My 3 year old son will be starting preschool in September, and before he starts I have been trying to assess where he is with his learning so that I can let the school know and they can work from his current point.
It never ceases to amaze how much my son knows, particularly when so much of his knowledge comes from things that neither his Dad or I have made an effort to teach him.
I know it sounds quite braggy so do forgive me but when he comes out the plural name for Octopus' or tells me all about how the Statue Of Liberty is in New York, I find myself pretty dumbstruck.
At the age of 3, he can count beyond 20 and recite the alphabet in full - he also has a great understanding of phonics, can name all of his colours and most of his shapes, and can have a pretty detailed chat with you about outer space and name the planets.
Now if I'd been the kind of parent to make an effort to teach him these things - that would be great, but I have to confess - I honestly haven't.
I have quite a relaxed approach to education in little ones and I have never thought it necessary to sit down with him and try to teach him any of these things yet - I would probably be starting to think about doing that around now but he already has the knowledge - so if it didn't come from me, where did it come from?
The answer is simple - YouTube.
People see children with tablets in their hands and assume that they're playing rubbish games or watching nonsense, but the truth is that my son has learnt all of these things and much more from watching educational but age-appropriate channels on the YouTube Kids app.
One channel he watches most often is ChuChuTv which is full of nursery rhymes with cute animations - you might think that nursery rhymes aren't going to impart any knowledge but I disagree - I think that they're a fantastic way to get messages across to children, particularly when it comes to social subjects such as sharing or kindness - a nursery rhyme can demonstrate the importance of these things in a fun and informative way, and of course a child is going to pay more attention to a lesson when it's presented in a fun animated format, right?
ChuChuTv, and it's sister channel ChuChuTV Surprise, includes lots of traditional nursery rhyme videos but also features lots of original rhymes too - all intended to teach positive life lessons to little ones in a way they can easily understand. Such as this one about brushing your teeth, which is one of Tyne's favourite ones to watch:
ChuChuTv, and it's sister channel ChuChuTV Surprise, includes lots of traditional nursery rhyme videos but also features lots of original rhymes too - all intended to teach positive life lessons to little ones in a way they can easily understand. Such as this one about brushing your teeth, which is one of Tyne's favourite ones to watch:
I really can't recommend ChuChuTv enough for educating and entertaining little ones simultaneously, and my son would be the first to tell you how much he loves watching it!
Does your little one enjoy YouTube channels for educational rhymes too?
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