Sneaky Ways to Give Your Kids a Bit More Knowledge

All 50 States and Their Capitals? The Periodic Table? The Presidents of the U.S.? Your kids can soak all that knowledge up, and more.

Our kids learn a lot. With a dual curriculum from preschool through high school, there is so much information taught to them daily. But with that very full curriculum, some of the “extras” fall down on the priority list and our kids don’t learn everything they possibly could. When they are young, their minds are sponges eager to soak up more knowledge. We just have to provide it in a way that doesn’t feel like yet more “learning.”

I believe the best way to impart knowledge to young children is simply to talk to them. Explain and discuss anything and everything. Why are you checking that egg after you crack it? How come this grass is brown and the other grass is green? When will it be summer? Why does this traffic light have an arrow? Answer their questions and offer all the information you can about the topic. It all goes in.

I remember sitting in the pediatrician’s waiting room a few years back when a father walked in with his two young children—they were perhaps 2 and 4 years old. They were looking at the big fish tank and talking about everything they were seeing. This father didn’t simply say, “Oh look at that big blue fish! There’s the mommy fish and there’s the baby fish!” He explained why there were bubbles coming out of the filter. He showed what the fins were and how to make the fish follow your finger. He didn’t stop feeding information and those kids were eating it up. It may feel silly to say some of these things to young children, but it’s not! You’d be shocked to realize how much they retain.

But we can’t always be talking. And for those times, I’d like to share some other fun ways to share information with your kids. This will be a continuing miniseries of posts, so be sure to keep checking back!

What do shower curtains and placemats have in common? They are both a blank canvas your child will be staring at. Why not paint that blank canvas with educational information? Some of our favorite shower curtains have been a world map, , the human skeleton, and the periodic table of elements.

There are gemstones, and multiplication tables. There are so many choices for all ages—just search Amazon!

FYI: We hang these shower curtains behind a regular opaque one so you can only see them when you’re actually in the shower.

And you know that blank look your elementary school-age kid has at the breakfast table? Give him something to read silently – on a placemat. Learn about the solar system or the US Presidents — all before getting on the school bus! For the youngest ones, you can get the basics (colors, letters, numbers). Just put it in front of them and they will see it. And learn it.

Globes: Every home should have a good one. It holds the answers to so many curious questions.

Why is it so much warmer in Florida? How come it’s already night at Savta’s house? Where do polar bears live? How could it be summer in Australia when it’s winter in New York? How far was the trip from Mitzrayim to Eretz Yisroel?

If you have a good globe in your house, you can point out the answers to each of these questions. And with a visual aid, that answer will stick around in your child’s head for a long time. This globe is pricy but worth every penny. It holds loads of information that your kids can explore on their own. Or choose a more affordable version like this one which lights up for nighttime use.