#19. Connect to future lessons in advance, in a subtle way

Let’s think about it this way. Say that you intend to buy a house three years from now. Buying a house is obviously a costly affair. You may have to shell out more than 50% of your monthly salary to pay the monthly installments. If you do not cultivate the habit of saving, you may encounter a rude surprise when your start repaying your home loan. Rather, if you DO HAVE the habit of saving (even 5%) a portion of your salary right from the outset, you will gain a lot. To put it broadly:

1. You will anticipate better. You will devise methods to sustain yourself with a lesser expenditure and you might even become more aware of other worthwhile saving options while you are it (saving money).
2. You will be better prepared mentally once you start shelling out installments on the house.

Now translate this to a classroom environment. Let’s assume there is a lesson that is either vast or difficult. And you want to give it your best shot to make it easier and interesting, not to forget the time constraints that you will have to put up with. What you can actually do is to introduce this lesson well in advance in some way. Here is an example:

1. You can put up a few pictures on your classroom bulletin board/walls or introduce some material in the play area/reading corner if there is one.
2. WAIT. CONTINUE WITH YOUR LESSON PLANS AS USUAL. Children love to fiddle. Also, they will get naturally curious if they spot something new in the classroom.
3. As a result of this, two things may happen:

a. Children may start talking about these new things, giving you a much needed foresight about what they already know, what they are interested in & what their queries are. (If this happens, nothing like it! Half your job is over!)

b. Whether point 3.a happens or not, facilitator will be in a better position to anticipate on how he/she could devise the lesson plan to address needs. (Recollect point 1 from the home loan scenario where we explore alternate saving options)