For example, any parent with a good high school education can teach his or her child to read at a very early age. See: Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.
Likewise, any child who can draw stick figures with a crayon can learn to form letter shapes.
Simple mathematical concepts can be taught as soon as a child can count. Counting objects is the first step in acquiring "number sense," a visceral feel for numbers essential to mastering mathematics. The goal of all early math education should be the development, strengthening, and maintenance of number sense, along with the ability to do accurate mental and paper/pencil calculations and estimates. These aims should be ardently pursued and achieved in grades K-6.
Parents can work with eager children at home to provide them an early start. My own daughter was reading at age four, mastering math facts at five, operating with negative numbers at six, typing at seven, and doing algebra at eight.
Not all parents are professional academic tutors, as I am. Still, it doesn't take much forethought for most parents to provide their children a leg up in their schooling.
For those who wish to have professional guidance, I offer private consulting for parents of young children. In addition to providing general information about schools, early education, and tutoring at home, I help parents design and implement individualized, age-appropriate academic head start plans tailored to each child's particular needs and interests. You can contact me here for more information about this unique service.
An good head start is a great gift, one of the best parents can offer their children.
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