Parents as a Child’s First Teacher

By Lara Speights, Director of Strategic Projects 

If you’re the parent of preschooler, you probably won’t be surprised by the scene that unfolded in my house the other morning. My newly minted five-year-old wandered into the bathroom just as I reached for the deodorant.  

“Can I do that too?” she asked.  

A few minutes later, I turned around to find her proudly applying it to her armpits, directly over her dark maroon shirt, smiling so sincerely I almost didn’t have the heart to say anything.  

But, tapping into my “pivoting while parenting” superpower, we took a one-minute detour from the morning rush to chat about deodorant: what it does and why, slipping in words like “perspiration” and “streak marks.” Then I sent her off to decide if her shirt would serve as a visual tale for her classmates, or get swapped for something less....educational.  

These moments actually really help me. Sure, that little voice of parent-guilt tries to whisper, “Am I doing enough?” But the truth is, our kids learn from everything we do, and impactful moments don’t have to involve hours of prep.  

So, the next time your child unexpectedly imitates your morning routine, and you take that one minute to chat it out, maybe even dropping in a couple of stretch vocabulary words along the way, know that you really are nailing it.... both as a parent and as your child’s first teacher.  

And if you find yourself looking for more “in-the-moment" learning discoveries that are ideally NOT smack dab in the middle of the morning rush, come join us in our Gallery of Wonder for ages 0-5. It’s designed to spark exactly these kinds of playful, curiosity-fueled conversations, the kind where no one can predict exactly where it will go, and the only guarantee is smiles.