The Mommy's Guide to Applying Learning Theories at Home

So after carefully thinking about what we have learned so far in class, it dawned on me... I'm using learning theories during my classes, how can I or have I already applied these to my home?.  The first method that comes to mind is ARCS....gaining the attention of my children by simply holding up a boxed cake mix. My two older children are still developing their language skills and I look for ways to build their vocabulary. After seeing the cake mix, the kids are now interested in what's going on. The relevence to this activity of baking cupcakes is "what will helping mommy with this do for me today?" and they understand that they will get a cupcake after dinner. The confidence comes when they feel comfortable to put the batter in the cupcake tins on their own because they've done it before and know what to do and I praise them for putting just the right amount of batter in the cupcake tray. Finally, the satisfaction comes after they enjoy their hard work and eat the cupcakes.

Secondly, I think of Behaviorism... because, let's face it, if you have children, you practice Behaviorism. My kids know that if they make a mess, they need to clean it up. They hear the "clean-up" song and begin to clean. Early on, I've stressed the importance of taking care of your things. The kids know that if they make a mess and clean up, they get to play again later, but if they make a mess and don't clean up, they go to their room and are done with the toy they left out. Also, if they share their toys, they can continue to play but if they fight over a toy, I take the toy away and no one plays with it. Finally the ever popular, Eat your dinner! They know that if they eat all their dinner, they get dessert or a treat, but if they waste their food, no snack.

Finally, I refer back to the theory of Synectics...you think, "How could you possibly utilize Synectics with small children?" It's as simple as putting a puzzle together. My kids LOVE puzzles and they try to put the puzzle together. They have different ways of completing the task and solving the problem of turning a box of pieces into a picture. My daughter carefully seperates the pieces into two boxes. She puts the edges in one box, the middle pieces in another and then starts with putting the frame first. She completes the puzzle by filling in the middle. My son, on the other hand, looks at pieces and by trial and error, makes them all fit eventually. When they do a puzzle with me, I let them each do a bit of their own method. They are able to see how both of their ideas work in solving the puzzle.

That's how I apply a few learning theories at home with my kids. :)