Early childhood education is extremely important; however there is one thing that some parents don't understand. Or possibly they have never been told. All children learn differently.

Most of you are probably saying, "duh..." but many don't know or are uninformed. In order to give your child a head start in life you need to be able to teach them, help them and guide them. If you don't understand their own learning style then you might be teaching a brick wall, that is you might feel as if you are teaching a brick wall.

First the fundamentals:
1 Visual Learners ~ These types learn better by watching you, or the teacher. They have a better understanding is the see it.

2 Kinesthetic Learners ~ This Type learns better through experience and can really benefit from a hands on approach to lessons. Physical.

3 Auditory Learners ~ You guessed it, these guys need to hear it. They get more out of a lecture, or from listening to someone read.

4 Logical Learners ~ These kids look at things in patterns and concepts. They flourish in an environment with puzzles, problem solving experiments, and other logical thinkers.

Once you have an idea of how your child learns you'll be able to help them at home, whether you are readying them from school or reinforcing something they learned at school. Her are some ideas:
If your child is a visual learner it would be a good idea for them to see what your talking about. You can show videos, use books with illustrations or even make a list or chart for them. If they are having trouble at school you could ask their teacher how often he/she uses and over head projector, or uses hand outs. If it isn't often enough suggest to your child to try to take detailed notes of what the teacher is saying; it may be possible that when the write it on paper it will help the lesson sink in.

If your child is a kinesthetic learner then he she would best benefit from moving, touching or feeling and participation. If your child is having trouble with school you should ask the teacher if the lessons are hands on, if not ask the teacher for advice, or study up on someways to help your child grasp some of the lessons in school.

If your child is an auditory learner then he/she will benefit most from lectures and discussions. If your child is having trouble in school ask his/her teacher how often she has classroom discussions, reads out loud or has students take turns reading. I found that kids find it fun to tape record themselves reading or just talking and listening to it later. You could tape your voice or ask your child if they want to tape theirs will reading out loud or discussing the lesson.

If your child is a logical learner then he/she tends to think in concepts and will benefit most from puzzles, strategy games, and experimenting. If your child is having problems in school you could ask his/her teacher how often they have computer lessons, or have problem solving experiments in class. Try hands on experiments and puzzles at home, rhyming games will also help.

Learn more about this author, Christine Dunbar.
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