My wife and I firmly believe a child’s education starts at home. It’s great that we have a fantastic public-school system that is available to everyone regardless of race, gender, economic status, etc… But parents are still the front line of a child’s education.
Because of this, we decided to get into the habit of embracing what we call an “Education Hour.” It’s a set aside time that the kids understand is for the purpose of learning.
By the age of four, most kids are ready for some actual sit-down style learning. It’s not daisies and roses, and less sitting than just managing to be at a table for ten minutes. They still have short attention spans; however, we’ve been doing education hours with our son for two years now so he gets the gist of how to behave. Our sessions range from 5 minutes to a whole twenty minutes some mornings when his mind is clearly expanding and he just really likes to do more.
Topics We Cover
Writing letters and numbers
Doing basic math (1-10)
Identifying words he knows on a page
All topics of science (usually involving a demonstration or some kind of outing)
Expected Behavior
They’re four, so by now they should know what bad behavior is and what is poor behavior. I’m not saying they always behave well, but there’s less training at four about what is bad, just reinforcing good behavior and discouraging bad behavior.
Examples of bad behavior we actively intend:
- Markers and paint are for paper only, not tables, walls, couches, etc…
- No screaming
- You have to try, no matter what the outcome is
- No telling your younger siblings the answers to questions
That’s mostly a made up list. They’re only four, so I still let them get away with a lot until it’s over the top. There’s no reason they can’t fidget and sit-stand-kneel at different times while they think or do. I try to help them focus by removing distractions and giving them something to work towards (“When we’re done with education hour, we get to eat dinner!”). We’re going to do whatever is next anyway, but it gives that thing on the horizon to drive towards.
They should be able to recite their new knowledge to other people. I have the most fun with science topics. One evening, I thought “we should do an education hour” and immediately my son asked if we could do a bonfire that night. Perfect! Education hour is the Fire Triangle. We all went out back and we talked about fuel, oxygen and heat and then he had to go tell his mom and grandpa about the Fire Triangle, and then we ate s’mores. I like those kind of education hours.
Kids gets frustrated and don’t want to participate many days, but as you revisit tough topics (like writing a six versus a nine) he gets more comfortable and soon his sixes look pretty good, and I’m embarrassed to demonstrate mine anymore.
If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong. Good luck dad!
How does Marabou support women?
We live in culture where “bouncing back” is more valued than proper rest. As admirable as it may be for a sports star to get back on the field, the same rules don’t apply to postpartum recovery. The traditional resting period has been stolen from women through pressure to get back to their job or simply through lack of presence.
Grandmas, sisters and best friends who otherwise would have been there to help a woman transition into motherhood often live too far away to be of any help. Household chores and caring for older children inevitably fall on the mom. But she just delivered a new life! She needs rest.
Marabou Services is a unique gift registry which provides services instead of stuff. Most mom’s get too many onesies, too many baby blankets and not enough helping hands. Break out of a destructive cultural norm and start a Marabou registry today.
With a Marabou registry you can sing up for any service which will benefit you or someone you know during the postpartum recovery period.
Postpartum doulas for a first time mom
House cleanings for moms of multiples
Childcare for moms with older children!
Once your registry is created, add it to any other registry or post it to your Facebook and ask friends and family contribute to your postpartum service, rather than buying you more stuff.
More and more moms find they have to figure out postpartum alone. Is it any wonder why PMDs are on the rise? Or women are embittered by the journey of motherhood? We can change that by giving the gift of peace.
