Our Own Individual Time Lines

We all know that teaching a baby to walk at six months old is likely a wasted effort. Their bodies, minds, and spirits aren't ready for that yet. Most of us understand this and we don't push them. We know that they will crawl, walk, grow teeth, eat solid foods, and talk when they are ready. We also understand that some kids walk at nine months while others aren't ready until fifteen months or even longer. Some kids have a mouth full of teeth at six months and some kids reach their first birthday with only a few little teeth poking through. Some kids are ready to use the potty at only two-years old while others are more comfortable waiting until after three.

Most of the two and three year old preschoolers at Tiny Tribe can't read or write yet. It's okay because they aren't supposed to. :) At this stage in their development we are simply exposing them to reading and writing by helping them notice the signs, numbers, words, and letters that we see in the world. A child's readiness for reading and writing is as individual as their ability to walk and talk.

All we can (and should) do is highlight writing and reading in fun ways that have meaning to them and that they can relate to. Today during circle time, we made a chart depicting our ideas for Halloween costumes. Because most of our preschoolers can already recognize their own and their friends names in print, this pictorial chart was easy for them to "read". At Tiny Tribe we believe that childhood should be organic and self-driven. We should wait until a child shows interest, desire, and the developmental skills necessary for writing and reading before we try to "teach" them how to do it.