The Importance Of Hands-On Activities For Early Childhood Development

Introduction

The learning-by-doing approach is an integrated way of making a child learn and become an independent thinker. It is a more new and unconventional approach where a child is explained a concept by engaging their senses in a supportive activity. This not only helps in improving their motor functions but also makes them think more clearly and analytically. It is like an activity whereby at the end of the process, a child knows a concept, which is postulated by a practical activity or experiment.

To understand better, think of a conventional classroom where children are being taught about various types of plants. Generally, they will be taught about these plants through the help of reading the course book. However, hands-on learning will involve supportive activities such as taking children to the botanical garden and showing them different plants and how they function. This helps in creating mental cues that a child is more likely to retain for a longer time.

How Do Hands-On Activities Make A Difference

For parents wondering how hands-on activities can support learning among their kids, here is how these activities can make a huge difference.

• Social Interactions

One of the top benefits of hands-on learning activities is that they require everyone to come together and engage in the activity. This not only enhances communication skills among children but also helps them to understand the perspectives of their peers. It encourages better coordination and retention of information among children. Through these activities, children not only gain a practical perspective behind the concept but also learn social skills.

• Refined Motor Skills

Since hands-on activity requires the child to coordinate all their senses, motor skills are more likely to get refined and better. Hands-on activities such as painting, drawing, pasting, and playing with clay require a child to be constantly involved, and the coordination between the mind and different body parts becomes better among children. The hand movements become cleaner and precise which can help your child to do even advanced activities at an early stage.

• Problem-Solving Skills

Hands-on activities require a child to understand things through the help of examples and experiments. Although the child is always provided with the needed guidance, there is also a sense of independence while doing these activities. Your child will be allowed to explore and contemplate individually. This will help develop a personal perspective, introspect, and critically devise solutions to problems. Your child will also get the opportunity to explore different approaches to doing a single task.

• Clearer Understanding of Abstract Concepts

Many times, even if a child can retain a certain piece of information taught to them, it doesn't necessarily mean that they have understood the concept behind it. For example, when a child learns to count, even though they might be able to recite the numbers there might still be confusion behind the meaning. Instead, showing them the number of objects with every count to build a relationship between the concept and the practical component is a better way of learning.

• Creative Thinking And Innovation

Since hands-on learning requires one to adopt an integrative learning approach with different types of vocational activities involved, creativity is a certain outcome. Your child will learn how to associate art, music, dance, and other such things with academic learning. This will reveal their more creative and engaging side. Not only this, but hands-on learning activities also enhance curiosity and better character development among children.

Some Integrative Hand-On Learning Activities

Here is a list of some easy hands-on learning activities that you may integrate into your child's everyday learning.

• Storytelling

Storytelling is a great way to enhance a child's motivation to learn and make any concept fun. Parents can integrate funny and imaginary characters to teach their kids concepts. This helps in improving articulation skills among children.

• Cooking

Cooking is not just a survival skill but also requires a lot of precision and concentration. Parents can also teach their children about different ingredients in the kitchen and their health benefits. A child becomes more responsible and detail-oriented by learning how to cook.

• Treasure Hunt

A treasure hunt is an activity focused on problem-solving skills and can be used to teach several concepts. It involves making certain clues that lead to each other and eventually, the final clue leads to the goal. It also helps in assessing how much a child has learned and understood.

• Making Collages

Collage making is a fun craft activity that requires a child to collect different pictures related to a concept and paste them systematically on a paper. Parents can help the child make a collage and let them know the logic behind each of the chosen images. It is a great learning-by-doing approach that also enhances their craft skills while clearing a concept.

Hands-on activities have countless advantages that go beyond just clearing concepts among children. All these fun activities help develop soft skills and clear concepts among children, other than bettering the child-parent relationship.