Building a Store of Knowledge for Children

Source: Reading Rockets

Learning happens when children connect new information to what they already know. When children have limited knowledge about the world, they have a smaller capacity to learn more about it. The importance of knowledge for cognition does not mean that teachers should assign lists of facts for their students to memorize.

Facts are useful only if they are relevantly connected to other bits of knowledge. Every fact that students learn need not be explicitly taught. They can also learn facts incidentally. When schools use a content-rich curriculum, students have many incidental learning opportunities as they are immersed in meaningful, connected facts throughout the day.

Teachers can also look for extra opportunities to provide incidental learning opportunities for their students. Building a store of knowledge works like compound interest as it grows exponentially. For that reason, the earlier the student adds to their database of knowledge the better. 

Because of the exponential learning rate, once children fall behind their peers, it becomes increasingly difficult to catch up. Young children can learn by listening to fiction and nonfiction books read aloud, by watching demonstrations, through hands-on experiences, and so forth.

Mount Olympus School does not miss out on instilling these learning opportunities to the students who are fortunate enough to study there.

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Also read: Many Benefits of Extracurricular Activities