Lesson 1: Natural Learning
Early Academics
“The natural world is the infant's and young child's first curriculum, and it can only be learned by direct interaction with things.” - David Elkind, Ph.D.
Although David Elkind is a professional educator, not a homeschooling advocate, he is opposed to early academics. In his article, “Much Too Early!,” http://besthomeschooling.org/articles/da... Dr. Elkind argues against the teaching of abstract academic subjects such as math and reading to young children. He bases his arguments on the developmental abilities of children at young ages. He describes how young children learn these subjects in stages.
“In a developmentally appropriate classroom, children are busy taking care of plants and animals, experimenting with sand and water, drawing and painting, listening to songs and stories, and engaging in dramatic play.” - David Elkind, Ph.D.
Children follow their interests and learn from their environments and from independent play and play with their parents and others. As children near preschool and kindergarten age, parents may begin to feel pressure to meet certain learning and developmental milestones. If their response to this pressure is to attempt to ‘teach’ their young children, or to place them in a preschool, they will pass on the pressure to their children who will naturally rebel, and eventually give in, losing their natural curiosity and love of learning. Our children will be much more likely to meet the learning goals we and others may have for them if we let them approach those subjects on their own, in their own ways.
“Those who believe in academic training for very young children make a fundamental error: They fail to recognize that there are different levels of understanding in math and reading. Learning to identify numbers and letters is far different from learning to perform mathematical operations and to read with understanding.” David Elkind, Ph.D.
Parents often remark on how their toddlers and preschool-aged children have learned numbers and letters, colors and shapes, even word recognition, among many other concepts without the parents having attempted the teaching of those things. We are amazed at our little learners, but then many parents make the mistake of ‘encouraging’ their children’s interests with pressure to learn more. Children are learning these concepts early because many modern toys and television programs emphasize academic learning over creative play.
”Children today know their numbers and letters earlier than ever before. Many know them by age two. Yet children today are not learning math or reading any earlier or better than did children before there was "Sesame Street." Learning the names of numbers and letters is only the first step in the attainment of true numerical understanding and reading comprehension.” - David Elkind, Ph.D.
Unschooling children have proven that they learn naturally to read, write, and do math according to their own personal schedules and in their own ways. They learn these subjects through a continuation of the same methods (playing, exploring, trying things out) used by very young children. Some are interested and ready at six years old, others not until later. Either way, the outcome is a child who can read and do math, hopefully one who loves to do so because the process of learning was enjoyable and rewarding.
“Unschoolers realize that different people learn different subjects at different times; they tend not to judge individuals based on how ‘smart’ they are or what grade they’re in. A group of homeschooled kids will assume that not every seven-year-old reads yet but that some are great fort-builders; most will naturally make allowances in their play for the widely differing skill levels.” - Mary Griffith, author of The Unschooling Handbook.
Children will learn ‘the basics’ over time through real life experiences such as listening to stories read by their parents, cooking, gardening, doing puzzles, building, doing artwork, experimenting, etc. Older children may choose to use ‘schooly’ materials such as textbooks and workbooks to learn to read, do math, or explore other academic subjects. The progression of these skills will follow the child’s individual schedule according to her natural ability and interest. Attempts to coerce earlier learning in a child who is not yet interested or ready will be met with resistance and the development of a negative association with the subject that may hinder future learning.
For more detailed information on the hierarchy of understanding involved in learning to read and do mathematics, and an overview of the educational philosophies of early education giants, see Mr. Elkind’s article, “Much Too Early!,” http://besthomeschooling.org/articles/da...
“Homeschoolers need not concern themselves with the one best age to begin an education–as researchers have and as schools must–but rather with the needs and interest of the individual child. We begin when they are ready–neither before nor after. This demands an intimate awareness on our part, an awareness that comes quite naturally to parents but to almost nobody else.” - David Guterson, former high school English teacher and homeschooling parent, author of Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense.
