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Teaching our children is our responsibility
One of my favorite parts about being a mother is watching my son learn. Teaching toddlers is all about how as parents we can teach our toddlers and children. I believe it is my (and my Husbands) responsibility to create and foster my child’s learning. As a former teacher, this does come naturally for me. My husband is a former special education educator and social worker, so it comes naturally for him too. However, just because you do not have a background or degree in education, does not mean you are not capable of teaching toddlers and older children. This blog post is inspired by that simple fact.
We all become teachers from the moment we become parents, aunts, uncles, grand parents, and beyond. We have the opportunity to make an impact on the children in our lives life. Whether it is taking them to the library, enjoying a stroll at the park, completing a puzzle together, going on a nature walk, or just spending time together and playing with toys. These are all teachable moments. These are all memories and experiences that help our children learn and grow. All we have to do is put the effort into creating these simple teachable moments.
My time as a Teacher
Praise for Teachers
My passion for educating my son comes from my undergraduate work in Elementary Education. I taught in the public school system for a total of three years. A year and half as a student teacher and a year and half as a full time teacher. Ultimately, I left the profession very quickly because of how disappointed I was in the system. Looking back, maybe I should have tried to find a better fit school. But everything happens for a reason. What I do know is that teachers are the most undervalued and overworked professionals in this country.
Teachers are incredible human beings. They are patient and passionate about their work. Teachers go above and beyond the expectation because they love their students and they love teaching. What I struggled with so much as a teacher was the standardized testing, the cookie cutter curriculum, plus the cherry on top were parents who expected you to raise their children.
Be kind to teachers! They are doing amazing things. They are extremely loving and creative beings. Also, their responsibility is NOT to teach your children everything or to parent your child. Release that pressure from them. They have so many obstacles and extra work they have to do. Allow them to do what they do best, teach your children with so much love to the best of their abilities!
What I learned while Teaching
In my undergraduate studies, it was easy to plan lessons and create so many cool ideas. But in the real world school environment, I had a class full of students that were so unique, which was incredible. But I had no clue how to meet the needs of a 5th grader who could not read, versus a 5th grader who had an extremely high IQ and would go through my lesson plans in 5 minutes. I was frustrated and confused.
I quickly learned that I simply did not have enough time or energy to plan out unique curriculum for each of my unique students. I felt like a failure and without support from administration at the school I was at and ongoing pressures from all the additional non teaching related work we had to do, I left the profession. But I always held the reason why I started teaching close to my heart. The reason why, like many teachers, was my love of teaching and my love of children.
The main lesson I learned from working as a teacher was that no child fits in a “one size all” box. All children are special. All children are ‘gifted’ in the sense that they each have their own strengths and interests. All children deserve the opportunity to learn and grow and flourish. Teaching Toddlers is the start of growing our little ones minds and I take it very seriously.
What I have learned since becoming a mother
Similar to what I learned from my time as a teacher, since I become a mother, my eyes have truly been opened about what my son is capable of learning. My son is two and half and extremely eager and ready to learn. He learns quickly, but he also learns at his own pace. When we foster his learning and provide him the tools to succeed, he absolutely does. Something that has truly elevated my son’s learning journey and our teaching journey as parents is the Lovevery Play Kits. I have talked a lot about these on the blog and it is because they truly are incredible learning resources. This has been the catalyst for our son’s learning from the early weeks through age two, and beyond.
My son does not fit in a one size fits all box. My child is capable of incredible learning beyond what I even imagined he could learn at 2 years old. He deserves the opportunity to explore, to create, to learn organically, to make messes, and to make mistakes. My son also deserves to learn real world concepts. He has an incredible imagination and is so curious about the world around him. It is like you can see the sparkle of excitement to learn in his eyes!!!
Motherhood truly made me realize that I am a teacher still and I always will be now. But it also made me realize that we are all teachers. We all have a family member or a friend with a child. We have the opportunity to model and teach every time we are with that child. It’s a big responsibility but it is also an incredible one!
3 Tips for Teaching Toddlers
These tips are important to consider when you are in any child’s life. We all have the chance to spark joy and education with the children in our lives.
TIP #1: BE YOURSELF
My number one tip when teaching toddlers or other children in your life, is to be yourself. Lean into your passions and your knowledge. You do not have to have a degree or special training in education to teach your child or the children in your life. The little moments matter. Reading books together, spending time together, and having conversations together are all little moments that are learning opportunities. Show your child your interests and expertise.
TIP #2 RELEASE PERFECTION
If you are amazing at baking, then involve them safely in prepping a cake. Or if you are an engineer, find a way to teach your child math and science concepts that are easy to grasp. If you work in construction, show your child how to build things and create things with them. If you love sports as a hobby, involve your child in experiencing sports with a live baseball game or watching a football game together. Showing up as who I truly am has been amazing and healing as a mother. I get to express myself creatively by showing my son things I love which is music, being outside, and learning new things. So over all, be yourself.
Perfection does not exist when teaching toddlers, or in life in general. Be kind to yourself and to your partner or loved ones helping with your child/children. Some days we are tired and just cannot make every moment educational. That is okay! Our children sometimes are tired too and don’t want to read or do an activity you had planned. That is okay too. Do your best every day. Release perfection towards how and when our children learn. Our children do not have to get everything right all the time and as adults we definitely do not do everything perfectly all the time. So release perfectionism around your child and their learning too.
Our children don’t need to be graded on everything. They deserve the opportunity to learn and grow organically. Maybe they don’t color in the lines now, but maybe they will next time, or maybe they just don’t have to at all. Maybe that is their expression of creativity. Maybe they are not interested in the snack you made or the activity you planned out, but it is okay. Keep trying. Lean into their interests and what they gravitate too. The entire point is to go with the flow and enjoy teaching toddlers and older children. Also, do not obsess over what society says or what your moms, friends, cousin’s baby did at that age. Release the standards, and benchmarks, and grading, and societal expectations and watch your child flourish and grow and learn. It’s amazing to witness.
TIP #3 EDUCATIONAL MOMENTS HAPPEN ALL THE TIME
There are so many moments that can be educational without even realizing it. Counting the cereal snacks you are eating. Going on a nature walking and talking about the sounds and colors you see. Reviewing colors with blocks. Of course, reading has been the most transformative tool we have used since my son was in my belly. I recently started doing a little chapter book read aloud with my son while he enjoys a snack or while he is relaxing. To my surprise, he enjoys it for very small periods of time. He listens to it. It was incredible! It made me realize how capable and open to learning children are. They want to learn and it’s easy to make so many every day moments, teachable moments.
Examples of Teachable moments
Are you going to the park? Can stop and listen for sounds? Can you look at the colors? Can you talk about the birds or the ants near by? Can you talk about the clouds in the sky or whatever else you see?
Are you going to to the grocery store? The grocery store has endless opportunities for learning. Think colors, types of foods, costs of foods, tastes of foods, etc.
Can you get your child involved in making banana bread or other food prep safely? Can you talk about what you are using? Can you talk about the measurements of the ingredients? Even if your child is young and does not understand fractions, there is no reason why we cannot model or talk about them or any other math concept.
Can you get them involved in other home duties not as a chore but as an opportunity to learn and understand real world tasks?
Can you engage them in helping you feed the dog or put the laundry away?
Can you research educational shows that are worth watching like Ms. Rachel or others when you need some down time?
Can you have them help you get the mail and can you talk about what letters arrived?
EVERYTHING can be a teachable moment without the pressures of tests or grades. Just allowing for organic and authentic learning with our children is a true gift.
Concluding Teaching Toddlers
You are an amazing human being. You are capable of teaching amazing little human beings. Believe in yourself. Believe in who you are and believe in your child.
My child does not fit in a one size fits all box. He learns things differently than all others and so do all children! So don’t give up. Keep working on milestones at your own pace, on your own terms. Talk to your doctor with concerns and don’t worry about society and the commentators. Focus on your goal. A happy, healthy, loved, and creative child is my ultimate goal. My son evolves and changes all the time. He is a human trying to grow, to learn, and to understand the world around him. As a parent, it is my responsibility to nourish that and help that grow and my husband and I love being his teacher!
