by Ann Marie Kneeland

Created on: August 27, 2009

Every child is different no matter what any books or magazines say, so what may be fun and exciting for one child may not be for another child. I myself have three small children ages 2, 3 and 5 and my boyfriend has a 3 year old and a 4 year old all boys and they all are very different in most ways, yet similar in some. Sometimes it's difficult to make learning fun for the younger ones when they see the older ones already know the things we are trying to teach them. So we have a few techniques that we use to make learning fun for all of them.

For motor skills and verbal as well as social skills we find wooden letter/picture blocks very useful. By asking the older ones to stack the blocks and see how high they can get them we can sit down with the younger ones and practice stacking blocks with them. Once the enjoyment has wore off we start asking the younger ones what the pictures on the blocks are when they answer we then turn to the older ones and ask them to look at the block's letter and tell us what the letter is which coincides with the picture (ie: Apple has a lowercase "a" on the block and an uppercase "A" on the block) we then ask the younger ones what color the block is and ask the older ones what other things begin with the letter "A". We also have used some DVD's that have letters and sounds as well as colors and shapes and we make it an interactive movie time which the children really enjoy that as well as we have a rule of limited television time. In this play time the children also learn to share and take turns so no on is talking over someone else and everyone gets a turn to answer the questions. It's great family time and we all enjoy it very much.

Twister is also another great game we like to play with all the children; even though the younger ones can't quite follow the rules as they are vertically challenged and not overly coordinated. This games helps the children with colors as well as body parts because we mix it up a bit and sometimes have them put elbows and knees and even their heads on colors. It's a fun time with shared laughter and giggles and we have even found ourselves in the mix not just sitting on the sidelines watching and occasionally helping when needed.

When the younger three go down for a nap we spend time with the older two playing matching games. It helps with logic and social skills. We have a Disney Pixar Cars matching game which both the boys are very big fans of Lightening McQueen. They love taking turns and encourage each other to find the matches. Sometimes they even help each other out when the other doesn't know where to find the matching card. It's amazing to watch them interact and help each other. They don't even know they are learning logic and social skills at the same time, it's wonderful!

Making learning fun is a great way to show the children that learning can be fun, even when they don't realize they are learning while playing. We enjoy it because it's great family time that we can all enjoy together. Learning isn't just for children as we have learned so many ways to teach out children and make it fun for all in the process.

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