It's Never Too Early!

When I started college, I was majoring in History and wanted to teach high school. After the first semester of my junior year, I switched my major to Sociology (with a double minor in History and Religious Studies) and wanted to do social work. After I graduated, what did I do? That's right, I became a preschool teacher!

Teaching preschool for just two years taught me so much, and although I miss it dearly, I hope to never go back. Why? Because my husband and I hope to homeschool our children. I could go into a huge ramble about why we are hoping to homeschool, but I think I'll save that for another rainy day. Sorry to put you on the edge of your seats! :)

Throughout my college career, I took many classes on the sociology of parenting, families and education (especially early childhood education). When I started teaching, I was blessed with some great opportunities to learn even more about early childhood development and education and I fell in love. With my students and with early learning.

I fell in love with the simplicity of early learning and wish every parent had a basic knowledge of how to incorporate it into their day to day routine with their children. If that happened, how much more prepared would our kindergarteners be?!

Some people might think I'm crazy, but from day one, I have interacted with Cana in a very intentional way. 

I talk to her about everything I do. 

I name letters, colors and shapes when we play with toys. 

I read to her and talk about handling books (turning pages, being gentle, following the line of print).

The games we play involve learning actual skills like sharing, talking, reading, walking, listening, following directions, etc.

And I avoid electronic toys like the plegue because they take away imagination and do everything for her; kids learn nothing from electronics but repetition. 

The biggest thing I try to remind myself, is that nothing is ever too early for Cana to learn. There is no timeline that a child should follow when it comes to learning a new skill or idea. If that were the case, Cana shouldn't have rolled, sat, crawled, "talked", push-walked, or grabbed when she did. And she definitely should have slept through the night waaaaay before she actually did (I would have been okwith  that though!). So when it comes to my interactions with my daughter, I act like she understands everything I do and say. Even if it's years before she might actually get it. 

It's definitely surprising how much Cana can do when I just give her the chance to prove the developmental timelines wrong! Take this video for example! I had no idea my 7 month old would understand the concept of turn taking, but with a lot of playing (practice) she's starting to get it! She will give me her ball, toy or paci to play with if I show interest in it and say, "Can mama try?" 

Parenting is a wonderful learning opportunity!