Our home environment can have a significant impact on the people we share it with. The things we choose to keep, highlight, exhibit, strew, and enjoy create an atmosphere that informs the character of our lives within it. Strategically keeping and displaying educational items can inspire and enlighten our children as they grow.
Simply by making certain items available to your kids, you may see a decrease in screen time, an increase in reading and creativity, and a more frequent display of that internal spark that lights them up inside. Wintertime, when we all tend to spend a bit more of our days inside, is an opportune time to bring in the following.
Books
Reading aloud to children creates memories. Biba Kayewich
From the tiniest of babies to the biggest kids, books—the physical kind with paper and no backlight—are absolutely essential.
Early on, little eyes will light up at bright pictures and the soft reading by their mom, dad, or other loved one. As time goes by, a habit of reading to your child will associate positive feelings with the act of reading, enhance your child’s understanding of language, vocabulary, and storytelling, and solidify the habit of reading in their lives. Access to a plethora of books is a key element of a wonderful childhood.
Maps
Hang large maps in your home, allowing them to be a constant reference whenever applicable. You might be quite surprised at how often they are actually applicable.From vacation planning to finding the homes of famous authors or sports stars, from identifying where certain animals live to plotting different landforms and waterways that come up, the activities that come from a map are numerous. Having a map within reach is invaluable to enriching your child’s understanding of the world we live in.
Craft Supplies
Children are naturally creative, and the urge to craft can come at any time. Keeping arts and crafts supplies always within reach removes the barriers for them so they can put their inspiration right to work.While making masterpieces, younger children will improve their fine motor skills and older children will advance their techniques. When Mom and Dad join in the fun, it can be a bonding experience like no other.
Math Manipulatives
When it comes to math, visual models can, for some children, make the difference between total frustration and actually enjoying math. The idea of numbers and symbols representing specific mathematical ideas can be challenging for many.
Having physical objects that kids can see, touch, and move around brings these abstract concepts to life. There are many kits available made specifically to represent mathematical ideas. Even if your child is not struggling, manipulatives tend to make math feel like play and the concepts begin to sink in.
Music and Musical Instruments
Studies about the benefits of good music on the brain have been well reported. Make music a part of your home. Don’t simply play what’s popular today, but explore different genres from different time periods and different parts of the world.It’s quite possible that for the rest of their lives, they'll connect the music you listen to with fond family memories.
Additionally, provide access to musical instruments. Toy instruments are fine for the very young. As they get older, allow your children to touch and play different full-sized instruments. At some point, they may engage in deep study of one or two in particular, but simple exposure to the idea of making music enhances their understanding of music and allows them to see their potential with it.
Art
Like music, art is an important part of the human experience. Observing art from different parts of the world and different time periods can teach us quite a bit about those places and times.Books about art and artists, postcard replicas of famous masterpieces, documentaries about art, and frequent trips to the museum are all simple things that can culminate in an enjoyable study of a wonderful subject.
Journals and Notebooks
Providing a journal or notebook and encouraging your children to write whatever they please can be both soothing and liberating for them. Young children may simply doodle and older children may find it a helpful outlet for their thoughts and feelings.Along the way, they are writing, drawing, and filling the pages of their books, all the while regularly engaging in the act of creating and organizing their thoughts.
