Learning Through Play Made the Difference for My Son

Every parent wants to give their child a head start when it comes to learning and I was no exception. When it came time to prepare BooBoo for Kindergarten entry, I did what I do best – I royally panicked. I rushed out to my local bookstore and purchased a hefty supply of workbooks and flashcards, deciding right then and there that the two of us would engage in intensive learning sessions daily. Y’all can guess how that turned out.

After only a few frustrating days in, there were tears…and not only from him. Admittedly, unrealistic expectations combined with educational dictatorship made for an epically disastrous learning experience.

Soon BooBoo began resenting me along with the very concepts I was working so hard to teach. The day he told me, “I don’t like the alphabet anymore!” and stormed away from the table was the day I knew something had to change. Clearly, I was going about his learning all wrong. My son didn’t need to practice rote memorization and busy work; he needed the freedom to learn through play and exploration.

Take a look at our story of how learning through play made all the difference for my son.