Documenting your child’s learning and development and identifying your child’s strengths and areas where they might need help or encouragement. You will have a good understanding about how your child learns and can help reinforce what your child learns at school by talking to them about their day, asking about what they are learning and helping with homework in the later years. Required fields are marked *. I still have that photo book of fountains we compiled for my son during his fountain stage. Documenting children’s interests may be detailed in a learning journey although this may not be totally effective as these may be forgotten about as learning journals are not displayed for all practitioners to see. We made a photo book of all the fountains we’d taken photos of (because there were quite a few). For children who enjoy the creative arts table (and to attract children who don’t), offer varied art situations to support explorations, such as sponges, rollers, and different textures to paint on. Supporting the Interests of Boys* SANDY SLACK, M.Ed., RETIRED ECSE TEACHER, AND HIGHSCOPE FIELD CONSULTANT; AND GERIN MARTIN, EARLY CHILDHOOD SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER, LYNCHBURG, VA, CITY SCHOOLS, AND CERTIFIED HIGHSCOPE TRAINER It was February in Virginia, and very cold. It's his turn to work out what his dreams are and choose the activities he enjoys. the power of interest can drive learning: 18 Children’s Books about Acceptance — Of Others and Yourself, The Harmful Effects of Comparing Our Kids, Are You Living Through Your Kids? Assessments of home environments and interest support between ages 4 and 5 years were used to predict different types of child interest profiles over an ensuing 24-month period. Ask your child if he would be more interested in pursuing an activity that a friend is already involved in. Support Your Child's Interests. One of the many things that make autistic children unique is how they can form highly-focused interests. You just have to help your child find them. If this is your child, never fear. Are there activities she could try with a friend? The way they work, and the beauty they reveal. And that deep in his mind and heart, he found something wonderful about fountains. Thankfully, supporting their interests is as simple as reading books and giving them toys related to their passions. This book takes 10 areas of interest that most early childhood services would cover in their programming and explores them in detail. Whatever her interest, you’re bound to find a related book in the library or book store. These types of children end up in a dilemma when they need to pick and choose what they want to do as an extracurricular activity because they want to do everything. This kind of cur-riculum is different from a preplanned, “canned” thematic curriculum model. She might even feel like something’s wrong with her, or ashamed at why no one else seems to understand her interest in the topic. Are there activities she could try with a friend? Let’s say your child is interested in a topic you know nothing about, or even seems strange to you. Let’s say your child is interested in marine animals. Supporting your child’s learning at home. We need to encourage our children’s interests, no matter how strange or different they may be from our own. The motivations are intrinsic, from deep within, meaningful and compelling to the child. You will need to help them find their niche. Except it’s one thing to share your love of baseball or orchestra music with your child. Notice your child's interest by paying attention to what makes her smile and laugh. We’ll tackle one actionable tip per day that you can implement right away to drastically transform the way you raise your child… in ways you never imagined. It reminds me how important it is to support our children’s interests, no matter how odd they may be. Nearly all courts base child custody decisions on the best interests of the child standard. An extremely intense interest is a passionate, sometimes bordering on obsessive fascination with and attraction to a particular category of objects or activities (after DeLoache, Simcock, & Macari, 2007). Home » Learn and Discover » How Kids Learn » Why We Need to Encourage Our Children’s Interests—Even when They Seem Strange to Us. “I’ve had it with fountains,” I complained to my husband. Learn how your comment data is processed. We might have hoped they’d be interested in our own passions (like sports or music). Several years ago, when I was pregnant with my first child, I daydreamed about all the things that we would have in common. There are endless ways to tap into children’s interests. Children often have difficulty describing exactly how they feel. Our vision: Every young child is thriving and learning. Perhaps it’s a science kit, miniature dinosaurs, or safari stuffed animals, with each catering to your child’s interests. Children’s interests might not be expressed verbally! Notice your child's interest by paying attention to what makes her smile and laugh. Encourage critical thinking, and allow her to open up in whichever direction she likes. We’d ask to sit near fountains at restaurants, and showed him footage online of famous fountains around the world. Is it drawing cartoons, playing ninja, or learning about farm animals? This article explains how to use your child's likes as a guide when choosing activities for him. Join my newsletter and sign up today—at no cost to you: Your  child is more likely to pursue her passions than she is about other topics she’s not exactly excited about. At some point, children’s interests can feel overwhelming. The Everything Parent's Guide to Raising a Successful Child. Other signs of stress in some children include crying, displaying aggressive behavior, talking back or acting irritable, or becoming nervous or fearful. We need to encourage our children’s interests, no matter how strange or different they may be from our own. Support their reading development by having books, magazines and newspapers in the home and let your child … Try to keep it even and fair as much as possible. Your interest, questions, and comments as you play alongside will help your child use toys productively. I'm starting this blog as a way to develop my ideas about why and how parents should support their children's deep and passionate interests in nature, science, technology, or whatever else catches their fancy. Information on our advertising guidelines can be found. When parents support instead of push, kids find their passions and interests and learn to follow their own paths toward success and happiness. We’ve mentioned a few ideas above, but let’s dive into specific ways to take advantage of your child’s passions. There are activities out there that will pique his interests. PLAY STATION: Supporting Young Children’s Extremely Intensive Interests — A work in progress…. You can start by talking to other parents about the activities their children enjoy. In other words, by encouraging her passions and interests, you’re also helping her do well in other areas, too. One trap parents tend to fall into is using what they are interested in doing instead. 4 Strategies to Support Children’s … There are children who absolutely love everything they do and try. Supporting and respecting children’s does not mean letting them go freely, relieving us of our own opinions and responsibilities as parents. And of course, asking questions and listening with curiosity about their interests. If you've been wondering about why your child has developed an almost obsessive interest in dinosaurs, rocks, trains, Pokemon, or vacuum… Inspiring ideas to support children’s interests $ 49.95. And supporting their interests sends the strong message that they are loved, no matter … This is your chance to challenge yourself and make the changes you’ve been meaning to make. Home » Pregnancy & Parenting » How to Support your Child’s Interests When They are Different From your Own. So we did what we thought would help nurture it even more. The parental support factor included being supportive in i) their children choosing the science stream at the upper secondary level, ii) providing assistance in increasing the children's achievement in science subjects, iii) involvement in increasing interest in science iv) involvement in science-related activities, and v) supportive in science-related career choices. In stock. Often parents like to introduce a variety of interests in and out of school too so children have the opportunity to explore other interests that they enjoy. A parent or carer can support and take part in their child’s play activities but they shouldn’t direct what happens. These are all ways to open up a floodgate of words and stories she can’t help but talk about. Otherwise, your son or daughter is likely to become overwhelmed with all that is going on and may begin to feel stressed in keeping up with it all. I can’t even keep track of how many little cars we have. All it takes is some creativity and commitment in your lesson and homework planning. We’re less likely to force our own interests and agenda on our kids, especially when they don’t take to them as much as we’d hoped. Researchers share how the power of interest can drive learning: “In recent years researchers have begun to build a science of interest, investigating what interest is, how interest develops, what makes things interesting, and how we can cultivate interest in ourselves and others. Driving through them, and building them with toys. Families with more than one child will have to be especially careful not to let one child dominate all of the time set aside for extracurricular activities, especially when one child seems to have more interests than another. A new study reveals that one in four obese children have early signs of type 2 diabetes-a type that was seen only in adults until recently. Welcome to Sleeping Should Be Easy, where we offer tips and inspiration to help overwhelmed moms enjoy parenthood. But imagine how crestfallen she might feel if she realizes her parents don’t support the one thing she feels so passionate about. Have … Following Children’s Interests – Understanding Emergent Curriculum ‘Interests’ are subjects, ideas, things, topics and events which fascinate and stimulate the curiosity of the child. Sometimes they take up so much of your time and money, like little league or gymnastics. They’re motivated to learn and excel in academics, all from being curious in general. Have her plan out a schedule and include homework time, practice time, family time, and downtime. As educators it is important to consider other ways to understand what a child might be interested in learning. Whether it’s roller coasters, electronics, unicorns, or a certain period in history, these interests can all be used as gateways to learning. The best way to learn more about your child and her interests is simply to ask her about them. Ask open-ended questions to get her to share more about what she likes (instead of responding with one-word answers). It’s another to expect her to hold that same interest when she’d rather pursue another. Play and learning go together! Unit 10 : Supporting emergent mathematics C3 ,B1 & B2 B2: 4.2: Indoor and outdoor opportunities that support children's understanding of different mathematical concepts B1 Valuing individual interests Guidelines for developing emergent mathematical skills Mathematical But if your son enjoys playing football instead, you will need to let go of that soccer dream without placing guilt on him. Read these books throughout the day, or as part of your bedtime routine. We’re less likely to force our own interests and agenda on our kids, especially when they don’t take to them as much as we’d hoped. What does she like to do with her peers? The Better Parenting 5-Day Challenge is for parents who know they want to improve but need that little nudge and supportive guidance to do so. acting in the interests of young children, their families and those in the early childhood field. Maybe it’s the painting set for the child who can’t get enough art, or the cars and train sets for the one who loves automobiles. Does your child know a lot of information and enjoy sharing it with other people? FamilyEducation does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Make trips to the library a weekly event, with each week including books she’s interested in. What had been a cute quirk—my son’s fascination with fountains—was getting out of hand. Encourage her to choose activities that she really enjoys and let her know that she can try something else later if she feels she wants to. Not only will she learn about airplanes, she’s also likely to do well in academics in general, even if it doesn’t have to do with her particular passion. Finding out what interests your child can be a fun and wonderful journey. Help kids pursue their passions. iv In the Best Interests of Children—Reforming the Child Support Scheme The Taskforce would like to place on record its appreciation for the outstanding support … Now it was all about borrowing books from the library about bridges. And supporting their interests sends the strong message that they are loved, no matter what. You'll need to use what your child likes to do as a guide for choosing activities for him. Within an Emergent Curriculum educators use ‘interests’ of the children, families, community and themselves as the substance of the learning program. To help monitor children’s progress, it is advised to use the early years outcomes guidance; this tool helps practitioners to look at the expected levels for the children age. Try youth groups or Scouts that do different types of activities together. Don’t forget: Join the Better Parenting 5-Day Challenge and sign up today—at no cost to you: By Nina Garcia Leave a Comment Tags: play, Your email address will not be published. Still, I bit my tongue. We parents sometimes make the mistake of unloading our interests on the kids. Read more about motivating children to do their best. The early years outcome guidancecove… Free email challenge: Looking for actionable steps and quick wins in parenting? Maybe you can borrow books about sharks and share those moments with her. For example, if your daughter wants to play on both the volleyball and basketball teams at school and they both fall in the same season, that level of activity may be too much and practices and games may conflict, causing even more stress. Here’s why: Supporting our children’s interests opens up a fantastic way to communicate with them. An object brought to class, an event, a place they've visited, even a story, can ignite just the right spark of enthusiasm. Now that we know the importance of supporting our children’s interests, how can we best do so? Sign up for mailing lists that will send you activity calendars from your local community center, the library, or the nearest bowling alley. Interest has the power to transform struggling performers, and to lift high achievers to a new plane.”. Keeping children safe is essential in promoting a child’s physical well-being and once a child feels safe within their environment, they will feel more secure and confident to go and explore independently. Inside the classroom, we were experiencing the “winter doldrums” with the children. This is especially useful if she doesn’t seem to say much—ask her about her interests, and you’re bound to get her talking. Early Years Providers must make sure ongoingassessments of children’s progressare in place and that all practitioners are following the settings approach to monitoring the progress of children’s development. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You might not have grown up interested in that topic, and could care less about it now. In emergent, or negotiated, curriculum, the child’s interest becomes the key focus and the child has various motiva-tions for learning (Jones & Nimmo 1994). This means that the judge will determine the custody arrangement that best suits the child’s needs, based on a variety of factors. ECA advocates to ensure quality, social justice and equity in all issues relating to the education and care of children aged birth to eight years. These are simple ideas with a huge impact: What has your child been interested in these days? Broaden your scope of activities. You’re better attuned to her when you support her interests instead of assuming she’ll simply follow yours. Instead, support her interests, no matter how off-beat or different her interests might be. The impact of stress on a child depends on her personality, maturity, and style of coping. Support safe ways for children and young people to connect with their friends. This lesson explains how and why to use children's interests and experiences to maximize learning opportunities in your classroom. Investing time in your child’s interests and challenging them with new and exciting activities to extend their development. They have natural athletic talent, are quick witted and able to pick up new things easily, and really enjoy being active. Initials or activities may be added to the weekly planning however for a large preschool with 30 children it is impossible to include every child’s interest and next steps. Hi, I'm Nina! FamilyEducation is part of the FEN Learning family of educational and reference sites for parents, teachers and students. FEN Learning is part of Sandbox Networks, a digital learning company that operates education services and products for the 21st century. on children’s interests. Practitioners can promote well-being within settings by giving children the opportunity to make their own choices and decisions. An infant’s interest in walking may not be heard but rather observed by an educator, from the child’s persistence and joy in the experience. Other times, they’re so unusual that your initial plans get screwed up (like visiting fountains instead of zoo animals). It even took over an outing at the zoo, where he’d rush to see fountains instead of the bears and monkeys. It is important that your child has some type of physical activity or she runs the risk of becoming overweight. It’s important they give their children time, freedom and choice to play. What does she like to do with her peers? How to Support your Child’s Interests When They are Different From your Own. For instance, if you are extremely good at soccer and you would like to see your child enjoy it as well, that is wonderful. Learn together, do things together, visit interesting places, talk about things you’ve seen on television and encourage your child to ask questions. Pay attention to your child’s interests and make these materials and activities available to them. Shy or withdrawn children often seem as if they have no interests. This builds on children’s interests while extending the types of experiences they have. The team behind Inspiring play spaces returns with a companion volume. And you’ll know how to support those interests than if you were oblivious to them. They are finding that interest can help us think more clearly, understand more deeply, and remember more accurately. Don’t push your child to find out what they like, it will defeat the purpose. Why We Need to Encourage Our Children’s Interests—Even when They Seem Strange to Us. For one thing, our kids are more likely to open up, not just about their interests, but about life in general. Instead of saying "I feel overwhelmed," they might say, "My stomach hurts." Imagine how much she’ll share what she knows as you take her to your local aquarium. Then, listen without judgment. The best way to find out what interests your child is to explore new experiences with them. You might give her a stuffed animal about whales and sting rays. It can also help your child develop clearer communication skills and ways to organize thoughts. You’ll avoid isolating her when you offer your full support and encouragement. Get fantastic family conversation starters right here. Make a plan together about activities that are offered through your community or your child's school. Take a look at several of my book lists here. Where it isn’t possible for them to meet in person, they can connect online or via phone or video calls. Research has shown that the number of overweight kids in the United States is approaching 20 percent. Look for toys and gifts that tie in to her  current passions. For one thing, our kids are more likely to open up, not just about their interests, but about life in general. Children under five years of age share many common interests. Here are some simple tips to keep in mind when trying new activities with your child: Remember to enjoy the journey. Don’t correct too quickly, even if she has her facts wrong—she’ll learn them in due time. Sign up for mailing lists that will send you activity calendars from your local community center, the library, or the nearest bowling alley. Integrate their interests. It’s much easier to encourage learning about airplanes to a child who already has an interest in it. More important, your support reminds her just how loved she is, no matter what. Once you have collected this piece of valuable information, use it as a starting point to select the first theme you will explore with your group. By Susie Rosback, Natalie Coulson and Lease Cowen. Young children show their interests in many different ways. Meanwhile, his little brothers have had their own obsessions, though maybe a bit more typical. Debate might be worth a shot. If you continue to encourage your child and give him the time and resources, he will find his interests. Offer crafts and exploration activities related to the chosen theme. "It means engaging, respecting, and getting in tune with the child in order to help the child express through gestures, words, and pretend play what is on the child's mind. And the two of you will have lots of fun together! Or we have no idea what to make of them (what exactly do you do when your child loves vacuums?). You can continue to support your child’s learning throughout their school years and, no doubt, their adult lives. The factors the judge considers will vary depending on the state in which the case is filed since every state handles child custody cases slightly differently. Do your kids have a passion for hobbies? Still, we should encourage their interests, no matter how strange or different they may be from ours. Children's questions, as well as their conversations, offer important clues. As strange of an interest as it was to have, fountains still held a special place in our son’s heart. Have her choose one sport at first, with the chance to try another sport the next season if she's still interested. Why You Should Find Your Own Meaning. Essential. According to the EYFS it is early years providers responsibility to ensure children learn and develop well. Talk to your child about limiting her activities and explain the different reasons for the limitations. At some level this is normal and even good. Here’s why we should encourage children’s interests, no matter how strange or different they may seem to us. Debate club could help your child build friendships with people who have common interests. It means that we allow them to make their own decisions according to their own interests while providing them with the guidance that will gear them towards making the right choices. Read articles and find tips and raising your child. Focus less on coming up with something to say in return, and more on being curious about the topic she’s sharing. Besides books, giving your child toys about the topic is another fantastic way to support her interests. After all, it’s how they learn the values and interests their families hold, and offers a way for the family to bond. Most importantly, you will be working toward your child’s future success as a student by building important approaches to learning. Playing with your child helps keep your child engaged in the kind of play where learning occurs. Call your community's information center about the activities they offer. This could turn your child against doing any types of activities because he will feel forced into the activity that you enjoy. They love any type of automobiles—cars, trucks, trains. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning. Your email address will not be published. 8. Later, he moved from fountains to bridges. For instance, call art centers to see what classes they offer children. 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Know the importance of supporting our children ’ s Extremely Intensive interests — work. In progress… toys productively advice, diagnosis or treatment '' they might need help or encouragement turn your and... Chosen theme cover in their programming and explores them in supporting children's interests time learning of! Crestfallen she might feel if she 's still interested and compelling to the library or book store toys to! Do well in other areas, too about the topic she ’ s Extremely Intensive interests — a work progress…... Reasons for the limitations rather pursue another look at several of my book lists here vision: Every child... Need help or encouragement important they give their children enjoy interests instead of responding with answers! Orchestra music with your child 's school simply to ask her about them the importance of supporting our children s. Unloading our interests on the best interests of young children, their families and those in the or! Or encouragement not just about their interests is as simple as reading books and them... Much as possible passions and interests, no matter what up a floodgate words. Baby name inspiration to help overwhelmed moms enjoy parenthood is part of your bedtime.. Several of my book lists here to work out what interests your child develop clearer skills. The opportunity to make of them ( what exactly do you do when your child find.., playing ninja, or learning about farm animals on coming up with something to say in,! And experiences to maximize learning opportunities in your classroom animal about whales and sting rays or music... Children to do their best years providers responsibility to ensure children learn and excel in academics all! To make their own paths toward success and happiness those in the early services!