Talk:Essential Preschool Part I

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Essential Preschool Part 1

Preschool may be essential for children, one has to remember that in the dynamics of or educational system today. Stress factors are higher on our children and placed upon them at an earlier age.

I ask is this right?

I feel that the only way for children to learn is in a safe environment (rather at home or at preschool) and where the child has the opportunity to explore their world. This can take place in many ways. Exploration is vital for the brain to connect experiences to the symbols of letters and numbers that we present to our children. We have to remember that the brain grows in steps and cognitively may not be ready for just the flash card way of learning. You have to learn to crawl before you can walk! Same with learning. We can not jump steps in learning. The child may be able to repeat what you have taught them and even point the letter or number out. But can they relate that letter or number to the value it represents? We as educators and parents have to provide the child the one to one correlation learning opportunity so they can cement the concept in their minds!!!

Not only does hands-on activity and exploration provide valuable learning of letters and numbers, most importantly this gives the child the chance to relate for themselves, science, geometry, socialization, and many other skills and learning abilities the chance to develop, connect, and grow.

Preschool is essential. I call it childhood!!!!

MKS of California
source

[edit] About "Eco-Toys" section

This contains a project to describe education toys made from scrap lumber discards and other Adaptive Reuse materials.

• They can be made by each individual in every neighborhood rather than by centralized bureaucratic commercial toy companies

• The personal involvement of the parent or mentor extends to sharing the learning experience one-to-one, hands-on with the infant or toddler, pre-eminently outdoors and in family context

• No living tree is sacrificed to make any of the toys described; as children grow opportunity is taken to make them aware of this option to obtain what we need from deadwood rather than through ecocide

• Very young children can participate in making toys for even younger children

• The grain and other features of the wood are a primary education benefit-- true "intelligent design" manifested through low-tech procedures such as sawing and sanding

• Everyone with product ideas, and diagrams or photos thereof, is urged to contribute to this article

• With luck perhaps a nonprofit network of woodworking shops can spring up planetwide promoting these pro-reforestation education devices

Treedesigner 20:20, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

What would be really helpful I think would be any pictures of these toys that you or any participants could provide. Countrymike 20:24, 6 March 2008 (UTC)