Mommy Life

Developing Concentration

     "The first essential for the child's development is concentration," noted Maria Montessori nearly a century ago.  When she observed Italian slum children absorbed in manipulating bread crumbs, she concluded that the drive to learn was so intrinsic - and so strong -  that children would learn to focus on anything in order to fulfill their potential.

    In our culture, kids are less likely to suffer from a lack than from an overabundance of claims on their attention.  Their visual fare is crowded with swiftly-shifting images, requiring little sustained focus.  And though we surround them with educational materials, ironically the very richness of their environments may make it more difficult for them to learn to concentrate than those "poor" children Montessori so carefully observed.

     Since the ability to concentrate is the cornerstone of learning, you will want to increase your child's educational success and satisfaction by doing all you can to release his potential for concentration.  Here's how:

• Observe your child.  Notice what activities she sticks with and let her know how happy you are when she completes a task.

• Offer choices.  Your child is more likely to focus on an activity she prefers, so let her choose.

• Model concentration.  When you work on a puzzle together, e.g., exaggerate your own focus.

• Encourage repetition.  When your child completes something, before putting it away and moving on to something else, ask, "Would you like to do it again?"

     Concentration is an invaluable key that will open many doors of opportunity.  The child who can concentrate, who can focus completely, will thrive in any academic environment.  As an adult he will be able to bring his best to any task.

Coloring Books: Pros and Cons

     Some parents wonder - while others are convinced - that coloring books stifle creativity.  They may underestimate how much a reflection of our Creator we humans are.  Seasoned parents know it would take more than a mountain of coloring books to stifle the creative impulse of a young child.

     The truth is, coloring books have definite merit.  In addition to helping perfect fine motor control for later writing skills, they have an almost unequaled power to captivate the complete attention of even the most distractable child.

     If you think your child has a way to go on concentration, try a coloring book and see where it takes him.