Mom Forums
Moderator: Gail Shepard
Former Director - Honey Tree Early Childhood Center
Gail Shepard is the former Director of Honey Tree Early Childhood Center in Thousand Oaks, California. The philosophy behind Honey Tree Nursery School is based on providing experiences that involv...
visit: http://www.myhoneytree.com/
Recent articles by Gail Shepard
How do Young Children Learn?
Children process ad learn information by playing with it. Play is the way children learn what no one can teach them. Depriving children of play has negating opportunities for self-initiated and pleasurable learning experiences. Children learn when they explore and play, involve their sense, manipulate real objects, work together with adults and children, make meaningful plans and decisions, see the results of their actions, and build upon what they already know. Play is the all-encompassing business of children -- their work, their entertainment, their methods of sorting out the world. Beyond the urgent survival requirements of food, care, and shelter, children need a wide variety of play activities for healthy physical, mental, and emotional development. Children need to discover their own answers to the questions why, when, and how come, in a relaxed and noncompetitive environment which promotes creative play. The understanding of these questions does not come through words ... read more »
Related Conversations
With four daughters of my own, I have realized that the physiological and biological developments and changes that our children experience will undoubtedly influence their tastes, behaviors, and personalities. Between the stages immediately following birth until the end of their adolescence, children's intellectual and physical characteristics continue to develop through the exposure of agents such as social interaction and physical activity. A mom with an expert understanding of early childhood development is Gail Shepherd. Here, she shares her insights into the world of children's developing minds and bodies.
