My wise dad (6th grade teacher) sat on the kitchen floor with my daughter (age 3), lined up shiny copper pennies, and played addition and subtraction games with her. The next year, my mom (learning disabilities teacher) had her read text from Scientific American in the teachers’ lounge to the complete and utter amazement of the teachers during the initial prep week of the school year. My daughter had no TV for the first 10 years of her life. Gasp – no Sesame Street! And – no computers until she was in the upper elementary grades. How did she manage to learn without being hypnotized by a portable handheld device that beeped acknowledgement when she hit the correct key? Who knows? Current educational theory would have you believe technology is the answer.
Anyway,the end result for the child whom I was told I was depriving- Troy High School “Troy Tech” program, National Merit Commended Scholar, and fellowship recipient in the science field at Master’s level.
What I say to you – teach your daughter all you can as early as you can but make it a game.
What my parents modeled for me – do something revolutionary and turn off the TV and cancel your cable service. Talk to your child, play with her, play music and dance with her. Forget using the computer and TV to inculcate her with responses and facts. Lie with her in the back yard at night and show her the constellations, then talk about the universe.
