Benefits of Hands-On Learning for Early Childhood

What Is Hands-On Learning?

A better way to understand hands-on learning is to use this phrase: learning by doing. In this method of education, the child learns through some type of action. Engaging with their hands stimulates various areas of the brain, allowing for a more thorough understanding of the topic.



The actual physical participation in learning helps engage all of the child’s senses in a meaningful way, allowing children to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the concept and the world around them.

The Importance of Hands-On Experiences in Early Childhood

Hands-on learning is beneficial to people of all ages, but in early childhood, it is particularly essential. During this time in a child’s life, they are learning information but also learning to learn. In other words, they are exploring new ways to capture information and explore solutions for solving problems, developing questions, and finding answers. Hands-on learning offers:

• Engagement through materials
• Improved retention of information
• Application of knowledge to the world around them
• Exceptional ability to build conceptual understandings of new topics

In early childhood education, hands-on learning helps in several key ways:

Supports Analytical Thinking

Teaching analytical thinking skills is not simplistic, but hands-on learning enables that process. It enables a child to become curious about something, use their brain to get ideas or apply various techniques, and then build strong neural connections within the brain. Analytical skills are the abilities a person has to observe, research, and interpret a complex or new topic. Developing these skills will continue to help your child for years to come.

Engages Multiple Areas of the Brain

Hands-on learning supports both creativity and problem-solving areas of the brain. It enables independent learners to think clearly and creatively to solve problems or gather information. This type of learning also supports all areas of the brain, including cognition and sensory and motor regions. Picking up, holding, and investigating something like this is a powerful way to create neural connections to improve brain function.

Explores the Five Senses

Think about finding something buried in the dirt. Each one of your senses engages with it to find out what it is. This type of explorative process is not just about finding out what that one thing is. Young children can use each of their senses to learn about the world around them. They learn to analyze things by the way they look, feel, smell, taste, and sound. Each of these interactions creates an opportunity for a child to gather facts and information that they could not get from just reading about something or watching a video.

Consider the benefits of teaching preschoolers to garden. As they touch the soil and watch the new plants grow they are learning about nature around them. They hear and see the bees pollinating the plants and, eventually get to taste the rewards of their hard work.

Builds Motor Skills

All of that manipulation also provides an opportunity to build motor skills as well. Handling a rock, for example, requires careful use of small muscles in the fingers and hands. Over time, hands-on learning teaches precise movements. It helps to build interactions between hand and eye movements and manipulation skills.