Children are intrigued, interested and in love with life. The art of child whispering includes the capability to provide enriching, interesting experiences to help children pay attention and engaged with their learning.
Children do not pay attention to BORING, and neither do we! There are boring things that we need to teach children (e.g tables, spelling etc) but it is up to us to find interesting ways to make that happen. Just this morning I found a Superhero program that will zap up our tables practice and no doubt I will be looking for another one within 6 months!
The ability to sense children are switching off is paramount to acting quickly and facilitating optimal learning. Watch their eyes- boredom is easy to spot!
Here are 10 ways to keep learning interesting–
Use auditory, visual and kinaesthetic strategies to make sure ALL children are engaged.
1. Vary your voice so it is not a monotone.
2. Use colour as a learning aid and allow children to respond in colour rather than just grey pencil.
3. Include lots of experiences with the natural world as children are totally intrigued by nature.
4. Be clear about the outcomes and standards you expect.
5. Be clear about discipline and rewards and consequences.
6. Encourage children and show them HOW to improve.
7. Ensure your learning program can be “tweaked” so that children who need to have their learning extended or slowed will have needs catered for.
8. Be enthusiastic yourself and allow children to see you are also a learner.
9. Make sure children have some spare time to do anything they choose (within limits!) The biggest complaint I hear from children of all ages is that they have no spare time.
10. Model leading an interesting life so that children will see that you have fun too and love to learn and experiment with new things.
