Making sure children have confidence in the 3Rs of reading, writing and arithmetic gives them the launch pad from which to excel in a wide range of subjects. But notwithstanding parents know their importance, the 3Rs can conjure up an uninspiring image of rote learning on dark autumn nights.
Well, here's the good news! In recent years, research in neuroscience has underscored the fact that the brain learns best when it is having fun. Making learning fun in the 3Rs is all about empowering parents with simple techniques that work with how children think and learn naturally, to produce results that keep children smiling.
Follow these three practical steps to help your child start mastering the 3Rs and have fun in the process.
Connectivity is a major buzz word in current brain research. It is by making links and associations between parcels of knowledge that the brain is able to think, learn and remember. Try this: say the word ‘tiger’ to yourself. Immediately, a myriad of memories and associations will pop into your mind, all triggered by just one word. Show children how to tap into this natural ability of the brain to make connections between things, and they can use it to turn ‘difficult’ words into things they can understand much more easily.
‘Difficult words’ are often those containing ‘silent letters’. For example, the ‘gh’ in the word ‘mighty’ is silent. There isn’t any real logic as to why there should be silent letters in the English language. But it is important that the child remembers the rule.
The following technique will help your child make sense of silent letters and remember them much better. It works by using the brain’s natural connectivity to make a link between the spelling of a word and its meaning. Write the word ‘mighty’ at the top of a piece of paper. Then underneath draw a simple stick man, flexing one arm, with a little semi-circle to represent the muscle. Inside the semi-circle write the ‘silent’ letters ‘gh’ in a bright colour. Now act out the word ‘mighty’ by flexing your arm and pointing to the muscle and saying out loud: the letters ‘gh’ makes me mighty! Let your child do this too. You will probably both begin laughing. And that is fine. Now encourage your child to make up a sentence, using this and other words in their homework. The wackier the sentence is the better. This helps make the experience even more memorable, creating a deeper level of learning.
Curiosity is the natural spark that helps the brain to learn naturally. Whenever children encounter something new they therefore want to ask what, where, when, why, how questions. This is how they think, learn and get inside a topic to understand it. So when it comes to the 3Rs, one of the first questions a parent may encounter is: why do I have to learn all this? When you think about it this question is a fair one. Imagine someone told you that by tomorrow, you had to understand how your car engine worked. Unless you were a mechanic, the first things you would ask are why and what is in it for me? Children are no different.
So when your child asks why they have to learn spellings and arithmetic, for example, entertain them with a gentle discussion. You are more likely to keep their curiosity and motivation to learn switched on, when they can see the features and benefits for them of learning their 3Rs.
Children like things they can see and touch. For this reason many children are happy with numbers until they encounter abstract concepts like the symbols minus, division, etc. Creativity is a natural ability children bubble with. So let them get creative and turn mathematical symbols into fun things they can see and touch. Put a cover onto a table. Take an old bit of card, or cereal box. Draw and cut out the symbols for addition, minus etc, together with the ‘equals’ sign. Let your child use different coloured paints to make each of the symbols colourful and attractive.
Whilst you are waiting for the symbols to dry, write a few simple sums on small scraps of paper; fold each one up and put them in an empty dish. Put the colourful symbols, together with a group of similar objects, for example a bag of plastic balls, or pegs onto the table. Pick one of the sums randomly from the bowl. To put your child at ease, read out the sum with a relaxed and smiling face. Now gently ask your child to make up the sum (for example 9 divided by 3 = 3) using the symbols they created and the bag of plastic balls or pegs. Gently guide them when they hesitate; lavish praise when they are right! Let them also think about and set questions themselves. Arithmetic becomes a fun and creative activity that they are good at, understand and can enjoy.
