Introduction

Do you remember the first time your child locked eyes with you and smiled? Do you remember her first word – “dada” not “mama” in my case! Do you recall his first steps, the first time he actually managed to get the food off the spoon and into his mouth? Think of the first time she managed the round peg in the round hole and the cube in the square and what about the first time she completed a jig saw puzzle? As the years go by and experiences mount up, wonders never cease and that little sparkle in a child’s eye appears again and again, and just as you begin to think you might just give it all up there it goes again; a ‘new’ learning. This is a great achievement and an accomplished act that we need to lock into our brain and then move onto the next challenge. These experiences and memories continue throughout your child’s early years, into their teens and even as adults, learning never ceases.

In twenty-six years of teaching, not a lot when compared to some, but enough to be able to reflect on practice and strategy, I have come to the conclusion and total belief that everyone can learn.

Some get it immediately; others may need a little more time whilst others even take short cuts in their learning. Eventually we all arrive at that learning. Of course, this only continues if we truly believe that learning never stops and that a love of learning will continue to guide us in our lives.