Let’s get real. While we appreciate and need the professionals that work with our children, a lot of teaching happens at home. After a typical day of life however, setting aside time to ‘teach’ seems unrealistic and near impossible; at least for me. When the weekend rolls around, I don’t have the desire to schedule a day of instruction – I want to relax, have fun and enjoy the time off. The good news is I’m able to do both and so can you, if you use my little trick…
Learning should be fun; especially at home. If you make it anything but fun, you’ll be dealing with the consequences all evening! More importantly, we want to instill a love of learning in our children, so making it fun is essential. This applies to all children; disability irrelevant. The best teachers are the ones who engage children by using fun, creativity and a child’s interest.
Mothers do that all the time! We know fun okay?
What we don’t do however, is put the right spin on it.
Fun and learning merge once we have a few dynamics in place. The most important is a plan, but not just any plan. The one you’ll make doesn’t require anything but thinking to yourself for a few moments. Too much planning can extinguish fun, so don’t over plan. Instead, answer this one question quickly and with your intuition only.
What one thing do I want to work on this week with my child?
Don’t let your thoughts cascade or you’ll lose sight and the simplicity of it all. If you have a mental block and cannot think of a single skill, here are a few to consider:
- A Self Help or Daily Life Skill (brushing teeth, zipping coat, making lunch, crossing the street)
- A Specific Communication Skill (articulation, asking a question, greetings, using the phone)
- A Behavior (stimulatory, emotional regulation, external behaviors caused by anxiety/anger)
- An Emotion (happy, sad, safe, anxiety, anger; identify, manage or explore them)
- An Intangible Concept (time, measurement, money, theory of mind)
- A Social Skill (taking turns, social rules; standing in line, using manners, answering questions)
There are countless choices and you need to only pick one. Then consider your planning done.
This simple process and decision to work on one skill for one week is what makes the difference. Once you begin, you’ll be amazed at the countless opportunities for teaching. Starting is simple and you begin today.
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Armed with a plan and skill to focus on, the method of implementation is all about being natural and, of course, fun. As a savvy mother, you’ll work behind the scenes by creating opportunities to teach the skill you’ve chosen, while maximizing every opportunity that presents itself without your assistance.
Using the telephone is an essential ability and a great one to use as an example of how to do this. The most natural teaching opportunity would be that of allowing your child to answer the phone this week. A situation created by you would be that of making fake phone calls, while playing together (unplug the phone!). It is that simple. It is also effective.
Continue on, in a fun, low-stress, loosely planned manner for one week. One of two things will happen: you’ll see progress or you won’t. If your child is learning then continue on or add a new skill; whatever feels right. If your child isn’t learning, choose another skill for the upcoming week and move on; you can revisit a skill at anytime.
It’s a misconception and often a self-imposed belief that teaching has to be excessively planned and executed to work. The truth is that making the most of everyday life and using fun to teach is effective and, even more important: realistic. By deciding to consciously focus on one skill (and only one, lest you get burnt out), you’ve set the stage for constant learning.
I know there are some creative people reading this, so share your ideas and thoughts on teaching children at home with natural opportunities and a simple idea by posting them below.
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