Teaching children: through nature or noisy toys?

Hour 1

Guests Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Anna Sosa and Gail Farmer

Parents want to give their kid the best chance to learn and grow – even from a very young age. But it can be difficult to know if that ipad or brand-new noisy toy with flashing lights is good to give your kid – or if you should stick with simpler, quieter toys. New research sheds some light on how children learn, and some schools even go further by immersing children as young as 3 in nature as a way to learn.

We’ll talk about child development and toys with Temple University psychology professor KATHY HIRSH-PASEK and ANNA SOSA, an Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Northern Arizona University and director of the NAU Child Speech and Language Lab. Then we’ll be joined by GAIL FARMER, the Director of Education for The Schuylkill Center Nature Preschool, to talk about how their Nature Preschool program fosters learning through nature play and exploration.