Fantasy is normal and some researcher believe that fantasy and imagination could develop his or her sense and attract his or her brain development. But sometimes because of this growing imagination, then what is told by child feels inconsequential and less sense to adults, so often misinterpreted as a form of lying.

There are 3 causes child lie fantasy. First, as a form of compensation. For example, the child told us that he just had a fight with the giant. “Heroism is a form of compensation. He knew he was still small and weak amid the world is so big, so he compensate with the excitement that can be equivalent to an adult.

The second cause is to demonstrate the superior expression. For example, his return visit from the zoo, the child with the passionate telling his friends that he met a dinosaur. This shows the superior of his friends, that you have never seen a dinosaur but I’ve never seen it. Little wants to show his identity and wants to be noticed by the environment or the other. He had certain impressions that can be exploited. In this story, then he will be surrounded by his friends who interested to his story.

The last one is as an expression of desire. For example, your children told you that he had just met with a kitten who is looking for his mother. Well, it could be actually an expression of himself. Perhaps he felt alienated and in need of protection from their parents. Therefore, parents should be more sensitive about it.

At these ages, children and their fantasy could stimulate their creativity, but thus sometimes it could cause trouble as we have discuss earlier. Stopping his/her imagination also not a good solutions, while giving direction and understanding is the best.

Writing lesson plans is a foremost thing that a teacher must do before executing any teaching strategy in the class. The teaching method should be adopted on the basis of certain criteria like the knowledge of the students, the environment and the set of learning goals decided in the academic curriculum.

Students respond differently to different methods of teaching. Also, the students have their unique way of demonstrating the knowledge acquired and absorbing the information that is imparted. So, to aid this process of demonstrating the knowledge, the teacher has to adopt a technique that assists the students in retaining the information and increasing their understanding. There are many teaching methods for children like questioning. modeling, demonstrating, collaborating and explaining that have been discussed here.

Teaching Methods and Strategies

We all know about the importance of higher education, so now let us learn some methods of teaching as well. Here are some of the basic teaching methods for higher education as well as for the middle education.

Questioning
Testing and questioning are always known to be effective teaching methods due to its interactive nature. The questions are asked by the teacher with an intention to know what the student has learnt from earlier discussions and what it helps in deciding what should be taught further.

This can be even vice-verse, students questioning the teachers to clarify the doubts that would enhance their understanding of the subject. The inquisitive instinct of the students evoke them to ask questions and satiate their query.

The teacher should encourage this in a positive way so that the student’s critical thinking is developed. Testing differs in one aspect from questioning. Test in done in order to know about the previous knowledge and already taught things to the student.

Explaining
Explaining is one of the very important teaching methods in education. It has taken a form of lectures in teaching methods for higher education where the teacher presents the factual information in a direct and a logical way.

Sometimes the experiences can also be shared as a part of knowledge that would work as a source of inspiration for the students. While adopting this method the teacher should give an introduction and a proper summary. Make sure that the information is specific to the audience.

The explanation should be accompanied with suitable examples for the better understanding of the students. It is like a discourse on a particular subject or topic that is for the entire class or public. Explaining can be clubbed with the modeling process to be more effective and to have a long-lasting effect on the pupils.

Modeling
Modeling is a type of visual aid for teaching as well as learning. It is a known fact that human brain absorbs more and understands better when visual aid facilitates explanation. This method works on three criteria – observing, retaining and replicating. The students learn more by observing the things and acquire it by imitating it time and again.

This is also known as reinforced behavior. This type of learning has very important role to play in the learning process especially during the childhood, though it can happen in any stage of life. This helps the students to visualize the things and, then hypothesize the solution.

Demonstrating
With the help of demonstrative teaching methods in education students get an opportunity to explore the various aspects and understand the theory from a different perspective. Demonstration is a step-by-step explanation along with their reasons and significance for the better understanding of the student. It enhances the student’s understanding by practically applying the knowledge and sharpen their skills and hence, they become capable of identifying and organizing the subject matter in a more efficient way. Practical experimentation is a very good method used for demonstrating the subject.

Collaborating
Teamwork is a contemporary form of collaboration. The students are taught to work in a group that makes the instructing easier for the teacher. This method of teaching promotes a sense of mutual responsibility among the students. They learn to put in more effort to research for the topic and apply effective techniques to get the result.

This inculcates patience and develops an ability to critically analyze a subject. It gives an opportunity to the students to solve the problem by a healthy discussion and co-operation. This is what we call ‘group discussions’ which motivates the students to perform in a team, show leadership skills and enhances the presentation capabilities as well. This is one of the best direct instructional methods.

The teaching methods for special education is a little different from the teaching methods and theories for others. The education is imparted to these students based on their strengths and weaknesses. The teachers cater to the special needs of the students like modification in the regular teaching program, use of supplementary aids that allows students to participate in the learning process. Different effective teaching strategies are adopted on the basis of the disabilities. Four kinds of provisions are adopted in special education and they are inclusion, mainstream, segregation and exclusion. Read more on: teaching children with disabilities.

Apart from these defined methods, nowadays many other teaching methods in education are being adopted to give quality education. The methods like role-play, story or games, seminars, presentations, workshops, conferences, brainstorming, case study, educational trips and modern audio-visual aids like documentary films, computers, internet, etc have been introduced in education. These new methods have increased the pace of learning and understanding. This also enhances the capability of the students to research and logically think for a given problem.

Gradually, the teacher sets up newer tasks for the students to perform and apply their knowledge independently. The zone of proximal development literally means the distance between what children can do on their own and what they can do when assisted by an adult. Scaffolding in education is a strategy in which a knowledgeable person equips the student and provides him with all the information and support to acquire or learn a particular thing.

Teachers use this strategy regularly in classrooms. A teacher demonstrates a particular skill to students and then provides them with assistance, while students attempt to master the skill. It literally is transferring the responsibility from the teacher to the student in order to teach the student to work independently. The assistance is not taken away immediately, rather it is a gradual transformation. One of the examples of scaffolding in education would be when a teacher teaches students how to solve a sum in maths using given properties. The teacher then asks students to solve the sum on their own and come up with the answer and corrects them if they have made mistakes. Teaching itself is a skill, therefore before using this strategy, a tutor has to be skilled with his teaching skills. This strategy helps students learn from their mistakes and clears all doubts about certain concepts while mastering a skill.

Characteristics of the Vygotsky Scaffolding
Jamie McKenzie, the editor of an online education journal has pointed out the eight characteristics of the scaffolding strategy that a teacher must follow in order to teach a student. They are as follows.
• A step by step instruction procedure helps in reducing confusion over concepts of acquiring skills.
• Explain the importance of learning or mastering a particular skill.
• The students must be able to analyze the instructions and come up with their ways to tackle the matter.
• Offering assessment of the work students have done helps them learn and understand what is expected of them.
• A teacher must point out other resources where students can refer for help to learn more about the skill or information being taught to them
• The activity must be well planned and keep students interested and should not be posed as a fear in any which way, due to which they will lose interest in understanding the concept of the task.
• Efficient delivery of the scaffolding instruction will save time and is a quick and interesting way of educating students.
• The basic aim of this strategy is to provide knowledge to students and help them overcome their fear of performing and making decisions.
Scaffolding in Education: Examples
Scaffolding in education involves the concept of interventionist study. The earliest application of the study was done with toddlers of ages 3,4 and 5. They were given the task of making a pyramid with a set of blocks. The tutor was asked to help the child only as much it would for him to understand what was to be done. This study was done by Wood, Ross, and Bruner in 1986. From this study they came up with 6 forms of support that a child could be provided with.
Another example was of reciprocal teaching, a study carried out by Palinscar and Brown in 1985. Here students were provided with reading strategies by a tutor. These strategies were;
• Self-Directed Summarizing
• Questioning
• Clarifying
• Predicting
The tutor helped the students with each of these strategies till they could understand the importance of each and its application.

Advantages of Scaffolding in Education
The main advantage of this strategy is that it helps the learners associate acquired knowledge with new concepts. It also helps in building a sort of self confidence in students. Scaffolding also helps reduce fear and anxiety about a certain concept which if not taken away leads to frustration. Another advantage of scaffolding is that it is tailored according to the individual requirement of the learner., which leads us to the disadvantage of scaffolding.

Disadvantages of Scaffolding in Education
As mentioned in the advantages of scaffolding, that it is tailored for individual learners, application of this strategy in a classroom gets quite tedious. The strength of a class is often large and applying the strategy to each student may become quite time consuming.

Software Applications for Scaffolding
To overcome the disadvantage of individual attention, there are various software applications available for scaffolding which a teacher can offer students as a learning resource. This proves the importance of technology in education. There are certain software tools such as Thinker Tools, Knowledge Integration Environment and Progress Portfolio which help learners master the skills he wishes to acquire.

Thus, scaffolding in education has its own benefits, when applied strategically. Application of this instruction in classroom is not impossible, certain modifications in scaffolding would help. It is definitely advantageous for learners.

Children seem to respond better and communicate more easily with the lively puppets than with real people. Puppet shows are widely used to narrate stories, to teach concepts and morals to kids. Some puppets are so simple that even kids can make them. Puppet making tends to improve motor skills, creativity, and imagination of the kids. Puppetry occupies an important place in kids craft.

Puppet Making for Children

Here are some simple ideas on puppet making for kids:

Finger Puppets: Cut the fingers off an old glove. Sew buttons on the cut fingers for eyes and nose. One can also use pom poms for the nose. Use colorful strings and yarns to make hair. These can also be used to make the tail in case the puppet is an animal character. Cut out mouth and ears from felt. Stick or sew the various facial parts of the puppet on the fingers of the glove. You could use other material to decorate your puppet. In the land of puppets the only limit to creativity is one’s imagination.

Stick Puppets: Cut out patterns and shapes for the dress and shoes from felt or fabric scraps. For the face and hands of the puppet, construction paper or a soft cardboard can be used. Facial features can either be drawn or made from decorative material. Stick the different parts of the puppet to a popsicle stick or any rounded wooden stick. It is advisable to let the parts dry up completely and then work on the details of the face or further decorate the puppet.

The Dragon Puppet: To make a dragon puppet take an empty egg carton. Stick the attached ends with glue or tape to form a hinge joint. This would form the dragon jaws. On the outer surfaces of each jaw attach a piece of ribbon so that the thumb slips under the lower jaw and the rest of the fingers fit tightly over the upper jaw. Cut a sleeve from an old sweater or shirt. Pull it over the the closed jaws. Make slits one the sides in the fabric to allow the jaws to open and shut. Stick the fabric on to the jaws of the dragon. Cut two semi-circular shapes in the upper jaw to form the nostrils. Cut out the elevated parts of some other egg carton and glue them to form the eyes. Color them red to give the effect of fearsome eyes. Cover the inner surface of the jaw (mouth) with pink color cloth or paper. Use white bottle caps to make teeth of the dragon. Cut jagged felt fringe along the neck of your dragon. Use your imagination make your dragon more real. The same procedure can be followed to make a crocodile. However, in that case the jaw has to be longer.

Hand or Glove Puppet: Hand puppets are specially attractive as these puppets can be made to ‘talk’ by moving their jaws. There are a large number of ideas for sock puppets that can be used to make hand puppets. To make one, use a clean, old sock for the base of the puppet. Ensure that the sock is large enough to let free movement of the fingers of the user as the fingers make the mouth of the puppet open and close. It is best to make the user wear the sock and draw the mouth, nose and eyes or at least mark these parts of the puppet on the sock. As construction paper sticks easily to the material of the sock, use it to cut out the eyes, nose and ears of the puppet. For hair, use strings or yarn. To make the mouth, cut out the mouth according to the puppet from a piece of cardboard. The most common shape for this is an elongated ellipse. Fold it midway. Ensure that the width is not larger than that of the sock. Hold the piece of cardboard in your hand between the thumb and the other fingers such that the fold faces the curved palm. Take your hand (with the card board piece) into the sock such that the heel side slides along the upper surface of the hand. Mark ½” from the edge of the open end on both sides of the cardboard on the sock. Draw a line to join the points. Cut out the toe end along this line. Fold the extra ½” in over the edges of the cardboard piece and stick the fabric firmly to the cardboard edge with glue. You can refer to books or surf the internet for more ideas for sock puppets.

There are many plus points about puppet making for children. They are easy and quick to make and can be made from scrap. So go ahead and give wings to your imagination. Use your creativity and enjoy when your child giggles out of joy as you make your puppet dance and sing for him.

Not every teacher is born with a passion to teach, learn and unlearn. She may have picked up the job as a moneymaking option or for some other reason. Hence, as a parent you need to be more aware of your child’s learning ways, cognition, reasoning and perception. To help your child better in academics and in assimilation of knowledge, learning tools for kids go a long way. Let’s see what are these tools and how they can make a difference for your child, the promising future. Read more on learning style for children.

Interactive Television
Let’s face it. By the age of 6, a child discovers the exhilarating joy, passive entertainment can provide, and thus gets hooked on to it, till he’s 60. So, why not transform this unproductive time, into something much more insightful? Toy companies have devised such interactive televisions, which feature popular cartoon characters giving out education messages to the kids. The ‘edutainment’, is gaining popularity for its ingenious way of teaching children to learn lessons through, the once detested mode. However, the learning just doesn’t end with an interactive TV. Watching educating programs with your child and having discussions about them, can also teach your child more than a thing or two. Read more on educational toys.

CDs as Learning Tools
All of us have used the hard copies of fat and extremely heavy encyclopedias as kids. Today, the same is much more easier to handle on soft copies, through CDs. The visuals used are very attractive and the color schemes are simply alluring for a child’s eye. If you thought that technology only had banes, then this definitely works in your favor. Audio CDs of nursery rhymes and fairy tales are also great learning tools for kids, if you give it a thought.

Websites for Kids
If you are looking for free learning tools for kids, then they are galore, in the virtual reality. There are a lot of websites, that help children to cope up with learning math techniques, teaching them art, helping them know their tables by heart, developing language skills, quizzes, enhancing logic, stretching imagination through creative writing and story telling and a lot of problem solving. All these things put together, in the right and monitored proportions, can make your child brighter than the contemporary lot. However, do not let your child access the Internet all by himself or herself. Keep a close eye on your child’s Internet account and activities, to derive maximum benefits, instead of hitting the dangerous road. Read more on educational games for preschool kids.

As children grow older, they get biased about certain subjects, due to peer pressure, parental pressure, ineptitude or a bad teacher. The younger the mind, the easier it is to mold it. Ergo, introduce your child to such incredible learning tools for kids, at an early stage, to show that the subject can be learned in many different ways. I hope, you’ve found the various options of learning tools for kids, through this article and make the most of it. Eventually, what matters is, that today, you learn something more.