Learning During the Preschool Years

God created preschoolers to learn through a lifelong process. They persevere with eagerness to learn unless someone thwarts the inborn drive to reach out to new experiences. Observe the laborious effort with which babies study their hands, toddlers strive to walk, two-year-olds learn to talk, three-year-olds work at caring for the baby doll, four-year-olds build intricate block towers, and five-year-olds master puzzles.

As God planned in creation, children grow through predictable steps which are like building blocks, but at their own rates. For example, preschoolers vary widely in a normal range of physical growth. They gain control of their bodies in a direction from head to foot and from the middle of the body to the extremities. They concentrate on large muscle development (walking, running, skipping, hopping) followed by intense effort to develop small muscle control (drawing, cutting, pasting, tying shoes).

The most remarkable growth of any five-year span occurs during the preschool years. The environment has tremendous effect on learning during the years of fastest growth. Development involves the whole body and everything about the child. What happens to the body affects the mind and the spirit. When teachers and parents nurture a child's emotions, they affect physical and mental well-being. Development, more difficult to observe than physical growth, occurs slowly and steadily as children get a basic outlook on life—a view of themselves, God, others, and their ever-expanding world. Trust, self-control, competence, responsibility, and initiative are major steps in development through the preschool years.

Preschoolers and Thinking

Too often, preschoolers are the most misunderstood of all age groups. They do not think like adults, but adults often expect them to. Paul acknowledged this truth in 1 Corinthians 13:11 when he wrote, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child."

As preschoolers grow, they mentally develop from concrete to abstract thinking. As preschoolers and through most of childhood, they understand the surface meaning of words, not the deeper or abstract meaning. Symbolic words are distorted as preschoolers put literal meaning into them. What meaning will they get from such phrases as "Lamb of God"; "give your heart to Jesus"; or "red and yellow, black and white" from the song "Jesus Loves the Little Children"?

Another key to understanding how preschoolers learn is that from an adult perspective they think illogically. How else could preschoolers be expected to believe in the tooth fairy or Santa Claus, who delivers toys in a single night to all children from a sleigh drawn by reindeer? Preschoolers are limited in their experiences, and they think only with experiences they have had during their lives. A story is told of a child who heard the Sermon on the Mount. She drew a picture, which she labeled, "Jesus on the Summer Mound."

Learning means changing how a person thinks, feels, or acts. Change can occur in attitudes, knowledge, understanding, or skills. Learning is incomplete until children can apply or use what they have learned.

Another key to understanding how preschoolers learn is the fact that they learn at their level of understanding. In a similar way this fact is true for adults. When someone talks about molecular biology, most adults have difficulty understanding his terminology. When teachers try to teach preschoolers words they cannot understand or use, they will either (1) distort the meaning, (2) tune out, (3) avoid such experiences, or (4) perhaps say or sing words for a lifetime without ever asking what they mean. What does the word Ebenezer mean in the hymn "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing?"

Preschoolers learn from firsthand, hands-on experiences, or active involvement. They learn from doing and through their senses—seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching. As teachers talk about what the preschoolers are sensing, they learn how to describe their experiences. For an overview of each avenue of learning, read pages 21-22 in the book Teaching Preschoolers: First Steps Toward Faith by Thomas Sanders and Mary Ann Bradberry.

In addition to their senses, preschoolers learn through play. Play is the work of preschoolers somewhat in the same sense that playing an instrument is work to performers. Play becomes an activity when the leader uses it for an instructional purpose. In planning play opportunities, capitalize on the natural, God-given inclination to play. Provide choices of activities including blocks, homeliving, art, puzzles and manipulatives, nature, books, pictures, and music.

In addition, preschoolers learn through relationships with parents, teachers, and other preschoolers. How the adult makes the child feel is more important than what the adult says. Children learn more from actions than through words. The best gift a teacher can give children is the knowledge that they are loved. To literal preschoolers love is an action. It is a hug, a gentle pat, a warm smile, calling them by name, loving eye contact, listening and mirroring what the preschooler says so he knows you listened. Through playing with others, children can learn to cooperate, negotiate, take responsibility, respect the rights of others, disagree, solve problems, get along, take turns, and share. All of these are taught in Matthew 7:12.

Preschoolers also learn through repetition and practice. Most preschoolers love to read some of the same books and work some of the same puzzles over and over. Having some kind of routine to their schedule fosters security.

Preschoolers learn best in a relaxed environment, in which they feel safe, secure, respected, accepted, and loved. Pressure, competition, punishment, and drill hinder a child from developing talents and confidence.

Through all of these avenues of learning, preschoolers differ in how they learn. Some prefer to hear stories and music. They are called auditory learners. Approximately 20-30 percent of preschoolers would say, "I need to hear it." The majority of auditory learners are girls.

Approximately 40 percent of preschoolers would say, "I need to see it." They prefer learning by looking at picture books, drawings, and videos. The majority of visual learners are boys.

The remaining preschoolers (approximately 25 percent) need movement and action to learn. They would say, "I need to do it." They are called kinesthetic learners, and they include both boys and girls. (See Beckie Snow, "Learning Styles in Young Children: Part I," EarlyChildhood.about.com, 29 June 2000, online, available from earlychildhood.about.com/education/earlychildhood.)

The implications of learning avenues and styles of learning guide teachers and parents to use a variety of learning approaches. Each preschooler will change and use all of the avenues of learning during the first five years of life. Children will change their styles of learning many times before determining a preference during the elementary years. Instead of choosing one, teachers and parents need to provide learning opportunities that involve all three—looking, listening, and doing. For more information, read the book Teaching Preschoolers: First Steps Toward Faith by Thomas Sanders and Mary Ann Bradberry.

"Give to the child instruction conformably to His way {the way God made him and in keeping with his own readiness and uniqueness}" (Prov. 22:6). (From Franz Delitzsch. Commentary on the Old Testament, Volume VI: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon [Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1976], 86.

As you consider your preschoolers, note which avenues of learning are used and the current learning style(s) for each child.

As you seek to improve your teaching skills, consider the resource Teaching Preschoolers: First Steps Toward Faith by Thomas Sanders and Mary Ann Bradberry (available by calling 1-800-458-2772).

For curriculum resources, consider the following:

Discipleship Training (available by calling 1-800-458-2772)
      Bible Foundations for Preschoolers
      TeamKid for Preschool

Mission Friends^® (available by calling 1-800-968-7301)
      Start
      Preschool Choir (available by calling 1-800-436-3869)
      Music Time Series (ages 4–K)
      Music and Me (age 3)

Sunday School (available by calling 1-800-458-2772)
      Family Bible Study for Preschoolers
      Bible Foundations for Preschoolers

Weekday Early Education (available by calling 1-800-458-2772)
      WEELearn

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Adapted from an article written by Dr. C. Sybil Waldrop, "How a Preschooler Learns," The Church Musician, October 1990, 4-5.