What is the right age to start learning a new thing? The answer would be- never. Even inside the womb, fetus keeps learning and discovering new things. So whether it is learning a new language, or culture, or art or counting, you can start as early as 9 months, or even earlier. It all depends on the skill of making it interesting for the kids. Here is a brief guide to making learning as part of a child’s play. Learning English (or any language other than the native language): You can start the early language teaching by introducing various sounds different languages make. Start communicating with the kid in simple sentences in that language. For example, when she is 5 months old, start telling her “lets go to sleep” and “lets go out” and “its bath time”. She might not be able to understand it all yet, but soon, she’ll understand what is “sleep” and what is “bath”, gradually building her vocabulary.
Once she starts making out words, you can sing songs to her which comprise of simple, meaningful words in English (like nursery rhymes) in a singsong manner, with lots of funny action which she can imitate. If the song or rhyme is on rain, “act out” rain, and if it is winter, act out as if you are shivering- this would make her understand different seasons. Some people prefer introducing kids to English cartoon movies, but researches show that till the kids have a live, one-to-one conversation in the language with a real person, there might not be any learning with the cartoons or videos. In fact, research also shows that learning multiple languages at an early stage improves the overall learning capability of kids.
So if you and your partner know multiple languages, both of you should speak in a different language with the kid from the beginning. In due time, not only will the kid learn both the languages, she will also know which language to speak with which parent. Learning about Colors and Shapes: This can start as early as 4-5months when the kid learns to hold simple objects. You can hang various colored objects on the baby’s crib. Make sure the objects are in bold, single color each, and preferably move with a sound. This will easily capture the baby’s attention. Later, you can get her lots of rings in solid, bold colors which she can arrange on a small, mounted tower. In addition to it, design your kid’s wardrobe with as many colors as possible (taking a break from the conventional “pink for girls” and “blue for boys” idea). Let your child choose between a “yellow frock” or a “green romper”. You’ll soon see a growing preference for a particular color, but that is part of the learning process. Learning about shapes also can be similar to the colors- by getting her a “round ball” which is kept in a “square box”. You can get her feeding bowls in different shapes- round, triangle, square, and introduce each one alternately.