Book #19: Einstein Never Used Flash Cards

I finished this great book yesterday, and one of the first things I saw this morning as I walked into one of the preschools I serve was a teacher assessing a four-year-old's letter knowledge by drilling flash cards.  The bottom line of the book? Don't drill preschoolers.  It does not work.  Decontextualized facts mean nothing to a four-year-old (or a forty-year-old).  Instead, teach in context.

How to teach letters without flashcards:
1. Read books.  Out loud.  With the child.  Point out the words.  Ask questions about the book.  Point out letter names, starting with the same letter that the child's name starts with.  For example, if I were the tyke you were teaching, you might say, "Look!  Snake starts with 's' just like Sarah starts with 's'."
2. Point out print in the environment, such as stop signs, favorite fast food restaurants' names, and the box of M&Ms.
3. Play and talk with your child, which will expand vocabulary and create a wonderful, language-rich environment.

How to teach early math skills without flashcards:
1. Count things.  Anything can be counted - toys, blocks, bites of broccoli, splashes in the bath tub - anything.
2. Make patterns, such as red-blue-red-blue or car-truck-car-truck.  Or, if you are really feeling adventurous, add a third item, such as red-blue-yellow-red-blue-yellow.  Children naturally try to find patterns in everything.
3. Begin talking about early math facts and concepts in context.  For example, I give you three M&Ms.  Then I give you one more.  How many do you have?  Or, I have a tall glass of juice and you have a tall glass of juice.  Who has more?  I pour my juice into a bowl.  Now who has more? 

The most important thing anyone can to do boost a child's achievement is to interact with the child.  Talking and, more importantly, listening, is the single best thing you can do to help your child become a wonderful, intelligent, successful human being.