I am a total nerd enthusiast
when it comes to quality learning materials for my children. Whether I
am scrolling through my Pinterest feed, checking out what's new on
Zulily, pawing through the shelves of TJ Maxx or walking the aisles of
my favorite local educational supplies shop,
I always have an eye out for high quality learning materials that I
believe will be an asset in my efforts to facilitate joyful learning experiences in our home.
I
also keep finding myself talking with other mamas who are either
contemplating home-schooling or are looking for more ways to engage their children in joyful learning outside of school or during the
summer months. I have been asked by several of these ladies "where to
start" with curriculum and materials, and though I am certainly not
qualified to advise anyone on "where to start" I am a total extrovert
and will happily tell anyone about materials that help the kids and I to
delight in learning together. After recommending the same websites,
products, and book lists to three different mamas recently, the thought
occurred to me that I could attempt to compile some lists of my favorite
early-childhood learning materials and share them here in hopes that it
could be helpful if only to my small circle of friends who are
interested. So that is what I hope to do over a series of posts when I
am able to make time amidst all my other responsibilities.
I hope to organize my lists by category and share one post at a time, but before I jump in, I thought would finish out this post by defining what I even mean when I refer to "learning materials" and sharing the "criteria" that guides my decision-making process when I purchase the items. I would consider learning "materials" to be any books, craft supplies, games, toys, workbooks, flashcards, songs, apps, or websites that contribute to a child's joy of learning. That is a pretty wide range and the market is saturated with "educational products" to choose from. It can be dizzying to choose what to bring into our home from all that is available. The following criteria are not rigid for me but a basic list of what I look for when choosing "high quality learning materials" and most of what I will try to share in future posts should reflect these "values":
- Simple, yet can be used to address more than one set of skills. When choosing games, educational toys, books, or manipulatives to engage my children in playful learning, I don't want items that are complicated for me to assemble and figure out or will overload them with sensory stimuli. I also love it if an activity addresses more than one skill, for example, fine motor through manipulating small objects as part of an activity that addresses mathematical concepts.
- Physically Durable and Timeless Content. When I consider purchasing a non-consumable item with my children's education in mind I ask myself if I expect it to stand the test time. Is this item physically built to last as my kids play hard with it and makes memories with it? It may show signs of wear, but would they be pleased to present it to their own kids someday? Also, is their content too dependent upon the times in which we are now living? Or will it aid me while I try to show my children that things were much different before their time and that they are certain to see rapid change in the world around them in the years ahead?
- Visually Well-Designed. I love to see children's materials that give evidence that someone took great care to consider the importance of artistry in their visual design. I like to see visual design that is not dependent on the most popular current children's fads and television characters. I like design that embraces child-likeness without being childish; that honors the intelligence of the child as a whole person. (This is a concept from the Charlotte Mason Educational Method that I have come to embrace during my short years of parenting so far.)
xoxo,
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