Sort and collect: everything in its place
Collect is different to order. Children under 10 need to know that things have their place, that is, that there is a place for everything. In addition, your children need logical methods to put things in their place.
In order to instill a sense of order for children, we must mark the difference between collecting and ordering to get to the heart of the matter. While the sense of collecting is to remove the things in the middle to hide them in another less visible place, to order is to place each one of those in the place that corresponds to it. In this way, when we need it again, when we want to find it, we will go directly to your site and there it will be.
10 keys to place everything in its place
We offer you 10 keys to educate in order, so as not to despair. We must not forget that our children are young and they are learning.
1. Sensitive period. The child of 1 to 3 years has a natural predisposition to learn more easily the virtue of order, which is what is called the sensitive period of order. That is, it has the capacity to assimilate and understand why it should order things and how it is done. We must take advantage of this age, because otherwise it will be more costly to educate this virtue in later years. Order is a value that is at the base of all other human values, to which it serves as a support.
2. Instinct order guide. Parents with children from 1 to 3 years old wonder why they always hide in the same place when they play hide and seek. Well, it's due to what is called the Instinct Order Guide that children have at these ages. His logical method of things is to always look in the "same place" and enjoy it. Therefore, we must take advantage of this sense they have to teach them to order things with a logical method.
3. Imitate and repeat. In the first years, learning is mainly done by imitation and repetition. Thus, the child will learn to order imitating his parents, brothers or teachers and repeating those acts. If the child sees that the pencils have a place (the boat) and every day we tell him and we teach him to leave them in the same place after painting, the child of this age will find great satisfaction imitating and repeating this act. In this way, there will come a time when you will repeat this action on your own initiative and you will feel very happy. Then, we should praise him.
4. Play and use tricks. Up to the age of 6, children develop all their learning abilities through imitation, repetitive acts and play. Therefore, it is important that they learn to live the order with tricks, ideas that help you relate that ordering things is play and have fun. Here are some ideas to make this virtue easier:
- Canturrear always the same phrase every time we go to order: "To order, to order, everything in its place".
- Play sizes and colors: the books are placed from largest to small (for example). The cars, in the red trunk, the kitchen gadgets in the blue, the dolls and dresses in the yellow etc.
- Play music and to the rhythm of it, go ordering or picking up the toys.
- Play to see who puts things better.
5. Motivation and praise. The child from 0 to 6 years old is very sensitive to affection, to the praises of his parents and to acquire habits through routines and repetitive situations. We must educate them positively after they have achieved the goal: "Marta, it's good, you've ordered the crayons, they're all in the boat and tipped!
6. Bleeding habits. Habits are the basis of virtues. We must not forget that in order to obtain a habit repeated free acts must be performed and to achieve it, the most important thing is that the child is happy to order, because it is the way to do it freely and only then we will get it ordered tomorrow. We are also helping them to make it easier for them to lead a logical order in all facets of their lives: work, ideas, planning, study, schedule, etc ... Do not lose sight of the fact that, with the virtue of order , we are trying to educate organized children, both from a material and personal point of view. That is, we want our children to be future people organized in their time, in their work, with the ability to plan and know what they have to do at all times.
7. Before and after. When things (books, dolls, cars, kitchen gadgets) are put in place, we must make our children see the difference between "before" and "after". Identifying where each item is placed will help you find it later. In addition to this form, all your toys will last longer without breaking. Therefore, our children should know where everything is placed (trunks, drawers, shelves, sizes, colors, type of toys, etc.)
8. Avoid screaming when you do not do it right. Our son is learning.Therefore, it is very likely that despite the tricks, we often find his room made a leonera and after playing with a toy, take another without placing the first. Much patience. Screams and phrases like this, order your room right now, I always tell you that things are in place! They do not solve anything. On the contrary, in this way we are educating the child that he also learns to shout and to order things out of fear and not of his own will. Therefore, repetitive acts: order with him and re-tell him that things have a place.
9. Avoid anguish and obsess about order. That is our main enemy. We have a hard time and our children have a bad time. We must never give up or have to be every 10 minutes demanding that they order everything. Remember: these ages are learning to acquire habits. Although they are small, they understand. The conversations are very important. We must make them see that he is responsible for his own toys and pick them up every time he uses them. Otherwise, they can be broken, lost or simply not found next time.
10. The best punishment, that orders it. The best punishment is to do the things you have stopped doing. With this we can strengthen their will, fight laziness, promote their self-esteem and their security. With 3 and 4 years old they are already trained to store things in their corresponding place. It is more effective that they assimilate that their parents are not happy with him, that they will not do anything else until they pick up the things, that the next day they will not find the toy they want if they have not kept it in place.
Carmen Corominas. Bachelor in Teaching and Family Advisor.
