>HELP YOUR CHILD LEARN AS FULLY AS GOD INTENDS > >God has designed your child with powerful capacities to learn, >and you can help your child reach his or her full potential by >providing experiences that focus on different types of learning. >By interacting with your child and providing interesting >activities for him or her, you'll be fostering your child's brain >development, encouraging him or her to learn even more. > >Here are some ways to encourage learning: > > * Emotional development: Build a secure bond with your child. > Tune in to your child's moods and respond appropriately. > Spend time together. Touch your child lovingly, such as > through hugs. Encourage your child by appreciating all his or > her efforts. Set limits and boundaries so your child feels > protected and secure. Take care of your own emotional health > so you can be emotionally available to your child. > > * Creativity: Play with your child. Keep raw materials for > creative projects readily available. Give your child > unstructured time to use as he or she would like. Talk with > your child, encouraging him or her to think of how to solve a > problem or imagine what might happen in a particular > scenario. > > * Curiosity: Create an environment that encourages your child > to explore. Show interest and enthusiasm when your child asks > questions, and let him or her see you asking questions as > well. Provide time for your child to "tinker" with a project > to observe how things work in the world. Read aloud to your > child. Provide simple objects that can help your child better > explore his or her surroundings. Invite your child to join > you in making up stories together. Cook together so your > child can observe how chemical substances change when they're > mixed in new ways. > > * Physical development: Encourage your child to play, and > provide toys and equipment to help him or her do so. Exercise > with your child. Give your child opportunities to play > sports. Provide nutritious foods and drinks for your child > every day. > > * Musical development: Sing songs to, or with, your child. > Speak in a lyrical rhythm when talking to your child. Play > classical music frequently for your child to listen to, since > research has shown that the complex melodies in classical > music encourage neurological activity in people's brains. > Provide musical instruments for your child to play. Enroll > your child in music lessons. When teaching your child new > information, set it to music to help him or her remember it. > Take your child to live musical performances. > > * Language development: Talk to your child as frequently as > possible. Read aloud to him or her. Help your child listen > for and identify sounds. Provide the resources your child > needs to engage in pretend play. When your child draws a > picture, ask him or her to tell you the story behind it, then > write the words of the story below the picture. Limit > television and encourage interaction with people. Hold > regular conversations during your family's dinner. Help your > child practice following directions. Write messages to your > child, and encourage him or her to write back to you. > > Math and logic: Let your child sort household objects - even > clothes for the laundry. Help your child set the table before > meals. Cook with your child, explaining measurements as you > go along. Count objects, and compare their sizes and amounts. > Provide puzzles, shapes and blocks for your child. Sing > number songs with your child. Measure how tall your child is, > and how much he or she weighs. Make a calendar with your > child. Help your child place objects into categories. > > * Spiritual development: Pray for your child, and teach him or > her to pray. Help your child discover signs of God's work in > the world and develop a sense of wonder. Be discerning about > what types of media content you allow into your home. Teach > your child Scripture. Bless your child with gifts such as > personal letters about how thankful you are to God for him or > her. Make 3-D visual aids to use in family worship time and > store them in a box. Explain the spiritual meanings behind > holiday traditions. > > * Values: Make sure your own behavior reflects the values you > want your child to embrace. Impart values through > storytelling, hands-on experiences and everyday conversation. > Encourage your child when you observe him or her apply > positive values in everyday life. Give your child a share of > the household chores so he or she can learn responsibility. > Set rules of respectful behavior in your household and stick > to them. Thank God for His work in your life and encourage > your child to do the same. > >----------- > Cheri Fuller is a mother of three grown children, a > grandmother, and a teacher. A contributing editor for > Today's Christian Woman and a writer whose articles > have appeared in hundreds of magazines, Fuller is > also the author of more than 20 books. She and her > husband live in Oklahoma City. > > Adapted from Through the Learning Glass: A Child's > Nine Learning Windows You Don't Want to Miss by Cheri > Fuller, copyright 1999. Published by Zondervan > Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, > 1-800-9-BOOK-IT, www.zondervan.com. ********************************************************************** This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list. To unsubscribe, send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For automatic help, send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In case of any issue related to the mailing list contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] To know more about Jesus Youth, visit http://www.jesusyouth.org **********************************************************************
