Teachable moments for progress and peace

Posted by AlykaAdmin on 04 November 2016

I’m far from the perfect parent. I’m fairly chaotic, always late to play-dates and dinner is very hit and miss – oh the stories I could tell from my kitchen catastrophes!
 
…. But the one thing I think I’m good at is recognising the opportunities within the daily grind of parenting for ‘teachable moments’ that develop all of those crucial school-based skills like learning how to read and write.
 
Truth be told the thought of allocating specific dedicated time to developing my son’s skills makes me break into a cold sweat (another thing to do?!) but that’s the beauty of this approach – being able to improve your child’s skills while they’re playing or within one of your everyday activities.
 
So, for example, my son loves to help sweep the floor and use the vacuum cleaner… So I let him.
 
I don’t even feel guilty about it because it’s developing the strength of his posture, how stable his shoulders are, his ability to isolate his arm movements – all skills that are important for pencil grip and so much more.
 
Or when he’s avoiding going to the bathroom to have a bath, I turn it into a game and playfully put him into a ‘wheelbarrow walk’ where I’m holding his legs while he walks on his hands.
 
Not only does this help me disguise my mission to get him clean despite his resistance (so much resistance!), but it also allows me to develop the strength in his arms and how aware he is of how his body can move within the surrounding space.
 
Ooh! And when I’m in need of some couch time, I grab my torch because it’s my tool for having a rest, keeping him amused and developing his skills.
 
All I do is darken the room, sit down with him and move the torch beam around the wall and ceiling, encouraging him to develop his sight skills by following the light.
 
As for a guilty pleasure… When I’m begging for a soft massaging touch, I’ll see if he wants to trace the shapes and patterns that will form his letters on my back using his pointer finger. Good practise for him and so nice for me!
 
That’s what PlayBiz is for – providing example after example of the simple ways you can entertain your little one while developing their skills at the exact same time.
 
The easiest way for your child to learn is through play!