How Young Children Learn

For younger children, most activities should be child initiated, individually or in small groups. Children younger than 6 years old should not spend large amounts of time in staff-initiated, large group activities.

Their learning will come with:

• Experimentation - How does this work?, What will happen if...?, Where does that come from? What if I do this? They don't have to have a reason to do something either. Often, they just act and see the results later: Oh, look...MUD!! .... Squish ....
• Physical Activity - Playing and exercising builds motor skills, fine and large, through movement as they crawl, kick, climb, run, throw, draw, squish, etc.
• Interaction - Language and social skills are developed as young kids play, talk, cooperate and are involved in activities with others. Remember, you are an example to them - They model you.

At such a young age, anything they do will help them learn. Sometimes the lesson will be wonderful; it is fun to play Peek-A-Boo behind the door. Other times, the lesson will be a hard one: your fingers can be hurt if the door closes. 

Kids have to be able to explore, play and be involved to learn. 

Related Training:

A Basic Approach to Learning through Play - 2 hours

Learning Through Play (1 hour / .1 CEU)

The Empowerment of Play for the School-Age Child - 3 hours