How much do pre-schoolers understand?

Seraph

Mon, Oct 26 2009, 4:10 am

I was having a discussion with another playgroup teacher about what to teach kids between the ages of 2 and 3. She said you can teach them about shapes, colors, numbers and yomim tovim in circle time.
I said that I dont teach shapes, colors or numbers during circle time, as those are concepts that they pick up in play and dont need a "lesson" about that.
I told her that I teach the kids about the chagim as well as different concepts from the parsha and different mitzvos.

She was very adament that parsha is too advanced for 2-3 year olds to understand.
Perhaps I have 3 very precocious youngsters this year but I saw that so far they understood the concepts I taught them from the parsha. Of course, I don't teach the really different concepts that I can't explain- the concepts that I teach are brought down to their level and often acted out or demonstrated with a picture or an activity.

She was saying that kids this age only understand things they can see- they can't grasp intangibles. That parsha is too hard. So I pulled my son over and asked him "Who went on a long trip?" He answers "Avraham on trip." I said "See, he understands." She said "No, he's just spitting back what you told him." Isn't that pretty much EVERYTHING at this age? Being able to spit back information? Do you think they REALLY understand colors and shapes and numbers, or is it just "spitting back information"?

I personally think it is not just spitting back information, because I saw that the things I've taught the kids (on their level) be remembered months later. For example, I just asked one kid now "What do we do when we hear the shofar?" The kid answered "Say 'Sorry Hashem!'" I've asked kids pesach time "What do we do with a lulav and esrog?" They answered "Shake shake shake!"
If kids are just spitting back info without understanding it, they wouldnt remember it months later.

This teacher said the kids only understand what they see. That they understand the chagim because they live through it, but don't understand parsha because its just concepts that they can't see. I asked her if she taught about the 10 makos. She said she did- and was able to get the kids to understand because she showed them pictures/drawings about the makos.

Says I, why can't they do the same for parshas hashavua? Kids are living and experiencing parsha if you teach it the right way. If you build a teivas noach with the kids out of blocks, fill it with pairs of animals, build newspaper boats and float them, you can very easily explain the parsha of noach. She conceeded. Parshas noach is the only parsha you can easily teach about she said... Tongue Out

You're able to bring almost all the parshios to life if you know the right way to teach them, to bring them down to the level of the kids...

Things 2-3 year olds are NOT able to understand- mashalim. Teaching the story about the fox telling the fish to come out of the water, but the fish can't because he'll die, and then explaining how we're like that with the torah- kids definitely cannot understand that. Mashalim are too hard for kids to understand. But if you tell them parsha as a story, reenacting what you can, and using words they understand (like "Hashem made a project"- breishis, or "Avraham went on a trip because he was listening to Hashem and wanted to make Hashem happy"- Lech lecha)- that, they can understand and grasp the concepts.

What do you say? Do you think kids can understand more difficult concepts than just shapes colors and numbers between the ages of 2 and 3?