(Excerpt from the book Creative Learning by Vijoy Prakash)

One of the interesting findings of researches on learning is that the child should be exposed to reading books from quite early in life. This process should start as early as possible without even waiting for the child to show responses to the stimuli. Now it is also being suggested that a child should be read a story or shown pictorial stories right from his/her birth, when he/she returns from the hospital. It may appear that the child is not responding to the story or is not looking at the storybook, but gradually, it would be realised that the faculty of reception sharpens. It has been found that if a child is read a storybook right from birth, he/she may start reading the book right from the age of 3-4 years.

Similarly, if a child is exposed to songs, tunes and rhythms right from birth, s/he becomes more receptive to the rhythmic tunes. If a child were shown more and more pictures from early childhood, his/her spatial intelligence would be more developed in comparison to the child who is not shown any such pictures. Since information is received through sensory organs, all sensory organs should be fully developed to receive information. Hence, games and activities must be designed for developing all sensory organs in early childhood.

Grandma’s Techniques
Many children show great reluctance in eating. There is an age-old tradition to make various designs of ‘rotis’ (breads) for children. Some breads will look like animals, for example, goat, or birds like parrot, or in some geometrical designs. These designs are not only suited to the temperament of the child to facilitate eating, it also makes them learn about various animals, birds, geometrical designs, etc.. Even if the child may be reluctant to eat, he eats the bread, when it is presented in the form of some geometrical design. Many parents further facilitate eating by linking the design to some story. For example, they may narrate a story of a bird and present the bread in the form of the bird to the child.