Learning Has More Than One Look
One of the things I really love about working with young children is watching the moment when something finally clicks.
Sometimes it happens sitting at a table with a workbook open. They have practiced that letter or number several times, and suddenly they get it. Other times, it happens later when we are doing something hands-on and they recognize the exact same concept in a completely different way.
I think children need both.
We are a structured school, and I am very comfortable saying that. Our students have routines, expectations, curriculum and workbooks. We teach phonics, handwriting, math, reading readiness, Bible and all of the foundational skills they are going to need as they move through school.
But we also remember that the little person sitting at that table is still a child.
They need to get up and move. They need to touch things, build things, count actual objects, make a mess during science and occasionally ask a question that takes us completely off topic.
And sometimes that is where the best learning happens.
If we are learning about numbers, I want them to practice on paper, but I also want them to count something they can hold. If we’re learning about plants, I want them to learn the vocabulary, but there is something pretty wonderful about putting a seed in dirt and watching it actually grow.
Even our Bible lessons become different when children have an opportunity to live them out. We can talk all morning about kindness, but eventually someone is going to want the exact toy another child has. Now we get to practice what kindness actually looks like.
I don’t think we have to choose between academics and childhood.
Children can learn to sit, listen, complete their work and follow directions while still having plenty of opportunities to explore, create, laugh and play.
In fact, I think that’s part of preparing them for what comes next.
There is a time to sit down and do the work. There is also a time to get your hands dirty and figure out why the science experiment didn’t work the way we thought it would.
Both teach something.
Our goal has never been to make little children grow up faster. It is to meet them right where they are, give them appropriate expectations and then help them discover just how much they are capable of.
And they are capable of so much.
Want to learn more? Come visit us at Cornerstone Christian Academy in Justin, TX. We’d love to welcome you and your child into our joyful, encouraging school family.