Maybe I’m pessimistic, but I’m fairly sure that when I was a kid, if one of my relatives or parents’ friends gave me a thick book for my birthday and told me it was educational, I’d probably never read it. Even if I was perfectly capable of doing so. “Ugh, just another one of those presents that aren’t really presents.”
I remember that one Christmas long ago my parents gave my brother and I the Children’s Britannica. I only vaguely remember my age then, perhaps 7 or 8, and my brother two years older. I spent many hours over the years reading it avidly. It is only now, having googled it, that I discover that its contents were deliberately related to the school curriculum of the time.
I’d definitely avoid making a big deal out of it being educational or related to school. (Unless their educational experience is very unusual.) This is cool, interesting stuff you’re giving them! Obviously, this relies on you being able to sell that idea to the child.
If the direct sales approach seems unlikely to work, you can make it available without much fanfare but give just enough of a hook for their curiosity. (If they’re incurious, that’s probably the place that’ll yield most benefit,)
My parents—I now realise—did a lot of this, “happening” to leave well-written books on subjects they knew I was interested in around the place. So, for instance, leaving books about sex, reproduction and puberty lying around when I was about 11 or 12. We had an adult encyclopedia, which was kept with my parents’ serious/valuable books, but they said if I really wanted to, I was allowed to have a look, as a special privilege. So long as I was careful with them and didn’t damage them because they were special. So I sat there for hours and hours and days and days with my fingers stuck in the pages, in much the way I do now with browser tabs and Wikipedia.
Also helps greatly if the books are actually good and interesting. The better you know the kid and their interests, the better you’ll be able to (a) pick things they will be interested in, and (b) convince them that it is interesting.
Maybe I’m pessimistic, but I’m fairly sure that when I was a kid, if one of my relatives or parents’ friends gave me a thick book for my birthday and told me it was educational, I’d probably never read it. Even if I was perfectly capable of doing so. “Ugh, just another one of those presents that aren’t really presents.”
I’m not sure how to overcome this problem.
Don’t tell them it’s educational?
I remember that one Christmas long ago my parents gave my brother and I the Children’s Britannica. I only vaguely remember my age then, perhaps 7 or 8, and my brother two years older. I spent many hours over the years reading it avidly. It is only now, having googled it, that I discover that its contents were deliberately related to the school curriculum of the time.
I’d definitely avoid making a big deal out of it being educational or related to school. (Unless their educational experience is very unusual.) This is cool, interesting stuff you’re giving them! Obviously, this relies on you being able to sell that idea to the child.
If the direct sales approach seems unlikely to work, you can make it available without much fanfare but give just enough of a hook for their curiosity. (If they’re incurious, that’s probably the place that’ll yield most benefit,)
My parents—I now realise—did a lot of this, “happening” to leave well-written books on subjects they knew I was interested in around the place. So, for instance, leaving books about sex, reproduction and puberty lying around when I was about 11 or 12. We had an adult encyclopedia, which was kept with my parents’ serious/valuable books, but they said if I really wanted to, I was allowed to have a look, as a special privilege. So long as I was careful with them and didn’t damage them because they were special. So I sat there for hours and hours and days and days with my fingers stuck in the pages, in much the way I do now with browser tabs and Wikipedia.
Also helps greatly if the books are actually good and interesting. The better you know the kid and their interests, the better you’ll be able to (a) pick things they will be interested in, and (b) convince them that it is interesting.
I’m not sure when education becomes an ugh subject, but I don’t think it starts out that way.