Every day is a learning day for children. As an education professional, one of the most important skills to nurture is the ability to recognize and capitalize on “teachable moments.” A teachable moment is an unplanned event during the day that you can use as a learning tool to help kids.

At The Early Years Institute, we understand that teachable moments usually fall outside of the planned curriculum – but it should be considered essential to a child’s education and development. A teacher must be able to recognize these moments and capitalize on them. It’s worth pausing from the original lesson plan to use a concept that has unexpectedly captured the students’ interests; the learning benefits for the children can’t be replaced.

How to find teachable moments:

• Discuss what’s going on around you.
• Be aware of situations that represent moral choices.
• Talk about the decisions you are making as you’re making them.
• A teachable moment can be as simple as putting a child in charge of passing out snacks to the other children at snack time. You can highlight the value of responsibility, sharing and friendship in moments like these.
• If two children are fighting over a toy or other item, it’s an appropriate time to teach a lesson on sharing.
• When a child makes a negative judgmental statement, (e.g., Sally calls Johnny “fat” or “stupid”), this is a good time to teach a child about compassion and considering others’ feelings.

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