I also have a bachelors degree in Nutrition and working towards a AA in Child development and the more I learn the more it is clear that young children learn through play. I also have a 2 year old and he is developmentally on par with any other 2 year old and I never really sat him down with flashcards or make him do anything he wasn't interested in doing. The experience with him made it so clear that children will learn what they need to learn as long as they are being loved and cared for. As long as we are genuine with the time we spend with them.
The ONLY thing is that in this business, the parents take a different stance. They want to see their children are learning their ABCs and 123s, they want a curriculum. They want know and see that their children are learning at all times. In in our perspective playing is learning and its hard to translate that as learning to parents. In this profession, we have to cater to the parents as well and if we just tell them we let them play and that's how they learn, it would sound like we are not really doing our job and winging it.
So in this situation, how can we satisfy the parents who are more academically driven and do what we feel is best for the children at the same time?

Reply