Learning About Learning: You Are Your Baby’s First Teacher

Learning About Learning: You Are Your Baby’s First Teacher


The skills needed to be a parent are numerous, but there is one job that is often overlooked. Parents are a baby’s first teacher. After the birth of my son, I experienced the warmth and love for this new being, but I also felt an overwhelming sense of fear. What if I can’t soothe him? Will he be able to nurse? He’s so small — how do I bathe him? I didn’t grow up surrounded by very young siblings and cousins, so I had no real experience with babies.

(Playful Bee is launching our new DIY Preschool from Birth program! Click here to enroll.)

Lo and behold, it’s seven years later, and my son is alive and well today! My parenting instinct kicked in, and I learned what he needed and when he needed it. What took me longer to understand is that while I had the essential and loving tasks of nursing, changing, rocking, and napping to manage, I also had a responsibility that I hadn’t considered — teaching. I knew down the road I’d have to tackle ABCs and 123s, but I did not know that learning begins well before a baby utters his or her first word. A birthday party for my friend’s son would change my thinking about learning and shape my path as a mother.

My son was six-months-old when we attended the first birthday party of my friend’s child. It was the usual affair, with everyone oohing and aahing at the birthday boy and his frosting-lathered face. Later, my friend and I stole a few minutes to chat while our little ones played. During our conversation, her son waddled over holding a book of animal pictures. He pointed to a Labrador and said, “Dog! Woof!” It was so simple, yet unbelievably profound for me. I honestly did not know that a child of that age was capable of understanding, learning, and speaking so well. Who knew?

Since that moment, I have made every effort to incorporate learning into playtime, and the opportunities have been endless. Morning walks with my son turned into time to learn new words — bird, dog, cat, squirrel, tree, grass, sky, and so on. Later, I used those walks to introduce numbers by stopping at every mailbox and pointing to the address. My son absorbed everything like a sponge.

It took me awhile, but I now understand that a child’s capacity for learning is vast, and they are so eager and willing to accept and retain information. I call my first child “my experiment” (to myself, of course!) because as he ages, I have to adjust my methods and figure out what works — and what doesn’t. For my two daughters who came after him, teaching has become as important to me as providing healthy meals, and they have the benefit of tried and true lessons. I will say, however, that “my experiment” must be moving in the right direction; my son is happy, outgoing, and was just named the editor of his class newsletter. As my children’s first and primary teacher, I integrate instruction into much of what we do, but like my children, I am still learning.

(Playful Bee is launching our new DIY Preschool from Birth program! Click here to enroll.)

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This story was shared by Playful Bee Guest Blogger, Kelly Franchina. A champion of play-based learning, Kelly likes to take every opportunity to “teach” during play – pointing out colors and shapes while playing with blocks, talking about the seasons and temperature during a walk in the park, and discussing healthy food choices in her children’s play kitchen, just to name a few. She lives in Greenville, South Carolina with her three children.

Playful Bee

Education Team at Playful Bee
Playful Bee is an e-Preschool that delivers inquiry-based preschool learning from the classroom to your home. Our preschool curriculum was created by our talented team of rock star teachers. With years of hands-on preschool and Kindergarten teaching experience, they've developed a high-quality preschool experience that is convenient-to-use and easy-to-teach by you, grandparents, or your nanny at home.

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