One
day while grocery shopping, I observed a mother with her two children. The children were twins, a girl and a
boy. The boy ran up to the bananas and wanted
to count them. The mother laughed and responded,
“Count all of them.” The boy nodded as
he began to count. The mother began to
count too as well as the little girl. The
girl and boy stopped and said, “There are so many I love bananas.” The mother told the children that they were
going to talk about the banana. She told
the children where the bananas can from, how to grow bananas, and named animals
that like eating bananas. In this instance,
there is what Stephenson (2009) calls “indirect learning (what some call the
“hidden curriculum”). This kind of learning includes what children learn from
one another, and the implicit messages conveyed by the teachers and by the
environment’s structure and resources” (p. 90). The mother and children
continued to shop for other fresh fruit and vegetables. As the mother chose the fruit and vegetables
she wanted to buy, the children identified the shapes and colors that they recognized. The children are learning and the mother
assist the children in learning in an environment that the children can relate
to.
Reference
Stephenson,
A. (2009). Stepping Back to Listen to Jeff: Conversations with a
2-Year-Old. YC:
Young
Children, 64(2), 90–95.
Great observation, I appreciate that the mother was engaging the children in a shopping experience, when I know that many parents struggle with taking their kids shopping because they feel they are a nuicence or impede the ability to shop well. I think it's wise of the mother to make them a part of the experience in and educational way, but also helping with their brain development. I hope I can do a similar thing if I have kids, making day to day activities a learning experience.
ReplyDeleteGeneen,
ReplyDeleteIt is quite interesting that you were able to catch such a moment. I appreciate the fact that the mother took the opportunity to teach her children while doing her shopping. Opportunities to explore hidden curriculum usually presents itself but sometimes it is not used because we are preoccupied with the pre-planned agenda or program.
Geneen, I enjoyed your observation and that was very nice of the mother to use the moments of grocery shopping to be teachable moments. I have witnessed parents just ignore their child when they want to do stuff like this while their out in stores. This is really a learning opportunity.
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