Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Enriched Home Learning Environments

We often speak of the impact of enriched home learning environments upon children's achievement. These links may be of interest:

Parents As First Teachers: Creating An Enriched Home Learning Environment, by Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA)
This resource archived on the WayBackMachine, here.

Some of the content is similar to the work of Hart and Risley :
- Hart&Risley research in the 1960s - Dr. Todd Risley on the value of talking to even the youngest kids
- Hart&Risley research in the 1960s - NPR Jan 10, 2011
- Hart&Risley research in the 1960s - high level summary
- Hart&Risley research in the 1960s - back-and-forth conversation rather than just directives
- Comparison: Hart-Risley (lasting impact) VS HeadStartprogram (short-term effect)
- Links to research summary, books, free downloadable government resources for early literacy

The IDRA link is great. It has all the 'must do' things in a structured way. I try to do them all but parents around me think I am too involved in my children's life, school and learning. I try to provide lots of home enrichments which are viewed as pressurizing children. Not that I care, but women like me are labelled as 'tiger moms'.

Comparison: Hart-Risley (lasting impact) VS HeadStartprogram (short-term effect)
This is an interesting thread. My DD3 goes to half day preschool 5 times a week. I do not see her doing any breakthrough learning, but her vocabulary, fluency and social aspects have improved a lot.

Early literacy related links and pdfs are excellent resources. Many thanks.

Good point, ss62... many who are not familiar with the gifted appear to believe that giftedness is nothing more than parents pressuring their kids to learn at an accelerated rate, rather than understanding that a parent may be scrambling to keep up with the gifted child's natural learning pace and demand for something new to think about.

Here is an old link on "hothousing" and tiger parenting. There are other old links on these topics, too.

Over time, some of the advice for healthy enrichment has been:
- Let the child lead (setting the pace and choosing topics of interest)
- Do not push (Note- If the child has become lax, underachieving, must learn underlying reason(s). For example: check for a 2e learning difference or disability and address that if needed)
- It may sometimes be difficult to know the difference between a healthy/necessary push and a pushy push (ego, status, or elitism motivated)
- Tiger Parenting does not typically work to produce high achievers, but may rather result in the child developing symptoms of depression

There is a broad range of healthy enrichment before reaching a point of hothousing or tiger parenting.