If you have a toddler who is constantly asking questions such as why the sky is blue in colour or why ducks can swim in the water with ease but hens can’t — you may be wondering how you can satisfy their curious mind. One way to keep them engaged and curious while also fuelling a love for learning is by introducing them to the subject of General Knowledge.
Benefits of Teaching General Knowledge for Preschool
Introducing General Knowledge early on in a child’s educational journey has many benefits for their development.
It encourages real learning as opposed to reel learning.
By creating an interest in the world that they inhabit, you can motivate them to interact and engage with the world, instead of spending their time on screens. This can also prepare them for future academic success.
It promotes cognitive development.
As they learn new information and concepts, it stimolates the development of the brain. It also leads to the development of skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking as they digest that information and relate it to the world around them.
It also helps in the development of their social skills.
As they participate in these lessons, they learn new facts, information and concepts. While sharing their new-found knowledge with others, they learn to ask questions and explain their learnings, becoming good communicators in the process.
What Can Be Taught In General Knowledge For Preschool?
To keep the subject age-appropriate and interesting you may create general knowledge activities for preschoolers around these topics:
- The Fundamentals:
- Natural World:
- Self-Discovery:
- Social & Emotional Learning:
- Life Skills:
The alphabet, numbers, colours and shapes make for a great starting point into G.K for preschoolers.
Animals – Farm, Wild, Ocean; Weather & Seasons; Plant Cycles— make for great topics to keep the preschoolers engaged.
Learning about body parts, healthy habits and the 5 senses
Understanding and expressing emotions, treating others with respect, common greetings and etiquettes
Hygiene habits, safety awareness and other topics that have relevance to their daily lives at home and outside
How To Make The General Knowledge Lesson Fun And Engaging?
Toddlers and preschoolers have some of the shortest attention spans that you may encounter, so keeping them engaged and on the hook is very integral to inspiring a love for the subject. Now, you may be wondering how to make general knowledge exciting in preschool. Worry not, try the strategies below to ensure that your G.K lesson stays with your little one.
- By engaging their senses:
- Through storytelling:
- Through games:
- Create lessons around their interests:
- Taking it outside:
A memorable lesson for your young one is one which makes an impression on them and gets them excited for the subject. You can do that by creating a moltisensory lesson— for example, if you are teaching them about wild animals try to create the sounds they make by using common objects. For e.g., if you want to show how the desert is a place filled with coarse sand, you can use sandpaper to help the child understand the texture and connect the dots. A mystery fruit box can help you teach a lesson on fruits and vegetables that can also double up as a treat box afterwards. A sure shot way to make study engaging and fun.
As a strategy itself, storytelling has many benefits for cognitive development. Transform factual lessons into storytelling sessions where you have your little learner discover their talents. If teaching about weather and seasons, have them enact thunderous storms or winter snow; for a lesson on etiquettes, have them do a dance and song routine. Using elements like music, props such as puppets you can create many such interesting general knowledge activities for preschoolers.
Use blocks to make towers with moltiple storeys teaching them about numbers, or use flashcards to play memory games and drive home lessons about wild animals and their habitat. According to American poet, Diane Ackerman, “Play is our brain’s favourite way to learn,” so use this strategy to bring the general knowledge lesson alive for your little one. You can also tweak games such as scavenger hunt to make them general knowledge games for preschoolers.
Is your young one obsessed with stars? If so, you can use their interest to create a lesson around space — you can bring in how man travelled to space in a space shuttle. Or how we live on a planet which revolves around a star. Or even constellations. You can make the lesson as complex or simple as you want, depending on your child’s interest. Find an area of interest to unlock other topics for learning.
Who says all the learning has to take place in between the four walls of the classroom? Turn a regolar trip to the park into a lesson on plants and how each plant has a distinct leaf and other features. Ask them to observe insects like ants and point out how they are always found in groups, or how caterpillars transform into butterflies. Nature provides ample opportunity for learning; you can also ask them to identify colours as they occur in nature such as the different colours of flowers.
These strategies can help your child develop a liking for general knowledge lessons, but to ensure that they also yield long-term success, don’t miss out on the tips given below.
Tips To Ensure That The Lessons Are A Success:
- Introduce variety as much as possible:
- Give positive reinforcement:
- Where appropriate, use digital tools:
For preschoolers, play-based learning that captures their attention is most effective, so incorporate as much play, music and movement as you can in the lessons. You can also try alternating lessons, such as nature walks followed by role playing. The more variety in your lessons, the more they are going to be enjoyed by the little ones.
Celebrate and encourage every question, remark along with every correctly recollected fact. Take an interest in all that they have to say. It will convey to them that you appreciate their efforts and are not just focused on resolts, which will really supercharge their learning.
You can supplement the traditional learning methods by using age-appropriate apps, websites and also show suitable documentaries. The addition of these methods to a few G.K lessons will add to the novelty factor and make the kids look forward to them.
When it comes to preschoolers, the best way to introduce new subjects or topics of learning is by layering the learning with fun and play. This is why educational institutions like EuroKids have play-based learning. At EuroKids, the focus of early education is to make the kids more aware of their surroundings and interact with them, fuelling a lifelong love for learning. As opposed to a strictly traditional methodology, this mode of teaching sets up children for success from a young age as they engage, question and learn by doing. To know how you can provide a similar educational environment to your young one and help them on their educational journey, visit your nearest EuroKids branch.
