Learning with Littles

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The earlier the better, right?

There has been a commonly held belief that the earlier formal education begins the better the outcomes for children. This belief, widely accepted and promoted, is behind preschool reading programs, head-start schools, and other educational initiatives that often find widespread political support. It is now expected that when a child enters kindergarten, he will have a grasp of the alphabet and may be able to write his name. But what if the evidence contradicted these initiatives? What if the early introduction of formal education actually had the opposite effect of what was intended? What if evidence showed that play was more important than lessons for youngsters?

What the research says

I am fascinated by educational research, as regular readers have probably deduced. Just like nutritional research so much information is contradictory and confusing because anyone can find numbers or a study to support their position. What I am most interested in is research that ends up supporting long-held beliefs and traditions. There may be a thousand studies that elevate one food group above another but they all eventually fall by the wayside as researchers agree that moderation and exercise are truly the keys to healthy living–not an açai berry and flax seed or no carb diet. Much the same is true of educational research, so when I started reading about programs designed to get children reading and learning math principles as early as 3 or 4 years of age, I had a sense that something was amiss. 

Sure enough, an article at The Conversation website shows that:

"There is no research evidence to support claims from government that “earlier is better”. By contrast, a considerable body of evidence clearly indicates the crucial importance of play in young children’s development, the value of an extended period of playful learning before the start of formal schooling, and the damaging consequences of starting the formal learning of literacy and numeracy too young."

This is something every parent has probably sensed as they watch their child grow and learn. I get weekly emails from a parenting website that lists developmental milestones my son ought to have reached. After reading these for weeks and finding them to be nothing but a source of anxiety I quit opening those emails because I found that my son learns at his own pace. Sometimes he hits a milestone weeks before the email outlining that one hits my inbox, other times it's weeks afterwards. This is something parents catch on to and when we do our anxiety is lessened as we accept the individuality of our children and enjoy watching them develop at their own pace. But our culture is one based on measurable achievement so when our children reach school age (now seen as 3 or 4) the pressure is back on.

Achievement based programs in preschool

With the pressure on schools to prove performance through testing, more and more schools are introducing structured educational lessons in pre-K programs. Instead of Kindergarten purely being about play, creative exploration, and social interaction, schools are now expected to teach subjects that have "measurable" outcomes. The trouble is that at this age children's brains may not be ready to process these sorts of lessons. 

Playing is more important!

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On the contrary, research has shown that playing causes developments linked to "enabling humans to become powerful learners and problem solvers" (link). Pushing formal learning before children's brains are reading to process it causes a short-circuit in this development! There is a tragic irony at work here. Researchers James Christie and Kathless Roskos have compiled evidence that shows "a playful approach to language learning offers the most powerful support for the early development of phonological and literacy skills!"

I think that this sort of evidence should be so encouraging to parents, especially homeschooling parents! There is a beauty in allowing children to just be children. When you create an atmosphere of learning within your home environment and provide stimulating toys, read stories, play games of imagination–this can all be chalked up to education but without the stress of formal instruction. Parents of young children can enjoy those precious years of play without feeling as though their children are going to fall behind. In fact, they are laying the groundwork for academic success! In fact, according to other research the reading-ability gap between children who begin formal education at age 5 verses age 7 disappears by age 11–except that the group who began younger has a negative attitude toward reading and scores lower on text comprehension. 

The article linked above has all sorts of links to studies and further analysis if you are interested in learning more. And I want to hear from you? Have you pursued a play-based approach to the early years? What does your homeschool look like for your youngsters? How has pursuing a Charlotte Mason approach helped you feel comfortable in a less-structured approach? Or have you found success with a more formal approach?

We would love to hear what you think! Chime in below in the comments section and share your thoughts. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages.  To learn more about Beautiful Feet Books, click here. And if you've enjoyed this, please feel free to share using the buttons below!

Are books just magic?

March is National Reading Awareness Month. The NEA has picked this month to celebrate reading and encourage  American school children to put down the video games and pick up a book. Here at BFB we think every month should be a reading month and we know you do too! Of course, May is Get Caught Reading Month, October is National Reading Group Month, November is Picture Book Month, and December is National Novel Reading Month and there are other weeks and days set aside to celebrate books and reading in all their forms.

One thing I have found interesting is the correlation between books in a home and a child's academic performance. Using data from the World Inequality Study, researchers pooled data from over 73,000 people in 27 countries and found that across cultures, ethnicities, and economic differences, books were an essential component to a child's academic success. From the abstract of this fascinating study:

 "Children growing up in homes with many books get 3 years more schooling than children from bookless homes, independent of their parents’ education, occupation, and class. This is as great an advantage as having university educated rather than unschooled parents, and twice the advantage of having a professional rather than an unskilled father. It holds equally in rich nations and in poor; in the past and in the present; under Communism, capitalism, and Apartheid; and most strongly in China."

Isn't that amazing? Regardless of the political regime under which a child lives, the education levels of his parents, or if he is privileged or poor, the number of books in a child's home is the single most common and reliable indicator of whether he will be academically successful. The presence of a large amount of books seems to indicate a "scholarly culture – the way of life in homes where books are numerous, esteemed, read, and enjoyed." The study's authors went about their research in such a way as to determine if this "scholarly culture" was limited to western families in which the parents were highly educated and had achieved some measure of financial success. Or, as the authors themselves put it: "We seek to establish whether it has an impact on children’s education only in a handful of rich Western nations at the end of the 20th century, or whether it is important in all rich nations, or in all market economies, or under Communism, or only in recent decades rather than in past generations."

Trying to control for all these factors, the researchers found that asking study participants about the size of their childhood home library was the single most reliable indicator of the cultivation or neglect of a scholarly culture. Even more interesting, "analysis of many different aspects of the home environment finds that home library size has strong predictive validity as an indicator of parents’ attraction to the teaching role vis a vis their children." 

For home educators this completely makes sense, you are both parent and educator and you do not see a strong distinction between these two roles. It also seems to me to be an indicator of a home culture that nurtures curiosity. People who collect books are curious, they seek to know new things and expand their world. And these people are probably eager to share that knowledge with others and that would, of course, include their children. And so, whether the parent is formally educated or not, wealthy or poor, western or eastern, the size of his library is a key indicator to the sort of parent he will be and the home culture he will create. 

And that home culture is a key indicator of academic achievement for the children raised in that family. "Growing up in a home with 500 books would propel a child 3.2 years further in education, on average, than would growing up in a similar home with few or no books. This is a large effect, both absolutely and in comparison with other influences on education," said University of Nevada research team leader sociologist M. D. R. Evans. "A child from a family rich in books is 19 percentage points more likely to complete university than a comparable child growing up without a home library."

And again, this data holds true across cultures regardless of a nation's wealth, political system or culture. There are variations between nations, for example a child growing up in China with a home library of 500 or more books will go on to complete an average of 6.6 years more education than a comparable child from a bookless home. In the US, the same situation would result in 2.4 more years of education. That's the difference between going to college for two years and completing a four-year degree.  

As with all studies, there are exceptions. There will inevitably be families who have loads of books and a child who struggles to read or is simply not academically wired. I do not believe that college is for everyone and I think our culture severely undervalues non-academic skills. I think the value of studies like this is that they show trends that can be very telling. Children benefit from a home culture that encourages learning, curiosity, and exploration. 

For home educators who are fostering that "scholarly culture" this study should provide some encouragement. For those of you who are interested in national trends, educational inequality for the poor, and other social justice issues, this can stand as a warning and call for action. In America, more than half of our children are not read aloud to each day. Other studies show that up to 61% of poor families do not own a single children's book. This means that the educational potential of millions of children is at risk through no fault of their own. 

So during National Reading Awareness Month, maybe it would be a good idea to spread the love a bit. Volunteer at your local library. See if you can sign up to read aloud to underprivileged children. Donate books to a struggling school. Check out First Book, an organization that gives books to children. Give books instead of toys at birthday parties. Encourage other parents to read aloud to their children. And, of course, read a great book with your children.

If you're wondering how to build a great family library, here's some wonderful resources:

Books that Build Character

For The Children's Sake

Honey For a Child's Heart

YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY:

Reluctant Readers

Celebrating World Read-Aloud Day

Children As Resources

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