How can I make play time into a learning experience?

Question

This might seem like a really silly question but I'm very serious. My son is almost two. He's always been very advanced in fine and gross motor skills--running, jumping, climbing, etc. The thing that we're lacking on is his cognitive development--the stuff that we work on indoors. He has many puzzles and can't figure them out which is okay but he shows no interest in them whatsoever. He enjoys reading but I want to find a way to make stories and learning more fun. He colors but soon finds it more fun to tear the paper from the table. I'm sure you get the gist.

So, what do you do to make learning fun? How do you play with your children indoors without them loosing interest? What are some good ways [indoors] to teach him valuable lessons sort of in disguise? It seems the only way he's happy is when we're outdoors on walks or at the park but we can't do that all day!

Thanks!

So, I just shouldn't care. That's funny.

I'm not trying to push his genius. I'm not trying to make him conform to what I think he should be doing.

I'm just asking what I shoule be doing to make things more fun to ENCOURAGE not FORCE his own learning ability to come out.

Thanks though for thinking I'm an overly-pushy parent. I just want to make sure that we are having FUN and LEARNING at the same time.

If I were to have asked in what ways get I get him to sit down and be quiet while I teach him elementary school style--that's ONE thing.

I was looking for TOYS that encourage cognative thinking. Things that HE will ENJOY. He doesn't seem to enjoy being indoors and the toys [that family members--not me by the way have bought him] he has. I want him to enjoy being indoors and outdoors. I want him to be able to learn while we play together.

Answer 1

Leap Pads are great, this really helped my now 7 year old. I'm not a fan of computer games but they do put out some great educational things for kids as young as 3. Also, he's a boy, I'm sure he's into sports and such, find puzzles, books and other activities that are with his favorite things. Give him some incentive, for instance reading for 5 minutes with mom equals playing outside for a few minutes. Use his outdoor fun for learning as well. Counting things outside, like how many basketball hoops he sees or can he find the letter A on the street signs. As he learns to write, make it a short activity, for instance " look at this letter, it's in your name, can you write it?" Then let him try once or twice and move on to something else. At a young age, they have short attention spans, so keep the indoor learning short. Music is also a great teaching tool! Have music playing inside and in the car and as you start memorizing these songs, he will sing along too, therefore learning alphabet and days of the week. Don't force him to do any or all of these things, make incentives and challenges for him, boys seem to respond really well to this! As he gets older get him involved in a preschool, that will provide him with routine and structure. I have a 3 year old boy and he's just now starting to be a little more interested in reading, coloring, etc. At 2, they are still really active and learn a lot just from running, jumping, etc. Have fun!

Answer 2

Your son is a BABY, an INFANT ... he's got a very SHORT attention span, and he doesn't want to 'study' yet ...he NEEDS to explore, touch things, and even 'tear them up' at his age. Get him some empty boxes (plain old cardboard boxes) of EVERY size that he can 'play blocks' with or throw or 'sit in' and 'imagine' he's doing something. YOU don't have to 'know' what he's doing ... HE will know and will be 'developing' without you 'forcing him' to develop his cognitive abilities.
Your son is 'happy' when he's outdoors because there are MANY things to 'see' and explore ... get POSTERS or pictures of the outdoors, and change them once a month ... cover the walls of his 'play area' and then just give him his boxes and a toy truck or ten or a 'railroad' (wooden, please, with NO paint) and let him BE A LITTLE BOY. Also make sure he has some 'soft toys' (stuffed animals) and even 'dolls' (also 'stuffed' until he's 3) and CLOTH ... blankets, capes, scarves, etc. That way HE can choose what he wants to 'do' with his 'stuff' ...
DO NOT buy 'puzzles' or 'books' or anything 'guaranteed to enhance learning' for your child. As he grows, add 'colors' (crayons, paints, construction paper) and 'paper' (as LARGE as you can get, down to 8"X11") and some glue and 'safety scissors. Give him things like macaroni and alphabet pasta and cardboard ... even nose tissues and wax paper ... give him 'dried leaves' and let him pick 'flowers' and see if he can't 'fix them' up in some way. THAT will GUARANTEE your son is both 'physically adept' and INTELLIGENT ... and that he has a good IMAGINATION ... and THAT will be 'the best you can do' for your son!

Answer 3

Actually, your son is just fine.
For goodness sakes he's only 2!!! Expecting him to "Jump right in" to learning reading and math skills is silly when he's still figuring out how to operate his own body!
Pushing him in to cognitive skills just because you believe he should be more advanced than he is will only serve to make him resent schooling in the future.
What you should do is relax and let him explore his own world on his own. Walks and going to the park are better than forcing him to sit down and read.
The best thing you really could do is tell him the names of everything he sees. This is a tree, this is a flower, this is a rose and it smells beautiful, this is skunk weed and it smells stinky. This is green grass, this is a pink flower, that is blue sky. That is a worm, that is a caterpillar, this is an ant. When he knows the names of the real objects he sees, he will recognize the drawings in books easier. Show him what a stop sign is, show him the difference between a van and a car.
My daughter was a smarty-pants from the day she was was born, but I never forced her to learn anything. I simply made knowing the names of everything normal. From the time that she was three or four months old and we were walking the floor with her colic I would show her everything in the house and explain what they were. She could identify several objects by the time she was six months old. To this day, homework is what she has to do, playing games involving math and spelling is what we like to do on long, boring car rides. She hates having to do her homework, she loves coming up with her own spelling games, reading signs and advertisements on posters on store buildings, and recognizing patterns on her own, because we made it fun right from the start.
Quit trying to push him in to genius and let your son learn on his own schedule - it's what he will do in the long run.

Answer 4

I agree totally with enn. I think her answer is perfect. Even an everyday task like a trip to the grocery store can be a fun learning game in disguise.

Answer 5

Teachers should get into trouble for doing things like that. Playing tricks on their students is abuse of their power. Teachers are supposed to be seen as respectful role models. Also, playing tricks on students isn't going to help a teacher win that "Teacher of the Year" award or make a teacher liked in the teachers lounge.

Answer 6

There are so many things to do with your kids indoors.... my daughter is 3 and we love to finger paint... asking ?'s along the way... like if i mix colors what color will i get? making projects...or building blocks were always a favorite of my sons....ever have a treasure hunt in the house? have him help you bake cookies..... measuring things out.... matching games are good as well.... there are so many things you can do with your kids and talking with them while they are doing it and asking questions... and know that it is ok if kids don't want to do things right then... if he doesn't want to play with something ...then you play with it... and act like you are having lots of fun... so he will want to see what the fuss is all about.

Answer 7

The V-Tech V-Smile game system might still be a little young for your child but it has convinced my son that it is solely a game and there isn't much learning involved, but there is lots of different games that teach them their letters while still making it fun. There are a lot of games we don't have yet. We got ours from Radio Shack and they had every game available.
Otherwise we have bought erasable marker books.

Answer 8

You could play fun board games, or play on computer a game which involves like adding, or get books with pictures about learning. And if you have anyone, like his remodel who you know, get them to come and talk to him and tell him that learning is good and get them doing fun learning.

Answer 9

He is only two don't push it. He needs to explore his world and make his own connections!!

Answer 10

-buy your own, or rent your own games then you may have a lot more control..
http://www.games.com
-most of the free games here have a lot of unwanted stunt filled marketing flashers.,even though they may seem educational,.
good luck,..,.. bye