"Field Trips"
"Take field trips frequently. Take time to attend concerts and plays, museums and exhibits. Visit workplaces. Give your child experiences from which to build his understanding of the world -- experiences he will draw upon and perhaps revisit when he is older.
"Do not let your child explore the world only from a cathode ray tube. Children need real experiences to relate to. Seeing a jet take off on television is not the same as seeing a jet take off in front of you. Hearing an orchestra on television or radio is not the same as hearing an orchestra in person. Watching a computer simulation of a scientific experiment, or watching a video of it, is not the same as doing it in front of your very own eyes. Yes, you can learn some things by the tube. But it is not the same -- there are also some things which you are not learning.
"When your child is four or five, begin attending your local Science and Engineering Fair. Observe all the different kinds of projects and experiments. Encourage the child to think of what kind of experiement he could enter when he is thirteen (at the Understanding Level).
"Early on, form the habit of visiting the library on a weekly basis. At a young age, the child will become familiar with where to find the different assortments of books, and how to ask the librarian for help. Later, you will teach the child to use the computer catalog and the reference section of the library. Around age thirteen (which is the beginning of the Understanding Level), take your child to a good college library and familiarize him with doing research, using the Library of Congress system. At age fifteen, take him to a large university library. By the time a child is in his later teens, he should know how to perform research in his library.
"When I was no more than eight years old, Grandma Haigh took me to one of the tiny branches of the Des Moines Public Library. To this day, I can recall the wonder and amazement which filled me when I saw all of those books. After that visit, I yearned to have a library card of my own. It was another three years before my wish was fulfilled. In 1963, when I was eleven, my family moved to San Diego, and there we were given a free card to the public library. For the next year, every Monday night, after doing the grocery shopping, we would visit the library. I began at the "A's" in the juvenile fiction section, checking out six books every week. I do not remember how far I went down the slphabet, but that "year of the library" provoked in me a life time love for reading."
"Do not let your child explore the world only from a cathode ray tube. Children need real experiences to relate to. Seeing a jet take off on television is not the same as seeing a jet take off in front of you. Hearing an orchestra on television or radio is not the same as hearing an orchestra in person. Watching a computer simulation of a scientific experiment, or watching a video of it, is not the same as doing it in front of your very own eyes. Yes, you can learn some things by the tube. But it is not the same -- there are also some things which you are not learning.
"When your child is four or five, begin attending your local Science and Engineering Fair. Observe all the different kinds of projects and experiments. Encourage the child to think of what kind of experiement he could enter when he is thirteen (at the Understanding Level).
"Early on, form the habit of visiting the library on a weekly basis. At a young age, the child will become familiar with where to find the different assortments of books, and how to ask the librarian for help. Later, you will teach the child to use the computer catalog and the reference section of the library. Around age thirteen (which is the beginning of the Understanding Level), take your child to a good college library and familiarize him with doing research, using the Library of Congress system. At age fifteen, take him to a large university library. By the time a child is in his later teens, he should know how to perform research in his library.
"When I was no more than eight years old, Grandma Haigh took me to one of the tiny branches of the Des Moines Public Library. To this day, I can recall the wonder and amazement which filled me when I saw all of those books. After that visit, I yearned to have a library card of my own. It was another three years before my wish was fulfilled. In 1963, when I was eleven, my family moved to San Diego, and there we were given a free card to the public library. For the next year, every Monday night, after doing the grocery shopping, we would visit the library. I began at the "A's" in the juvenile fiction section, checking out six books every week. I do not remember how far I went down the slphabet, but that "year of the library" provoked in me a life time love for reading."
