Even before young children head off to school for formal instruction, they are busy learning to make sense of their worlds. In fact, they accumulate an enormous store of basic knowledge simply by observing life around them.

Their naturally curious minds scrutinize everything. Nothing is exempt. They go to bed at night and seem to wake up smarter.

The amazing thing is that, as children observe and learn the rules of how the world works, they are also developing their own innate skills that help them make sense of the world.

By the time they enter the world of formal education, they already have a very solid understanding of the learning skills that they need in order to be successful students.

Sure, when asked about a given concept—such as money—they may not be able to verbalize it, rationalize it, or discuss its purpose, but the basic knowledge is already in place:

• They can assign meaning
• They understand value
• They see connections
• They can sort and categorize

Counting, adding, and subtracting are important skills that children learn in school. But the skills that children learn before school are just as important.

In this week’s Secret Agent Josephine guest post, Brenda shows us how helping her four-year old daughter Bug learn to use money can be sometimes frustrating, sometimes painstaking, but always fun!

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