Einstein Never Used Flashcards- the Beauty of the Everyday

"research overwhelmingly shows that a child’s intellectual awakening takes place during the normal adult-child interactions that occur in everyday, purposeful activities" Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How Our Children Really Learn, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Phd and Roberta Michnik Golinkof

I have loved reading Einstein Never Used Flashcards just to get a bit more information about how my kids learn. The basic premise of their book, like so many others I'm reading right now, is that kids need to slow it down and have more interactions with their parents or other caretakers instead of doing lots of classes, activities, etc. They de-bunk some popular myths out there, like listening to Mozart makes your kids smarter, using flashcards and memorizing things works, babies can "add and subtract", and providing an "enriched" environment makes kids more brainy. That last myth came from a study about rats- rats who lived in cages with lots of toys and slides had bigger brains than those who didn't, but what the media didn't publicize is that the rats with the best brains of all were the ones who lived in their natural environment.
Their premise is that kids who are involved in everyday activities with their parents and caretakers have the environment most conducive to how they will learn and develop best.
The other day when we did bakingtime, I was very aware of providing my kids with stimulation and interaction in everyday activities. The problem is that I decided we needed to involve everyone and put in tons of things- pureed carrots, pureed peaches, Craisins, flax etc.- and we all lost it. I was so frustrated by the end I knew that wasn't good either.
So next time I'm going to keep it simple- no point getting too ambitious with any of the activities we are doing.

Charla and Nicole, thanks for leaving a comment! I'm going to send both of you a starter Steady Days binder ;)