by Jan Pierce, M.Ed
School teachers understand the importance of making connections. Those students able to find the connections between various pieces of information arrive at correct conclusions faster and also come up with unique understandings too. They are good thinkers.
Making connections is at the heart of all learning. We determine what is the same and what is different. We sort things into categories and see the relationships between parts. Making connections goes beyond memorization to using the information to gain broader understandings. Real learning happens when we see connections between various facts, findings and concepts.
Learning to make connections involves remembering two or more “rules” at a time, such as sorting blue toys into one basket and red in another. Focus skills pave the way for seeing and making connections. Making connections help children understand their environment, how one thing relates to another. It helps children learn right and wrong and make good decisions.
How to Promote Making Connections
• Include the arts in your child’s early learning years. Dance, music, drawing and drama have been shown to have a positive influence on cognitive learning. For example taking music lessons can increase mathematical understanding.
• Follow your child’s unique interests and introduce him or her to that world. If he loves Star Wars, find books and information about space. If she loves seashells, find books and videos about the ocean.
• Teach your child that making mistakes is an essential part of learning. All great thinkers have tried many theories before coming to important conclusions.
• Purchase toys that promote open-ended play. All experimentation and don’t insist on the “right way” to play with them. Instead ask, “Where do you think that block should go?” “Can you find a shorter one?”
• Play games that require spatial language such as moving forward and back, up and down, near and far. For example a cardboard box can become a car or airplane. A sense of space is important to mathematical learning.
• Play games that build a sense of number and quantity. “How many doggies do you see?” Or, there are three cookies, you may have one.”
• Encourage early learning games that include sorting in many different ways. Which one doesn’t belong, memory games, matching games, what is alike or different.
• Allow flights of fancy where creative ideas and solutions are okay even if they don’t “work.” Making new and startling connections is the way inventions come into being.
Making connections is an important skill in all of learning. It’s especially important in reading comprehension skills.
Whenever your children can find a similar character, setting or story line or see differences between them, they are making important connections that lead to broader understanding.
Jan Pierce, M.Ed., is a retired teacher and author of the book, Homegrown Readers: Simple Ways to Help Your Child Learn to Read. She specializes in education, parenting and family life articles. Find Jan at www.janpierce.net
School teachers understand the importance of making connections. Those students able to find the connections between various pieces of information arrive at correct conclusions faster and also come up with unique understandings too. They are good thinkers.
Making connections is at the heart of all learning. We determine what is the same and what is different. We sort things into categories and see the relationships between parts. Making connections goes beyond memorization to using the information to gain broader understandings. Real learning happens when we see connections between various facts, findings and concepts.
Learning to make connections involves remembering two or more “rules” at a time, such as sorting blue toys into one basket and red in another. Focus skills pave the way for seeing and making connections. Making connections help children understand their environment, how one thing relates to another. It helps children learn right and wrong and make good decisions.
How to Promote Making Connections
• Include the arts in your child’s early learning years. Dance, music, drawing and drama have been shown to have a positive influence on cognitive learning. For example taking music lessons can increase mathematical understanding.
• Follow your child’s unique interests and introduce him or her to that world. If he loves Star Wars, find books and information about space. If she loves seashells, find books and videos about the ocean.
• Teach your child that making mistakes is an essential part of learning. All great thinkers have tried many theories before coming to important conclusions.
• Purchase toys that promote open-ended play. All experimentation and don’t insist on the “right way” to play with them. Instead ask, “Where do you think that block should go?” “Can you find a shorter one?”
• Play games that require spatial language such as moving forward and back, up and down, near and far. For example a cardboard box can become a car or airplane. A sense of space is important to mathematical learning.
• Play games that build a sense of number and quantity. “How many doggies do you see?” Or, there are three cookies, you may have one.”
• Encourage early learning games that include sorting in many different ways. Which one doesn’t belong, memory games, matching games, what is alike or different.
• Allow flights of fancy where creative ideas and solutions are okay even if they don’t “work.” Making new and startling connections is the way inventions come into being.
Making connections is an important skill in all of learning. It’s especially important in reading comprehension skills.
Whenever your children can find a similar character, setting or story line or see differences between them, they are making important connections that lead to broader understanding.
Jan Pierce, M.Ed., is a retired teacher and author of the book, Homegrown Readers: Simple Ways to Help Your Child Learn to Read. She specializes in education, parenting and family life articles. Find Jan at www.janpierce.net
