Day 1 of Convention Madness

Today was the first day at the CHAP Convention.  Matthew and I went together with baby girl in tow.  We looked at the vendors, bought some materials, and we went to two sessions on preschool education.

The biggest thing I learned is not to rush your preschool child into learning to read.  They learn by playing outdoors.  They have to learn gross motor skills before they can learn fine motor skills.  Ocular motor skills which are required for reading, don't get developed fully until they are 6 or 7 years old.  Why do we push them to read at 4?  Research shows that pushing early reading skills can be emotionally damaging as well as physically damaging on their eyes.  Nearsightedness is becoming an epidemic in young children and early reading is a major cause. 

I am taking a lot away from this day.  I have ideas for the upcoming year spilling out of my brain.  I am excited to start some unit studies and make lapbooks with my eager preschooler.

I hope day 2 invigorates me more and helps me get that much more excited for this upcoming year.