Rainbows and Kitchens as Teaching Tools: Learning as Family Fun

The first five years of a child's life are a time of tremendous growth and the parent must seize every teachable moment and make every day meaningful. Children enter the world with basic needs that must be met for them to grow up successfully: love, nutrition, health, social and emotional security and stimulation. Stimulation is very important to a developing mind, but it must be more than watching a video or playing a game alone-even if the program or games are educational. Young children enter the world with a great capacity to learn and parents must monitor what their young learners are taking into their minds.

From birth through age five, children are developing various foundation skills such as, language, thinking, motor skills, emotional, and interpersonal, they will need for the rest of their lives. Children are born with an innate need to discover and explore, and that innate need will grow as they do, if you as a parent, make learning seem valuable to the child. Showing enthusiasm for what your child's need to learn will encourage your young learner to keep asking questions and seeking answers throughout their life.

Years of research shows that children are more likely to succeed in learning when their family actively supports them. As a classroom teacher, I can testify to the real world impact of this fact-and the terrible results of the failure of parents to support their children. Parents who spend time with their children in activities allowing them to talk, explore, experiment, and discuss an event demonstrates, to their children, that learning is both enjoyable and important. These fully involved parents, grandparent, and guardians prepare their children to be successful in school, and in life, no matter what obstacles they may encounter in the classroom or life.

Research indicates that the richer development a child has in early life stages the better that child will perform in the formal education process whether in public or private school. When young learners are provided a home environment rich in experiences and opportunities, they easily acquire the essential skills needed for success in school and life. A child who enters the formal school process without these skills runs a significant risk of starting behind and staying behind.

Everyday interaction with your child, from birth onward, provides opportunities to share learning experiences. This information can be easily shared during car rides, bus rides, bath time, or at a family meal. As your young learner's cognitive skills grow, these conversations will become deeper. Remember, for a young learner, even the simplest things can become a learning experience for a hungry young mind.

As an example for the very young learner, let us use bath time as a teachable moment. As you give your wee one a bath, you might say, for example, "First let's stick the round stopper in the drain hole. That will keep your bath water from running down the drain as we fill the tub. Now we'll turn on the water. Let's feel the water for its temperature. This side is HOT water; this side is COLD water. Look at the bubbles (from bubble bath)! Do you want your little yellow submarine or rubber ducky to play with? Look, at how your submarine floats. Real submarines can move underwater."

The point is that you can make so many activities a teachable moment. I know you will feel silly sometimes; that's only natural. I believe we adults feel silly in these situations because to us, most of the things we can use for an example, like bath time, are overlooked because we have experienced such moments for years. However, that isn't the case for the young learner; so a fresh outlook at common experiences based on the view of a child is the mindset we must condition ourselves to remember.

Hot is a three letter word that is easy to say and spell, it is an important concept to know, and has an easy opposite to compare with. Cold. This word is only four letters but is equally important to understand, say, and spell.

An added benefit of a bath time teachable moment is, and you know it, if you play with the tub toys the bath usually goes a bit smoother. Don't feel silly about being a grown up playing with a tub toy; it's not about you, it's about you, your child, and your own inner child. Enjoy. Relax. Unwind. When you do bath time in the future, talk about the toys. For example, use the (yellow) rubber ducky to talk about the real ducks. Yes, you can even talk about television or movie ducks. You can talk about sharks. You can talk about submarines. You can talk about fish. It is a world of opportunity for you to enrich your child's life.

While we are speaking of water let me tip you to a teachable moment you can seize while washing the car, watering the lawn, or giving the dog a bath with your young learner. I am speaking of a teachable moment found in a rainbow. Rainbows, they're not just for stationery art or refrigerator magnets. For a very young learner you don't even have to attempt to provide a scientific explanation; it's enough that you know how to make one. Although, if you're older learner asks how a rainbow occurs in nature you can simply jiggle your garden hose and say, "Sunlight shines into the little bitty drops of water and the little drops of misty water bend (refract) the light separating the light into the primary colors. Rainbows are curved because of the way the light is bent." Let them learn more on their own.

To really impress your young learner you can always dust off that old science class prism you have lying around in your junk drawer. Or, you could pull out the classic Pink Floyd CD, Dark Side of the Moon, and show them the cover art. Be creative. Think outside of the box.

For this rainbow-inspired example of a teachable moment you should already have two key elements in place. All you need is a garden hose and a sunny day. Hopefully your young learner has had fun helping you in whatever your watery project was. Now, before your child runs off to another adventure, spring a teachable moment on him or her.

Although you can make a rainbow almost anytime during a sunny day, ideally the sun should be relatively low in the sky and behind you. But, you can manipulate the angle of the water spray and still get a weak rainbow under less than ideal conditions. The light source should be behind you and the fine water spray in front of you, almost as if you are watering your own shadow. You can use a multi-function nozzle or just manipulate the water with your fingers until you get a fine, misty, spray that will create a rainbow.

Once the child sees the colors of a rainbow in the fine mist of water, you can use this tried and true mnemonics technique to teach them the seven primary colors. Tell them they can remember the colors of the rainbow by remembering a man's name. Roy G. Biv. That name should help them remember the seven primary colors: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. The colors of a rainbow always appear in the same order with the color red on top and moving down to violet. If you are lucky enough to see a secondary rainbow the order of the colors will be reversed. Now have your child make their own rainbow and call out the colors they see. Some other time, after the next rain, go outside and see who may be the first person to find a natural rainbow in the sky.

Another important action is to read something aloud to your child every day. Children of all ages love to be read to, and often, the sound of your voice will act as a calming influence while you prepare their dinner, bath, or bedtime. Two rooms of the home we all visit every day are the kitchen and the bedroom. Studies show that even though a toddler won't understand the story that you read, reading aloud gives him or her a chance to focus on something pleasant and enjoy the sound of your voice. You don't have to be an avid reader for your child to enjoy hearing you read a story. Stories come from various places such as cereal boxes, magazine and newspaper articles, books, and your imagination. Ham up your delivery. Emote. Have fun. By allowing your child to connect reading with the warm experiences of hearing you tell a story, you can create in the child a desire to read stories for him or her self.

Let us use any well-known brand of cereal's spokes-icon as an example of finding a source for telling a story introducing your young learner to stories. Often a cereal box will have a short story or blurb on it that can start your teachable moment.

The icons for popular cereals run the gamut of creatures and characters, and this variety opens the door of the imagination. Let's use a tiger. If a child has seen the icon in a television commercial the child may have a sense of what the icon sounds like and moves like. If not, that's all good too because you have a clean slate to begin with.

After you have read the back of the cereal box several times (pointing to words as you say them), ask your child if they can identify a particular word by sight. The young learner doesn't have to be able to spell the word from memory but spelling it out while identifying it printed on the box is a good way for the child to begin identifying letters and words. This is the first step toward reading on their own. Perhaps the combination of a story's prewritten beginning and your child's imagination will provide the child with an educational distraction giving you the precious time you need to load the dishwasher or make lunches for the next day.

After the story on the cereal box becomes old, and it will, you will need to expand the activity. Ask your child to tell you a new story about the icon. If your child is older, you can have him or her write a short story while they sit at the table waiting for their meal. Breakfast time stories can be based on cereal box icons and dinner stories can be stories about animals, vegetables, minerals, or something that happened during their day. As your child grows story time can expand to mirror the child's interests and expanding imagination. If the child likes tigers, find books or stories about tigers to read and use as a guide for creating their own story. This is an adaptable exercise that stays relevant, grows with the child, and seizes shared times in the home to nurture the parent-child bond.

Start incorporating teachable moments early in your child's life and the practice will become a good habit. When your child is still a baby, reading aloud to him or her should become part of your daily routine. For infants, you will need to read for no more than a few minutes at a time. A good opportunity for this would be during the wind down time to a nap would be a good time to start. As your child grows older, you should be able to tell if he or she wants you to read for longer periods. Encourage your son or daughter to ask questions about the story and then tell you what they like most about the story. This will help tell you what interests your child and to choose future story books.

When your young learner begins to read on their own monitor what they are choosing and always be open for answering any questions that come from their independent reading. Make sure that your home has lots of reading materials that are appropriate for your young learner. I grew up with Highlights magazine and still thumb through the magazine when I come across a copy. I find Reader's Digest magazine a good source of information and stories relevant to my students and myself.

Keep books, magazines, and newspapers in the house. Share stories and articles out of the magazines you already subscribe to. You can find good used children's books and magazines at yard sales or sales held by your neighborhood library branch. Ask family members and friends to consider giving your young child a book or magazine subscription as birthday or graduation gifts instead of a DVD or video game.

Show your child that you value reading. Let your child see you reading for pleasure as well as for performing your routine activities as an adult such as reading letters, recipes, directions, instructions, newspapers, computer screens, and so forth. The cereal box is just the beginning for the young learner and it's a great place to start because we all have to eat. Every day.

Shopping for groceries is just one of many routines that you can turn into a teachable moment for a young learner. I know most adults hate taking a very young child to the grocery store. But, shopping is a opportunity to show your child shapes, colors, and words. Studies have shown that if you give even a young child a sense of 'ownership' in the shopping experience misbehavior is reduced somewhat. Think about the crying and screaming children you have seen in the grocery store aisles. They act as if they are a hostage on the shopping trip rather than a partner. If the child believes he or she is involved in the purchasing experience they are often too helpful to be a problem.

Pick a time to go shopping when neither you nor your child is hungry or tired. If the child is already cranky, no amount of colors, funny looking produce, or involvement in picking items will overcome that childish crankiness. One you are in the grocery store, place your child in the grocery cart so that he faces you so you are in control of what he or she sees. Take your time as you walk up and down the aisles remaining visible to your child at all times. As frequently as possible, let your child handle the (non-breakable) items that you buy.

If you purchase a carton of cold milk show them the word milk and say the letters while pointing at them. Have the child touch the carton and talk about the cold temperature. Hot and cold temperatures can be referenced back to bath time and its hot and cold running water. Can they spell the words cold and milk? Do they like warm milk? Do they know where milk comes from? Talk about cows and farms. Tell them milk also makes the cheese they enjoy eating.

When you come to the cereal aisle ask them what icon or animal they want to make up stories about this week then pick that box of cereal. When you travel down the produce aisle ask your child which fruit or vegetable looks the funniest or is the most colorful or pick a shape and let them taste the fruit or vegetable when you get home. If they chose an item because it looks funny, or is colorful, they could very well be more open to eating it and enjoying it because they have 'ownership' in it.

If their choice is a fruit or vegetable you are not familiar with, look up a recipe using the item and share the preparation or cooking experience with your child. Ownership. Work a little math and reading into the experience if you prepare a recipe. Measurements and cooking time are good introductions to math principles.

If you don't know the story of the fruit or vegetable find a book or print out an internet search on it then read about it while you cook it or eat it. You have to eat and you have to cook; these are great opportunities to share an experience with your young learner. Give them ownership in the process of shopping and cooking and you've provide opportunities for the young learner to experience new activities with you. Perhaps shopping and preparing meals will now become happily anticipated events full of parent-child bonding and many teachable moments.

Continuing with math related teachable moments, studies have found that repetitive hands-on activities using counting and measuring, and identifying number words are a good way to introduce a young learner to the world of math. As you go through your day with your child, show and talk about, the numbers common in your daily routines. Repetition is necessary for young learners to retain facts and information.

When you are in your car point to the various buttons on the dash and count them for your child. Then have your child count them back to you as you, or he or she, points to the buttons. Of course, you should only to do this while stopped at a traffic light or parked; but since you've told everyone you know that the commute time with your child in the car is a telephone free time, you now have the time and opportunity to interact with your young one. Tell your child a story while you drive. If your child is older, share creating the story by each of you telling a section by taking turns. For younger children, count traffic lights or colored cars or just talk about anything. You have a captive audience so take advantage of the time together rather than talking on the phone.

If you have the opportunity to cook at home you have the opportunity to show even your highchair age child shapes and math related actions. When you bake cookies count the dollops of batter that will soon become delicious cookies. Remind your child of the number as the cookies bake; then count again as the cookies emerge from the oven. Count the visible chocolate chips or nuts in the cookies. Break one cookie in two parts, or four, to demonstrate bigger numbers and fractions.

Use your kitchen timer to demonstrate clock time and numbers. Show the oven control dial indicating cooking temperature and discuss how the cookie batter was once cold but, as it becomes hot, it turns into delicious smelling and tasting cookies. Ask your child why he or she thinks hot cookies and cold milk go so well together.

Kitchen oriented activity alone can provide nearly limitless opportunities for teachable moments in a comfortable environment. Especially as your young learner grows older and becomes better able to do hands-on activities. Once your child recognizes numbers and clock time they can work the microwave by themselves. If possible, have a family cooking night where everyone helps. Your child can count out whatever items are needed for cooking or, if older, help you with measurements and cooking times or oven settings. There are many things a young child can help you with that doesn't involve them being near boiling pots or stove top burners or other dangerous kitchen sites.

Help your child learn about common cooking spices and how to spell their names or what country the spice comes from. Most children love to smell the aroma of cooking spices so it's natural to be curious about them. Grow some herbs in your window box. With just a little water and sunlight your young learner can grow their own spices for cooking. Reward your child when they learn about food items, then have them tell you about the history of ice cream, chocolate, bread, peanut butter, milk, or anything they enjoy eating.

See, with food alone, we can find numerous teachable moments. Shapes, math, and colors all can be found in everyday routines as close as our kitchen. As adults, we tend to forget most shapes, colors, and numbers are new to the young learner. Give your child ownership and he or she will see common tasks in a new light. I've found that if high school age students understand the relevance of things they absorb and retain information much more easily. It's up to you, the parent or guardian, to begin that process long before they enter the formal education process. And, it can begin in what is often the most popular room in a home-the kitchen.