Early childhood – particularly the period from five months’ gestation to five years of age – presents a unique window of opportunity for learning. As young children’s and kids’ brains are highly plastic (adaptable), teaching your child to learn Chinese and English during this critical period can produce long-lasting benefits.
Repetition
“Again, again!” There’s a reason small children drive us crazy with their requests to do or hear the same thing over and over: young children learn best through repetition. Here’s what the experts have to say…
“You should repeat a stimulus until habituation occurs; then stop.” (Susan Ludington-Hoe)
“A toddlers masters an activity by repeating it; at the same time, she is programming and strengthening the neural pathways in her brain. Allow – and even encourage – your toddlers’ to repeat activities if they involve new skills she is developing.” (Winifred Conkling, author of Smart-Wiring Your Baby’s Brain)
“Going over the story [in a book] more than once enables a kids to learn new vocabulary items well enough to use them in answer to questions.” (Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn)
Stimulation
As parents, we have a critical part to play in helping our young children realize their full intellectual potential. The time for action is in very early childhood, because toddlers and babies love to learn, and they learn effortlessly. Here’s what the experts have to say…
“The best time to tap into your baby’s innate abilities, the capacities that all young children are born with, is when his brain cells are rapidly growing and making new connections.” (Makoto Shichida)
“Never forget that when you are giving young children visual, auditory, and tactile stimulation with increased frequency, intensity and duration that you are actually physically growing his brain.” (Glenn Doman, founder of the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential)
“Improve your kids’ ability to learn by using more than one of the five senses. When we use different senses we create multiple encoding, which increases the number of sites where information is stored.” (Winifred Conkling)
“There is, however, a limit to how much stimulation kids should have. Too many toys, activities, and outings can create confusion and actually work to a child’s detriment, hampering his ability to focus. babies are usually pretty good at telling us when they are bored but not when they are over-stimulated. Their behavior is often the only sign.” (Lise Eliot)
Now you know the basics, it’s time to design a personalized teaching program for toddlers. From birth, be sure to speak, sing and play music to your young children as much as possible. To enhance communication and reduce frustration, you might consider helping your young children to learn Chinese and other languages earlier.. Any time from four months of age, you can begin teaching reading, learn Chinese and math. And don’t forget to make time for encouraging your kids’ physical development.
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