“What happens during the first months and years of life matters a lot, not because this period of development provides an indelible blueprint for adult well-being, but because it sets either a sturdy or fragile stage for what follows.”
—Neurons to Neighborhoods, 2001
 
According to the Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development, authors of the above quote, from conception to the first day of school growth and learning proceed faster than at any other stage of life.  In recent years, researchers have learned a great deal about what parents can do to enhance this growth and learning and set a “sturdy stage for what follows.”  Learning Style Consultations through the Young Children and Family Programs, provided in collaboration with the Whitman County Library, are one way to share this research with parents and caregivers. 
 
The purpose of the Learning Style Consultation is to help parents and caregivers understand how children take in information through their senses and how they can most effectively facilitate growth and learning in their child.  Each child is a very unique person which is reflected in the way they learn.  All people, including children, develop dominant learning “modalities” which may change over time.  Modalities are ways in which children acquire information through their senses.  By understanding these modalities, and their child’s preferences, adults can learn to effectively facilitate growth and learning in their child.
 
Through a half hour session, parents will complete a simple checklist that will tell them about their child’s current preferred style of learning.  There is no right or wrong answer and this is not intended to be a developmental screening tool. An Outreach Educator will help parents understand how their child learns and ways they can help their child be as successful as possible.  The parent or caregiver will be left with resources for parents to pursue more information on the subject of learning styles if they wish.  The visit can be done in the home, at the local library, or the Young Children and Family Programs office. 
 
By applying this information, we are able as parents and educators to appreciate each child’s strengths and build on them to better prepare them for school and to provide enriching experiences so that we can better enjoy their uniqueness and childhood together!