how do you teach them when they wont sit still?

i have been considering getting into some attempts of teaching my girls things, like colors, animals, words, etc more vigorously, but i dont see how it will be possible! even when i try to read to them, they cant even sit still to listen to the story, they're trying to flip the pages and the other one is running around, they dont seem to be interested. tell me this will change? i can see if i were reading to 1 baby, maybe you'd hold her in your lap while reading or teaching, but with 2, how do you contain them to get the info into them? tia!

 

I think yours are a bit young to ask them to sit and learn. How do you teach them colors? You say things like "look at the green grass" "you are wearing a pink shirt" etc. They will have plenty of time in a classroom, and there is no need to have them sit at this age. Just for reference, at the traditional nursery school my son attended, the 3 year old program taught colors and shapes (one of each per month), and the 4 year old program did numbers and letters. Even then it was a learn through play environment. For example, on green day, they all needed to wear something with green on it. Then at circle time, they would have to find and point out their green parts of their clothing. Relax, you kids are doing what 14 month olds do!

 

How about putting them in their high chairs?

 

I agree with Sharon, having them sit and learn is way to hard at that age. They learn best through play. :good: My two knew their ABC's, colors and shapes before they turned two and it was never through sit and learn type of teaching. Even with reading, you read and they'll get what they get from it. Don't worry. Or maybe you can try and get one's attention for a bit and then the other.

 

I have to agree with Liz and Sharon, at this age, they learn best through play. Mine are 20 months old (today, I just realized that) and it's just probably within the past month that they are able to sit still through at least one book. How I get mine to try to learn colors and shapes is to have them point and go to things that we see everyday in the house, or what they are wearing.

 

I'm with you on the wiggely no attention spans! ours are 16 months... and they last about a page! I did drag out th bumbo which I had put away for a while, and my dd loves sitting it it... I also bought some of those little plastic step stools for them to sit on and sometimes that works too... but truly at 14 months, they are on the go!

 

thanks all, i appreciate the input and it makes me feel better. i was at work with a lady who has a 2 yr old (just turned 2 a few weeks ago) and she was going on and on about how she knows and recognizes like 15 words, and knows how to recognize and point to all of her letters, and knows the colors, etc.. it made me kinda stressed out about teaching my girls everything.

 

Keep in mind that that child is 10 months older than your two! To put it in perspective, would you expect a 2 month old to be sitting up and playing with blocks? No, babies learn a lot each month, and 10 months at that age can be compared to 2 years of grade school in the amount of knowledge learned! (relatively speaking, of course). I also had a friend who would brag to everyone how her daughter "knew" the alphabet at 18 months--well, she really only knew how to sing the abc song. That same child, at the end of her 3 year old year of preschool (so now almost 4 years old) couldn't pick out her own name when it was written along with 8 others on the driveway--and hers was the only one that began with a P.

My point is to take the bragging with a grain of salt. As for true achievement, one of my boys was reading at 3 1/2--the other didn't start until well into K. At the end of 1st, they tested basically at the same level (both 3rd grade). Relax, enjoy their babyhood. Colors, shapes, etc. will come with time.

 

I don't, lol. I just let them play.

I'm not sure where that pressure to teach your kids as soon as they are baby comes from to be honest. Definitely wasn't the case when I grew up.

 

Here is what my BabyCenter weekly email said recently:

Have you ever sat and watched a puppy? A puppy will run and roll around willy-nilly, sniff whatever it can, paw or lick anything that comes close. The puppy is playing, but it's also learning about its environment. Toddlers are sort of like puppies in that way. Play is a much more important learning tool than flashcards, "get smart" videos, computer games, and the like. Through play, toddlers learn about shapes, colors, the spaces around them, relationships with siblings and peers. They practice interactive skills with their stuffed dolls and animals. They learn new words (up, down, swing, mine), learn to exercise their imaginations, and get a chance to work out feelings they can't yet verbalize. They learn about fear, for instance, when climbing on a playground structure, or they learn about excitement the when they go down a slide. Play is a toddler's job, and the more yours can do it, the better.

 

I agree, babies learn best by play.

We have a 'shapes and colors' book they like and bring to me many times a day to read to them. When they're not trying to turn all the pages and run off I read it to them. Sometimes when they don't have the patience to sit and wait for me to read it completely, I make up a funner way [for them] to read it. I trace the shapes and go by what I 'see' instead of what's written in the book. I also let them poke at the book and whatever they point at, I tell them what it is ^_^ They seem to enjoy that.. cause when they're alone with the books they like to point to things in it and say what they think it is.. in baby talk of course