Natural Learning Relationships
Central Tenets
the understanding
Human capacities are innate, they need to be developed, and development occurs in relationship.
the challenge
Natural Learning Relationships describes each developmental field of knowing, providing vital information for parents and other adults who care for children, including the following:
The special characteristics and phases of each field of knowing
How to create environments that support the child’s well-being (and how to avoid environments that are poisonous to it)
How the child moves from one developmental field of knowing to another—often the most difficult times for parents and teachers
How to successfully use language at each field of knowing for effective communication
How meaning develops within each field of knowing
How perceptions of time and space shift during the fields of knowing and their implications for intellectual, social, emotional, and spiritual learning
How to identify developmental malnourishment and remedies that can restore well-being in the child and the family
What are the capacities of children at different ages and how can they be recognized? Equally important, what kinds of environments nourish the best development of each of these capacities and the child as a whole?
the response
Natural Learning Relationships™
NLR maps the development of the innate capacities in children at each of four fields of knowing and offers guidelines for creating relationships and environments that promote optimal well-being for both the child and the caregiver(s).
NLR describes in detail the psychological, emotional, and physical experiences that can be provided in each field of knowing of childhood that nourish the whole being. It also describes in detail those things that are harmful to the child’s development.
The parent who is trained in NLR develops an effective understanding of what is happening for their child and how to meet the child’s developmental needs with ease.