We all know how immensely difficult it is to make a toddler sit through a worksheet, homework, or anything that’s even remotely related to learning and studying. This is why we know that traditional learning methods often don’t work at home. Let’s be honest with ourselves: Kids learning is the hardest thing to achieve; they only want to play. And here’s the good news: playing is learning, especially in today’s generation when you’re intentional about it.
Whether you are a stay-at-home parent, a working-from-your-home professional who is a multitasker or something in between, it does not really matter because this guide will enable you to learn how to apply the play-based learning methods and tips to enhance the development of your child right from the comfort of your home.
Play-based learning means letting children explore the world and learn concepts through their day-to-day activities and kids learning games. It skillfully combines fun with skill-building, which feels natural to toddlers. Instead of memorising letters, toddlers can sing the ABCs while dancing.
Instead of doing math drills, toddlers can sort toys by size or colour. Instead of silent reading time, toddlers can play interactive reading games with you or on an educational learning app.
In each of these cases, even on an interactive toddler learning app, the child is developing cognitive, motor, emotional, and language skills without it even feeling like a difficult study lesson.
Techniques you can use to make everyday playtime turn into productive learning activities:
1. Turn everyday moments into learning opportunities: Children always learn the most when they are unaware of the fact that they are being taught. This means the traditional teaching method usually doesn’t work on them. Therefore, use your home as the classroom. You can ask your toddler to count apple slices, compare the weights of their toys or even introduce new vocabulary during such activities. You can teach them the concepts of floating and sinking during bath time using little rubber duckies. You could also play “I Spy” and instinctively spot shapes in nature or explore different types of sounds and textures. These activities may seem small, but to a toddler, they’re very important brain workouts.
2. Make the use of technology mindful: We know that letting your toddler have even the smallest amount of screen time might feel like a huge guilty fallback. But not all screens are equal. The rise of quality kids’ learning apps has revolutionised screen time from passive watching into an interactive and knowledge-gaining experience. Ensure that you look for apps that encourage problem-solving skills, support language development, and include reading games with audio, visuals, and touch-based interactions.
3. Let your kids lead: Follow your child’s interests and create play scenarios that they will love to be a part of around them. When children lead the play, their learning accelerates. You’ll see better focus, more creativity, and a deeper connection. Encourage asking open-ended questions like: “What happens next?”, “Why do you think that happened?” “Can you show me another way to do that?” This fuels critical thinking and emotional intelligence — skills no toddler learning app can teach.
4. Mix digital with physical play: Balance screen-based toddler learning app with hands-on fun. As an example, you can spend 15 minutes of related offline play per 15 minutes of using the kids learning games. This mindful combination of offline and online play supports learning in a multi-sensory manner, and that is precisely the way the young brains are programmed to remember.
The thing is that you really do not need a formal syllabus and a classroom at school to facilitate home-based learning among kids. All you have to do is find out what your child is interested in. Then, you will be able to find a fun way to add that interest to your lessons. Make your toddler inquisitive and make them ask more questions. A bit of this and that will allow your kid to learn as fast as they want and to have fun in the process.