Having a 7.5 year old, a 5 year old and a 22 month old, I feel like we are at many stages of life all at once. We have one daughter in the beggining stages of second grade, one in preschool and one learning how to navigate life in a world full of words, pictures and movement. It’s a beautiful stage, a tiring stage and an unpredictable stage. The one thing I can tell you is that this stage is FULL of teachable moments. A teachable moment is a moment in time where you have an opportunity to teach your child something. It could be a moral, a lesson in life, academia, etc. In fact, teachable moments are EVERYWHERE…you just have to be receptive to them.
As I navigate my day to day, I am well aware of my kids and their surroundings. When we do a walk around the neighborhood, we also include a letter hunt…finding all of the letters we possibly can. When we are at a park, I am pointing out animals we encounter along with insects and plants. When at the grocery store, I am showing my kids how to read labels and shop properly so we get a wonderful assortment of healthy food. When at the doctor’s office, we are constantly talking about the tools the doctor uses to make sure we are healthy. You get the point, teachable moments are everywhere.
It doesn’t take rocket science to realize the world is a classroom and we are our child’s main teacher. It also isn’t rocket science finding those moments in day to day life. If you aren’t feeling very creative and need a little help recognizing teachable moments, here is a list of things you can do to help your child.
- Talk about your day aloud verbally…what you are doing, where you are going, why you do the things you do, etc.
- As you go somewhere, think about what you can teach your kids. For example, if you plan on going to the art museum, research about one of the artists and talk about it as you explore the museum.
- As you are doing daily activities, talk about why you are doing thoes things. Things such as washing your hands, eating, drinking water, putting on your shoes, etc.
- While in the car, review letters, their sounds, and (depending on the age of your child) start trying to create words using those sounds.
Honestly, it is difficult for me to list out all of the teachable moments because they are truly everywhere. Just opening your ears, eyes and mind to the possibilities of what you can teach your child is the first step in seeing the beauty of education all around you.
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