19th of March 2020, the unseen, unheard, unusual attack of the virus formally gripped the world. On the surface of all existence, life took a break. Schools, malls, offices shut. Trains stopped, flights cancelled. We spoke of the clear sky, took to newer hobbies, wondered at the effect, and waited for the vaccine.

The flow of time generally is a great healer, but this time the fury got aggressive. Every house saw loss, not just physical or material loss, but lives that started vanishing.

While the scientists were at work to find a vaccine to fight this war, the educationists took charge of filling in the gap of learning.

The online platform came as a great rescue. Schools came home, not only for the students but for the whole community.

Art is all Energy, entertainment, and education. Integrating the Es with literacy the right way at the right stage will make it learning for life

The risk of criticism increased. The platform changed. The stage grew wider, with a challenge as to who would be performers. Teachers who could facilitate but with limited influence.

Parents, caregivers, caretakers had to extend the partnership. The complexity of the situation grew even more.

Working parents got trapped into the whole guilt of their presence yet unavailable for children’s education.

Especially for the early years. Technology is a double edged sword. On one hand, it was rescuing many from wandering astray, and idling time, on the other hand, had no control over the young wanderers who would go away from the screen if not supervised.

Parents needed to take charge.
Gluing to the screen for those young eyes is another concern, that became a concern. There were limited choices between the devil and the deep sea.

It is important to rescue the young ones, from this deep depression of illiteracy that may take a long time for any society to recover from, post pandemic.

As Alfin Toffler says that the best years of a child’s life are the first seven. The complete personality shapes up in these formative years. This is an alarm for all parents who are blessed with raising and nurturing the future society.

The premise of constructive education lays stress on the correct environment and brain based learning.

Parents can make use of this time when children are with them at home. They can ensure a safe and conducive learning environment. it is said that a child begins to perceive the world, not only with the eyes but through speech.

So they should surround the child with music.A child’s brain responds to music and makes neural connections not only to language but to greater skills, especially at this age. Lullabies and rhymes are not a finding of a new age but are a traditional form that has assisted language and brain development. A proven science. Parents who are occupied can use the technical device and play songs and child friendly rhymes and music for the right cells to be activated and form those connections to life and language.

The next stage calls for the development of vocabulary. Stories in the language that needs to be used, to be said a loud. Surround the child’s environment with those words. A musical representation of rhymes and stories is available in so many forms. Let the child’s construction of language and literacy begin formally. The appropriate environment and parental involvement in voicing, reading, singing aloud the same along with the child, helps not only engagement but building trust.

The child is now ready for a multisensory learning platform and engagement. Visual depictions of these stories, at this stage, are not for entertainment only. They are building a foundation of formal learning of language. Parents can get together for a meal as the “three bears and a Goldilocks” for a diminutive enactment.

Evening race in the house can be of a rabbit and a tortoise. Art is in its performance and not vice versa. Performance can be termed art if it’s entertainment. At this juncture of a child’s life theatrical representation of rhymes and stories is a great learning style, with a lasting impact.

The next stage of development is all about, I”. The most important character in a child’s life is I”. That’s why all talks revolve around, X does this, X is now going to sleep etc. while the monkey stage is all about imitation, the I ‘needs to be utilized for benefit.

Walking on a straight line, going around in circles, waving prop in formation of an alphabet, moving the toe on the sand to form a particular letter is laying a base of letter formation. This performance can be linked with dance, music, and theatrics. The kinesthetic movements not only cater to brains who are smart and have this as their dominant style of learning but assists in physical development and coordination of motor skills.

Children are now ready to learn a script. Role play as a medium is a great pedagogical technique used by parents at this stage. The child’s mind is now exploring. Various professions, people, cartoon characters, mythological characters are stories that can be danced with the child as a family celebration. As an evening Teatime ritual or a prayer time routine, the child can now be guided to link letters and sounds with these characters.

Children are little humans, who want the same things as we want, the first and last is to be Happy.

Art is all Energy, entertainment and education. Integrating the Es with literacy the right way at the right stage will make it learning for life.

Happy Parenting.