Great teaching involves more than just introducing letters and words or explaining arithmetic. One of the most valuable skills an educator can impart on a student is learning how to learn.
Every day is filled with opportunities for learning. Kiddie Academy® educators inspire children to take the initiative in learning. Students don’t need to wait for the educator, parents or someone else to tell them when to start learning. They should know they’re free to explore their world whenever they want.
“We want educators to encourage children to use the opportunities around them every day to explore their world, to question what they don’t understand and to experience the delight of learning something new,” said Kiddie Academy Vice President of Education Joy Turner. “Using our Life Essentials® Curriculum is a great place to start. But we also want educators to feel empowered to use their own creativity and intuition, making lessons fun and tailoring them to the ways that students learn best.”
Empowering Every DaySM
“Empowering Every DaySM is an internal guiding principle within every Academy,” Turner said. “We authorize educators to merge their skills with a curriculum that encourages children to think in their own way. When educators succeed at that, children are in turn empowered to act on their natural sense of curiosity. Give them the freedom to learn. Give them opportunities to learn. Give them the resources to learn. Give them encouragement to learn. This is empowerment. An empowered learner is building a solid foundation for success throughout his or her life.”
Here are a few ways our educators empower children every day:
Provide Opportunities and Resources – Encourage children to look around for things that interest them. Reinforce to them that these opportunities can pop up at any time and in any place. Teach them how they can learn by observation and investigation (looking online, in books or by asking questions).
Be Positive – Make learning enjoyable. Be enthusiastic about learning and the children will pick up on that attitude.
Be Supportive – While you want to encourage students to learn on their own, if you see them struggling, don’t hesitate to step in and provide guidance if needed. This doesn’t mean doing the work for them, but rather showing them how to do the work themselves.
Celebrate – Acknowledgement is an excellent way to reinforce a child’s efforts. Private and/or public recognition is in itself empowering.
