Hands-on learning has always been considered crucial by parents and educators as an elementary factor in raising children as it not only provides practical exposure but also awakens a child’s curiosity to learn more and experiment.
Hands on learning cements a child’s learning and sets the tone for the rest of their school years. Parent’s actively take part in their child’s education so it becomes important for them to understand what hands-on means and why they should include such sessions in their child’s schedule. Let us have a look at its meaning and the various benefits.
What is hands-on learning?
Hands-on learning is a form of education where children learn by doing and taking part in activities, called ‘kinesthetic learning’ rather than just listening to their teachers. Children engage with the subject matter to solve a problem or build something new. For example, writing a creative story by looking at a composition as part of an English class or experimenting with water and oil to learn about soluble and insoluble material as part of a science class.
Why hands-on learning?
Hands-on experience helps the child to understand the concept and relate to what is being taught to them. Its benefits include:
· More engaging way to learn
· Leads to increased retention of the topic.
· It can offer practice in problem solving and critical thinking
· Results in physical creation.
· Brings out the creative side of children.
· Increases the concentration span of children.
How can you help your kids with hands-on learning?
· Providing young kids with a water table, modeling clay, glue, crayons, building blocks, jigsaw puzzles and other such fun games. This helps the child’s brain to develop and lets them use their brain to find a way to work through the material.
· Parents and teachers should ask their kids what they think of all the tools and how they might use these objects. This encourages children to think for themselves and in that process they come up with something completely out of the box.
· Parents who prioritize hands-on learning need to find a school that shares this priority and where teachers create a fun and playful learning environment for the kids.
Pamakid app is a great tool for kids to experience ‘hands-on learning‘ using its diverse library of out-of-classroom tasks in a fun & challenging way.Register to join the exclusive list of super-parents.
Final thoughts
Understanding a concept is imperative for a child’s growth rather than mugging it up and that is why hands-on learning is a fantastic way to move ahead because it stimulates both sides of your brain, the creative as well as the logical side. Let your child make mistakes while learning practically. Hit and trial is the essence of hands-on learning. Allow them to explore and learn concepts by using their five senses. It gets them actively involved in answering questions such as what, why and how. These skills are needed for lifelong learning.
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