| Why we do it > Published Articles Published Articles Children and Creativity: Preparation for a fast-moving world. (by Amal Abbass-Saal & Foluke Taylor-Muhammad, Directors of FoJanga-Foundation for Children & Young People in the Gambia) ‘He who learns, teaches’
African Proverb As we strive to raise our children, feed them and educate them, the world undergoes radical change. Modern science and technology moves ahead in leaps and bounds; so fast that it can become a challenge for parents and teachers to stay ahead of the latest developments. We are expected to learn quickly, adapt to new circumstances and grapple with a constant stream of new gadgets and ideas. The world, they say, has become a village. Children it seems, whether they live in cities or villages, need to be prepared. An important question may be: How can we, as parents, support our children’s aspirations and encourage their achievement, when we ourselves may struggle to understand what they are now expected to learn? Yes, we can access a lot of information via the internet but not all parents have easy access to computers or internet. Fortunately this article is not about computers but about seven of the simple and effective things that we can do to help children make the most of the opportunities available to them and prepare them to be all they can be in the world that is becoming. 1. Start At the Beginning
“Right from the start, babies are thinking, observing and reasoning, building mental models of their worlds which are then refined in the light of subsequent experience” BERA Early years SIG (2003) Early Years Research: pedagogy, curriculum and adult roles, professionalism and training (Academic Review Southwell: BERA) Recent advances in brain research show that babies and young children have powerful learning capacities. It has been shown that early experiences in a child’s life have an enormous impact of the development of the brain. At this stage in their lives children are generally learning about the world through play which means that play itself is very important. Play benefits children in a variety of ways, for instance by: |