So much of what I remember from my childhood was associated with experiences. My mom used our weekend day trips to the beach to teach me about sea life and our vacations to expose me to art and history. Because I’m a hands-on learner, I’ve strived to provide my children with the same type of experiential learning. My son, who just turned four, is an active, inquisitive little boy and I’m constantly looking for opportunities to educate him. So how do I inspire him to learn?
1. I seek out learning opportunities during our everyday activities. Whether it’s teaching my son about counting while we’re cleaning up toys or about being kind to the environment by picking up our trash during trips to the park, the most important way to inspire learning is to be consistent about seeking out these moments in the everyday.
2. I make learning fun. There is definitely a need for formal, organized learning. But my son is still at an age where play and experiences are vital components of learning. We sing songs, play games, and go on outings and most of the time, my son doesn’t even realize we’re actually learning something!
3. I get hands on. Despite the fact that many of our hands-on learning sessions are quite messy, my son has learned some basic principles of math and food during our cooking/baking sessions and my daugther is learning about textures as she runs sand through her hands.
4. I make use of age-appropriate resources. There is value in resources like Hooked on Phonics and Lakeshore Learning, provided that there is balance with real-life experiences.
5. I encourage exploration, creativity, and imagination. It’s really difficult for me to not want to “help” my son with projects (particularly if they’re messy), but being hands-off is vital for learning and growing. It’s also important for my son’s confidence within himself if I praise his efforts and allow him to explore and create.
Intel is currently hosting a contest between the ages of 14-18 and asking the question, “What Inspires You to Learn?” To enter, students can email their name, age, state, telephone number and answer to the question, “What inspires you to learn” to studentinspiration@intel .com. Entries should be a minimum of 50 words and a parent should submit an entry on their students behalf if they are between the ages of 14 and 17. Entries can include links to original photos, videos, or other multimedia content that may add to their entry but the content must be appropriate and something they could submit to their teacher at school. Any content that includes another person must include written permission for use and students many not use copyrighted material in their entry without written permission.
The contest will remain open until August 15th and the winner will be announced September 15th. One winner will receive a laptop with Intel 2nd Generation Core i5 technology for themselves, plus a Sony Internet TV for their school. Entries will be judged by a panel of Intel and education experts according to the following criteria:
1. Relevance to the question, “What inspires you to learn?” (80%),
2. Compelling nature of entry, including supplementary materials submitted (20%).
For a list of complete rules, just visit this website.
How do you inpsire your children to learn?
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Intel and Mom Bloggers Club.
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You sound like the same kind of mom I am. I love fun hands-on creative activities! This is a terrific contest, and the age it’s geared for can really use laptops for their education. Wonderful!