The different ways kids learn

All young children learn naturally by playing, by observing, and by association. Having unstructured time to play alone never loses its importance for kids to learn through experiences. The child who claims the floor of the family room for a dinosaur village may appear to be playing with no particular goal. But his journey is his destination - his carnivores are chasing herbivores; the feeding station near the waterfall is littered with bones; he is creating a rich mural in his mind that makes connections with his burgeoning network of knowledge.

But by the time a child is six, the adults in his world impose a formal structure on his learning that we call school, or our education system. There are dozens of theories about what is the best learning environment or educational structure for children at different ages. However, in most elementary schools in Canada, kids are grouped by age with one or more classroom teachers who are responsible for presenting the common curriculum devised by each province's ministry of education.

Learning stages
In developing curriculum and learning resources, educators follow the basic progression of how all children learn.
From simple to complex A child must understand the simpler idea of the number 2 standing for two objects before she can add 2 + 2.
From known to unknown A child can take in new information if it connects to what she already knows. A child has to understand what a noun is before he can understand how adjectives modify nouns.
From self to other Young children learn best about themselves and their own world. As a child matures, she can connect to what's outside her world.
From whole to part Children begin drawing figures that have little detail. As they mature, they add hands and feet and curly hair.
From inaccurate (approximation) to more accurate A child learns to spell by writing letters that approximate the sounds of the words, then gradually becomes more aware of different spelling patterns for words.
From concrete to abstract A child needs to understand how to cut an apple into two equal halves before she can understand the abstraction of dividing by 2.
From exploratory to goal-directed A child begins learning about money by holding and playing with coins before he develops the goal of saving some of those coins to buy a treat.
From impulsive to self-controlled A child learning to get along with others has to learn that she can't be the only one to play with the blocks in the classroom; she gradually learns to be less impulsive or selfindulgent as a way of getting along with others.