{"id":796,"date":"2009-09-25T02:39:00","date_gmt":"2009-09-25T02:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.buildingcathedrals.com\/2009\/09\/25\/the-simplicity-of-early-childhood-education\/"},"modified":"2009-09-25T02:39:00","modified_gmt":"2009-09-25T02:39:00","slug":"the-simplicity-of-early-childhood-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/buildingcathedrals\/2009\/09\/the-simplicity-of-early-childhood-education\/","title":{"rendered":"The Simplicity of Early Childhood Education"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The most wonderful and most fearful fact of early childhood development is one we\u2019re all familiar with: the fastest brain growth occurs between birth and age three, and children are capable of learning the most and the most capable of learning between birth and age five. Something like that, right?<\/p>\n

Every pop early childhood education book I\u2019ve read has exploited that fact as its selling point and cornerstone. Do our \u201cx, y and z\u201d plan (and buy our CDs, DVDs, flashcards, workbooks, and equipment) to be sure you\u2019re maximizing your child\u2019s most acute learning years.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s often difficult to know what we\u2019re supposed to be doing \u201ceducationally\u201d in these preschool years. It takes remarkably little time to teach a four year old basic phonics and beginning math. What else do we do with all their brain power? Get them reading chapter books alone and doing pre-algebra? THAT is a lot of work to teach to a four year old, especially for a not-particularly-skilled teacher like me.\n

Frankly, I\u2019ve been left desperately afraid that I\u2019m stifling my children\u2019s curiosity and squandering their brain power if I don\u2019t pump them full of information, skills and experiences. The window closes with each passing day. How exhausting for everyone.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on this, I\u2019ve started to wonder whether God wired the youngest children with the greatest learning capacity for an entirely different reason, mostly unrelated to academic learning. Ages newborn through five are naturally the years they\u2019re closest to home and under the full-time care of parents, not yet in a formal academic environment. The brain is growing and working hardest in the first five years as the child learns the basics of interacting with his physical environment\u2026 but, more importantly, as the child, prior to leaving \u201cthe nest\u201d for larger parts of the day, rapidly absorbs and begins taking ownership of family values, family spiritual practices, and all the loves, virtues and priorities modeled by his parents. Trying to take this to heart as my children approach school age has given me great peace. <\/p><\/div>\n

I think that the most worthy and only necessary \u201ceducational\u201d goal in these first five years is to instill in my children that they are children of God, that He loves them with divine love and only He can satisfy their souls\u2019 longings. Accompanying this naturally is consistent training in virtue in their relationships, decisions, and behaviors. These five years are not a laboratory for teaching children the most<\/em> things; rather, they are a window of opportunity to train children in the most important<\/em> things. When I listen to their questions, there are a hundred daily chances to talk about the Christian life, about God\u2019s creation, God\u2019s great plan for us, loving our neighbors. Family life and community life provide ample opportunities for them to practice virtue in little ways, with some parental guidance. Their amazing brains, unquenchable curiosity, and clean souls are fertile ground for Jesus\u2019 love to enter and imprint their hearts permanently.\n

What a gift, too, to spend our days pointing the souls of children to Jesus, without fanfare and as we go about daily life. By their inquisitiveness and purity, my children keep the presence of God in our home and in my heart, if I follow their lead.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The most wonderful and most fearful fact of early childhood development is one we\u2019re all familiar with: the fastest brain growth occurs between birth and age three, and children are capable of learning the most and the most capable of learning between birth and age five. Something like that, right? Every pop early childhood education […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":735,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Simplicity of Early Childhood Education<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The most wonderful and most fearful fact of early childhood development is one we\u2019re all familiar with: the fastest brain growth occurs between birth and\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/buildingcathedrals\/2009\/09\/the-simplicity-of-early-childhood-education\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" 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