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Japan"In the education of children there is nothing like alluring the interest and affection; otherwise you only make so many asses laden with books." This quote by Michel de Montaigne carries a world of meaning in today's world where education has become more 'competition' and less 'learning'.
For most parents, educating their child, just means cramming young minds with school books, homework, and most times just rote learning. In their race to make the child get top grades, parents take all the fun out of education.
Often, children are tired of parents nagging them to do 'meaningful' (read educational) stuff all the time. A little adjustment in the way parents expose children to knowledge will go a long way in making learning enjoyable, without the children even realizing they are 'learning' something.
Television as Educational Medium
From Sesame Street and Barney for preschoolers to National Geographic, Discovery, and History channels for all age groups, television has been an addictive medium for learning. Kids have learned their first alphabets from the Cookie Monster of Sesame Street and their numbers from Count Von Count. Discovery channel introduced them to the joys of underwater experience with dolphins and National Geographic made them gasp in wonder as the tailorbird built its nest.
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Board Games
Under the guise of playing board games, the child's mental skills can be given a boost. Monopoly improves Math skills, Scrabble enhances vocabulary, and the Spy Game helps in the sharpening of memory.
Educational Software
For children who don't have a natural love for books but who find CD-ROMs and DVDs exciting, the market is flooded with CDs of computer games. These teach various skills like Math, English, Geography, Art, etc. The Internet, too, has gaming sites that make learning fun.
Outdoor Educational Trips
Museums
Present-day museums are fun places - they are invaluable storehouses of information presented in appealing visual forms. Recreation of an Egyptian mummy, life-size dinosaur models, replica of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, scenes from everyday life of our ancient civilizations - the museum has them all.
Beaches
How do baby crabs react when you touch them on the sand? Do they make a hole in the sand and disappear in it? How far onto the shore do the waves come at high tide? How deep back do they recede at low tide? Does a pink-and-blue spiral shell really exist? A visit to the beach will answer all these questions.
