We've all heard the adage “the formative years are spent at home.” Formally, schooling starts at around the age of seven when a child enters first grade. Not counted are the play school dates and kindergarten. These are but short term learning experiences and with the majority of the day spent at home, the home learning is further ingrained. The greater part of a child's learning years are spent in the following activities, which become the foundation for all other learnings in the future.

a) Television

What appliance has influenced the tastes and perceptions of the world over in the last fifty years at least? The television, with its variety of offered programs in appealing animation and sound is a very effective tool for education of the young. Thus, by leaving the young ones in front of the television, the combination of the moving pictures and colors appeal to the child, effectively calming them. This in turn allows the information to register in their minds and thus influencing the perceptions and ideas. Short segments carry the most effective means to influence learning in a child. Thus with television, learning is made by just turning it on.

b) Books

Don't we all remember being read to before we go to sleep? Though a child may not be able to read, the information that books hold are ingrained in a child with this timeless ritual. Eventually, a child would learn to read and thus be able to choose the books that interest them. This helps a child develop language skills but also allows higher learning capacities such as imagination and visualizing. In this digital world we are in, reading books is becoming a lost discipline. Now, there are digital books and online libraries which one can go to but there is nothing like curling up in bed with a good book on a stormy night.

c) Interaction with people

The discussions around the dinner table or the long talks on drives have a great impact on what a child learns at home. The thoughts and ideas of the parents or other siblings influence the learning of a child. This is not just about A, B, C's, but about the basics in life experiences. How a child would answer to a question or how one would realize not to use bad words are important life lessons a young one learns at home. With each person speaking to the child, the child learns about language and the message sent. Influence then does play a big role in the learning process of a child at home.

Home learning is not just formal sit downs on a table with school work. The television with its variety of programs, books whether one is read to or read yourself, or by interaction and influence of people, a young one learns about himself and the world around him. The influence of these everyday stimuli on the formative child is the basic building block of learning that would be carried. This home learning shapes the personality of the child and as the child grows these lessons learned is further enhanced with experience while growing up.