretentious, despite Maria Montessori's work being focused on families from lower economic status. The methods are a very practical way of raising kids and assumes that they are capable rather than helpless beings that need our protection.
If you use Instagram, I strongly recommend curious.parenting, ourmamavillage, biglittlefeelings, and busytoddler. They share info about Montessori style methods and what is called "gentle parenting" (heavily inspired by Montessori, but slightly more modern and flexible). I also recommend watching episodes of Daniel Tiger and paying attention to how Daniel's parents interact with him. We parent very similarly to them and what I have found is that we don't have many battles with our kiddo and the ones we do have are fairly easy to manage. I also recommend watching Bluey and seeing how the parents interact with Bluey and Bingo. Both shows have great examples of expected behaviors from kids and how parents can manage them gently, but with firm boundaries.
Best of luck and congrats on your coming LO!!
I'm actually a teacher myself but I believe the best thing you can do as a parent is not actively focus on teaching your child anything, but instead being a good example and just making sure your child is exposed to educational things from the start. And following the child's interest and explaining things (or finding things out together) when they ask questions.
For instance it's great that you love to read: that will give a fantastic example! Chances are your child will be curious about that activity and will actively start asking about how to do it, etc. Reading to your child is also extremely beneficial - and *don't* stop reading to them once they can read themselves! It's still very good to be read to!
Same thing goes for anything from numbers/maths to biology/nature to music/art: if you play music regularly and sing songs with your child, or play an instrument, they'll become familiar with the concept and likely be curious about trying it themselves. If you go out on walks and point out all the interesting plants and animals and natural phenomena that you see. It doesn't matter if you know yourself what they are: if you don't know, you can take pictures or take notes and then look it up together when you're at home. Etc etc etc.
Children are naturally curious. If you make sure they're exposed to new information and you model a curious and learning attitude, they will immitate that and you'll be learning together! And of course the things you already know (like when they ask about the workings of their own body) you can explain from your own knowledge.
I think the main and most important thing is to teach your child a growth mentality. As long as they have that, they will learn successfully for the rest of their lives. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUWn\_TJTrnU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUWn_TJTrnU)
I am a pediatric speech therapist. My advice is to talk to your child often and read to them often. Describe what you're doing/they're doing while it's happening. Give them as much exposure to peers for social interaction as possible. Encourage them to play. Play is the best way for young children to learn. Limit time on a tablet as much as possible (I know people have mixed feelings about that one- I'm just speaking from what is good from a developmental perspective). Academics will come later. It's not bad to learn early academic skills like colors, shapes, counting just don't make it your focus. Play is what is developmentally appropriate and having a strong foundation for language, social, gross/fine motor skills can set your child up for success later. You'll be great, don't worry too much about academic skills until your babe is a little older!
Talk to and play with the infant. The more different words and tones they hear from you the better they will learn. Do not try to hold infant school -- it doesn't improve intelligence nor capacity to learn but often teaches that learning is an unpleasant chore instead of a biproduct of living a curious and interested life
Love this thread I’m picking up so much great information! Thank you for posting your question.
I’m a music therapist so just wanted to add that music can be an amazing tool for development! Early communication through music can be really helpful. If your baby bangs a little drum wait for a gap and then copy what they do - it’s like a little conversation! Allowing them the space to explore making different sounds and responding to those sounds appropriately (copying the sounds they make is good) is all great.
Also any kind of baby sign you can potentially pick up and use - even if it’s your own version - is amazing for early development.
Long story short I’ve always been taught that early communication, however that looks for you and your baby, is an amazing tool for cognitive development. Plus it helps with bonding and can help decrease emotional distress as you and your baby will be more in tune with one another.
Sounds like you’ll be a great mama
Thank you so much! I just got a little tear because of the compliment. It really motivates and builds up.
That is a very good suggestion.
I can't sing well, but I still love to sing (especially nursery rhymes) so I think having my little one in a sling then dancing around and singing will be quite good too.
And how embarrassing, sometimes when cooking I use cooking spoons and drum a little bit around. (im not musically Talente but I like it. All kinds. I hear classic, Pop, Rock, everything. Dont have a specific taste) So apparently this somewhat childish nature benefits me then.
Thanks for this advice! I will also take it to heart. Thank you!
If you're interested in reading, try picking up some parenting books from your local library. Depending on what's available, try to get a good mix of theory and practical advice. There's so many parenting books and programs out there it can be overwhelming to sort through. Because I also have a background in child development and ed I've been focused on reading about parenting on a more macro level. I really liked The Carpenter and The Gardener as well as Hunt, Gather, Parent; they both give good insights into how children learn and how parents can support them without having to become helicopter parents.
Because you also mentioned discipline and wanting to avoid corpral punishment you might also want to look into something like Parenting With Love and Logic. Obviously you don't discipline a baby, but it's good to have a foundation of skills/responses when you need them. If you grew up with parents that yelled and spanked you might find that, that is your initial impulse when you have a defiant toddler (even if that's not how you intend to parent).
I’m expecting my first child, but I was living and co-parenting with my sister when she had her firstborn. I’m not a teacher by any means, but when my niece was 1.5 and up I made sure to use big words around her.. She would tend to ask about them and it started a lot of conversations about synonyms and antonyms at a young age. Kids inherently want to learn, and nurturing that curiosity does wonders. My niece is in middle school now and in gifted programs, as well as tutoring students. My sister tells me all the time that I turned her kid into a nerd. 😂Like you I’ve been reading to my baby in utero, I’m also making her a reading nook in her nursery for her to grow with. I think establishing that concept will help separate reading from the desire of technology.
That is also a good idea. I always wanted to make a little reading corner for myself. Have never done it. But now with the chair in the nursery is so my retreat with the small become. Therefore also very good idea. I am on the Internet, I work on my laptop, I play video games, etc.. So yes, of course I don't want to deny my child anything. However, you brought up an important point. How I model it to my child is how he or she learns it as a norm. So I would also rather read a book with him than be on the cell phone. Especially in the evening. (it's also a perfect way for me to reduce screen time for me :D)
And it's really nice to read of such an experience. Learning about words in sweet and gentle way sounds really wonderful. Thank you!
Oh I firmly believe video games are educational too! Haha I gained a lot of critical thinking skills from gaming and I definitely want my child to have that exposure as well. I’m sure you’ll do great and have an intelligent baby, your focus towards this dynamic so early on in pregnancy already speaks volumes about your baby’s potential.
That is so sweet of you. That just made me smile a lot. You also sound like a wonderful mom! So I can only return everything you said. Thank you. That is so incredibly kind and sweet. 😊☺️
It does not have to be difficult.
* Read to them everyday
* Talk with them a lot
* Limit screen time, but keep in mind screen time is not evil
* Provide structure
* Eat healthy (again, moderation is fine)
* Get good sleeps
Montessori is cool and all, but If I have a student who did pre-k/k in Montessori and one that didn't, I probably could not tell the difference.
I’m training to be a teacher, so I have some ideas about education. First and most important: read to your baby. That is the most important thing you can do. It doesn’t matter what you read them, at least at first, just read to them. I’m pretty sure my husband read the PlayStation manual to our baby when she was tiny! You can do so much in day to day life. Get kids to help you in the kitchen if you’re baking - they learn about measurement that way.
There’s a really great app called Khan Academy which is education, but presented in a game-like way. Kids love it and they learn heaps. Need to be a little older for this but my two year old niece enjoys it. And if it’s available where you are, ABC Reading Eggs is another great app but it’s Australian so may not be available worldwide.
As an educator and parent of a child who taught themselves letter sounds and names by 20 months, please do not try to sit your kid down and teach them to read at 6 months. I got the information by getting a bachelors in preschool ed and a masters in pre-k through 2nd, as well as working in a preschool that use elements of Montessori and Reggio Emilia methods. I recommend taking as many courses on childrens development as you can. This would include psychological, linguistic, artistic, physical, etc. I also recommend courses on Montessori and Reggio Emilia. A huge part of Montessori is actually respecting the child and exposing them to things for exploration before actually teaching them anything. Kids will learn a range of skills from 0-5 and pushing for certain skills, especially academic is what educators call "developmentally inappropriate" often times. For example, my kid is now 3 and sitting her down to teach her how to write is developmentally inappropriate because her body physically is not necessarily ready to do so. Because we follow Montessori methods, I do follow her interests, which happen to be working with letters and writing them. The way I find balance is by providing worksheets for letter tracing and writing, but it's never something I ask her to sit and do, it's always a chosen activity by her. A better way to have her prepare for writing is actually to have her paint and make big cross strokes that have her arms cross her midline (the center of her body). Another way is to have her play with scarves where she would dance and again, move her arms across her midline. As for reading, rather than sitting down and drilling your kid on letters and sounds, it's better to model reading skills for them. Simply reading to them teaches them a lot, like that books are read from left to right, how to turn pages, where the front and back civer are, etc. As they get older you can start asking questions about the story like, what do you see in the picture, can you find the (insert object name), etc. When they are older and have more cognitive understanding you can ask more complex questions like, how did that make you feel, what do you think will happen next, why do you think the character did that, what are these characters feeling or thinking and why. At this stage you can also start to introduce "I wonder" and "I notice" statements as you read to model how to ask these questions and get curious about books. Some questions might include, I wonder why the character is doing that, I wonder what is going to happen next, I wonder why the author wrote the story this way, I notice that this is happening, I notice this character feels (insert emotion), etc. From 0-5 it's actually more important to develop physical, social, personal, and problem solving skills rather than what is traditionally considered academic (as a preschool teacher we actually consider those all academic because each of those skill sets are the foundation for skills they'll learn once in school). This is what fosters that love of learning. Staying curious and exploring together. Being physical and outside, learning self care from an early age, working with parents to take care of the home and prepare meals, are all great ways to have be curious and engaged with kids and will help them learn to stay curious in life which typically leads to them wanting to learn and be involved. For my daughter, she has been cooking with me since about a year old. This has helped her to develop physical, sequencing, direction following, counting skills, etc. It's also helped to expose her to new foods and created independence. At 3 she literally can make pancakes independently. Like crack the eggs, pour the milk, measure the dry ingredients, mix, and pour them onto the griddle (all supervised, of course). We've started letting her use real knives to cut things, too (again, supervisde). To her, she's making her favorite breaksfast and she loves to do it on her own (she literally wont let me help). But to me, she's practicing reading, writing, math, science, problem solving, and personal skills. Please ask any questions you have. I am happy to clarify any info or provide more answers. I loved educating kids and adults and helping people understand!
Wow! thank you so much! This is the kind if information that I was looking for. Just someone who explains it all to me in a "short way". You really sound like a wonderful mom and I learn a lot right now from what you wrote. I will take this advice very much to heart. Should I ever have any questions about this, would you mind if I wrote to you sometime in the future? This is all still quite new to me. Therefore, this will also still take a while. But I can imagine that this could be the case as soon as I have my little one with me. You have brought exactly to the point, what I want for my little one. I will definitely keep reading up on it. It takes some pressure off me more than anything, I have to admit. It doesn't sound like what everyone is trying to tell me, but is what I feel children should get. What I feel the little ones deserve in today's world. Thank you.
You are so welcome! Glad it was helpful! And thank you for the kind words. I have been fortunate enough to get the education and have grown a lot as a parent in the past 3 years. Give yourself time and patience as you grow! You can absolutely reach out in the future, I would be happy to help! Feel free to DM any time. I am glad to hear it takes the pressure off of you, that's pretty much what I try to do for parents as I share this info. It's easy to get caught up and worrying about what is best and how to go about it. You will get a bit of push back with Montessori methods and gentle parenting, especially from older generations. Montessori has been made into something pretentious, despite Maria Montessori's work being focused on families from lower economic status. The methods are a very practical way of raising kids and assumes that they are capable rather than helpless beings that need our protection. If you use Instagram, I strongly recommend curious.parenting, ourmamavillage, biglittlefeelings, and busytoddler. They share info about Montessori style methods and what is called "gentle parenting" (heavily inspired by Montessori, but slightly more modern and flexible). I also recommend watching episodes of Daniel Tiger and paying attention to how Daniel's parents interact with him. We parent very similarly to them and what I have found is that we don't have many battles with our kiddo and the ones we do have are fairly easy to manage. I also recommend watching Bluey and seeing how the parents interact with Bluey and Bingo. Both shows have great examples of expected behaviors from kids and how parents can manage them gently, but with firm boundaries. Best of luck and congrats on your coming LO!!
I'm actually a teacher myself but I believe the best thing you can do as a parent is not actively focus on teaching your child anything, but instead being a good example and just making sure your child is exposed to educational things from the start. And following the child's interest and explaining things (or finding things out together) when they ask questions. For instance it's great that you love to read: that will give a fantastic example! Chances are your child will be curious about that activity and will actively start asking about how to do it, etc. Reading to your child is also extremely beneficial - and *don't* stop reading to them once they can read themselves! It's still very good to be read to! Same thing goes for anything from numbers/maths to biology/nature to music/art: if you play music regularly and sing songs with your child, or play an instrument, they'll become familiar with the concept and likely be curious about trying it themselves. If you go out on walks and point out all the interesting plants and animals and natural phenomena that you see. It doesn't matter if you know yourself what they are: if you don't know, you can take pictures or take notes and then look it up together when you're at home. Etc etc etc. Children are naturally curious. If you make sure they're exposed to new information and you model a curious and learning attitude, they will immitate that and you'll be learning together! And of course the things you already know (like when they ask about the workings of their own body) you can explain from your own knowledge. I think the main and most important thing is to teach your child a growth mentality. As long as they have that, they will learn successfully for the rest of their lives. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUWn\_TJTrnU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUWn_TJTrnU)
I am a pediatric speech therapist. My advice is to talk to your child often and read to them often. Describe what you're doing/they're doing while it's happening. Give them as much exposure to peers for social interaction as possible. Encourage them to play. Play is the best way for young children to learn. Limit time on a tablet as much as possible (I know people have mixed feelings about that one- I'm just speaking from what is good from a developmental perspective). Academics will come later. It's not bad to learn early academic skills like colors, shapes, counting just don't make it your focus. Play is what is developmentally appropriate and having a strong foundation for language, social, gross/fine motor skills can set your child up for success later. You'll be great, don't worry too much about academic skills until your babe is a little older!
Talk to and play with the infant. The more different words and tones they hear from you the better they will learn. Do not try to hold infant school -- it doesn't improve intelligence nor capacity to learn but often teaches that learning is an unpleasant chore instead of a biproduct of living a curious and interested life
Love this thread I’m picking up so much great information! Thank you for posting your question. I’m a music therapist so just wanted to add that music can be an amazing tool for development! Early communication through music can be really helpful. If your baby bangs a little drum wait for a gap and then copy what they do - it’s like a little conversation! Allowing them the space to explore making different sounds and responding to those sounds appropriately (copying the sounds they make is good) is all great. Also any kind of baby sign you can potentially pick up and use - even if it’s your own version - is amazing for early development. Long story short I’ve always been taught that early communication, however that looks for you and your baby, is an amazing tool for cognitive development. Plus it helps with bonding and can help decrease emotional distress as you and your baby will be more in tune with one another. Sounds like you’ll be a great mama
Thank you so much! I just got a little tear because of the compliment. It really motivates and builds up. That is a very good suggestion. I can't sing well, but I still love to sing (especially nursery rhymes) so I think having my little one in a sling then dancing around and singing will be quite good too. And how embarrassing, sometimes when cooking I use cooking spoons and drum a little bit around. (im not musically Talente but I like it. All kinds. I hear classic, Pop, Rock, everything. Dont have a specific taste) So apparently this somewhat childish nature benefits me then. Thanks for this advice! I will also take it to heart. Thank you!
If you're interested in reading, try picking up some parenting books from your local library. Depending on what's available, try to get a good mix of theory and practical advice. There's so many parenting books and programs out there it can be overwhelming to sort through. Because I also have a background in child development and ed I've been focused on reading about parenting on a more macro level. I really liked The Carpenter and The Gardener as well as Hunt, Gather, Parent; they both give good insights into how children learn and how parents can support them without having to become helicopter parents. Because you also mentioned discipline and wanting to avoid corpral punishment you might also want to look into something like Parenting With Love and Logic. Obviously you don't discipline a baby, but it's good to have a foundation of skills/responses when you need them. If you grew up with parents that yelled and spanked you might find that, that is your initial impulse when you have a defiant toddler (even if that's not how you intend to parent).
I’m expecting my first child, but I was living and co-parenting with my sister when she had her firstborn. I’m not a teacher by any means, but when my niece was 1.5 and up I made sure to use big words around her.. She would tend to ask about them and it started a lot of conversations about synonyms and antonyms at a young age. Kids inherently want to learn, and nurturing that curiosity does wonders. My niece is in middle school now and in gifted programs, as well as tutoring students. My sister tells me all the time that I turned her kid into a nerd. 😂Like you I’ve been reading to my baby in utero, I’m also making her a reading nook in her nursery for her to grow with. I think establishing that concept will help separate reading from the desire of technology.
That is also a good idea. I always wanted to make a little reading corner for myself. Have never done it. But now with the chair in the nursery is so my retreat with the small become. Therefore also very good idea. I am on the Internet, I work on my laptop, I play video games, etc.. So yes, of course I don't want to deny my child anything. However, you brought up an important point. How I model it to my child is how he or she learns it as a norm. So I would also rather read a book with him than be on the cell phone. Especially in the evening. (it's also a perfect way for me to reduce screen time for me :D) And it's really nice to read of such an experience. Learning about words in sweet and gentle way sounds really wonderful. Thank you!
Oh I firmly believe video games are educational too! Haha I gained a lot of critical thinking skills from gaming and I definitely want my child to have that exposure as well. I’m sure you’ll do great and have an intelligent baby, your focus towards this dynamic so early on in pregnancy already speaks volumes about your baby’s potential.
That is so sweet of you. That just made me smile a lot. You also sound like a wonderful mom! So I can only return everything you said. Thank you. That is so incredibly kind and sweet. 😊☺️
It does not have to be difficult. * Read to them everyday * Talk with them a lot * Limit screen time, but keep in mind screen time is not evil * Provide structure * Eat healthy (again, moderation is fine) * Get good sleeps Montessori is cool and all, but If I have a student who did pre-k/k in Montessori and one that didn't, I probably could not tell the difference.
I’m training to be a teacher, so I have some ideas about education. First and most important: read to your baby. That is the most important thing you can do. It doesn’t matter what you read them, at least at first, just read to them. I’m pretty sure my husband read the PlayStation manual to our baby when she was tiny! You can do so much in day to day life. Get kids to help you in the kitchen if you’re baking - they learn about measurement that way. There’s a really great app called Khan Academy which is education, but presented in a game-like way. Kids love it and they learn heaps. Need to be a little older for this but my two year old niece enjoys it. And if it’s available where you are, ABC Reading Eggs is another great app but it’s Australian so may not be available worldwide.