Helping your child to get the most from their education is a priority for many parents. However, it can be a challenge to know how best to nurture their learning and help support them outside of school. Many parents worry school has changed so much since they were children. So they are afraid to teach their kids the wrong things with outdated methods of learning. Short of training to become a teacher yourself, this can make it hard to know how best to support your child’s education from home. If you want to get your child’s learning off to a great start, but feel unsure where to begin, these tips should help. Continue reading below to learn how to support your child’s education at home.
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Encourage a Positive Attitude to Education
Children are often described as being like sponges that absorb information from the people around them and their environment. As your child’s role model, they are likely to look up to you for guidance. They will also respect your opinions. So, it is helpful to speak in a positive manner about school and learning to encourage them to develop a favorable attitude toward education. Your child is much more likely to engage well in the classroom and be eager to learn if they go into school with a positive attitude. Feeling enthusiastic about learning and the opportunities it offers can set the stage for a successful school career. It will also help them overall with their view on homework, and ultimately their grades.
Keep Reading
Reading is something we constantly do. In fact, reading plays such a large part! Throughout our life we often do it without even realizing it. Nurturing a love of books has so many benefits for your child and is something that will likely stay with them throughout their life. Being able to read well is beneficial at every stage. Books also provide an excellent way to encourage your child’s imagination. Reading will expand their knowledge of the world around them. And it will help to build their vocabulary.
Making books a part of your daily routine is one of the best ways to get your child into reading. Reading a bedtime story is a lovely activity to do with your child at the end of the day and enjoy some quiet time together. If your child is a reluctant reader, you may want to let them select their books from the bookstore, library, or choose non-fiction books related to topics they are interested in. Does your child like dinosaurs or animals? Thankfully libraries have a large inventory that cover almost any topic!
[Read: 5 Free Printables to Encourage Summer Reading (or reading anytime)]
Use Rewards to Keep Them Motivated
Positive reinforcement can work wonders. Establishing a simple rewards system can help children feel motivated to stick to their learning goals. You can work with your child to set achievable tasks and milestones and assign corresponding rewards for each. And take note: the rewards don’t always have to be material goods. It can be 30 minutes of playtime, a trip to the ice cream parlor, star stickers, a new toy, or personalized award ribbons. It’s also crucial to complement the reward with verbal praise, which can help build their self-esteem. But be careful not to step into bribery territory. Save rewards for positive achievements, and don’t use them to get a child to stop negative behavior.
Use Learning Resources
There are loads of handy learning resources available out there to support your child’s learning. From workbooks, to downloadable worksheets such as these https://studentreasures.com/teachers-lounge/lesson-plans/third-grade/; you will find resources for many different ages and stages of learning in a range of different subjects. Whether your child enjoys working on these activities independently, or chooses to do them together, using learning resources at home can help to encourage a love of learning. You may also find that using learning resources at home helps build up your child’s confidence in the classroom and has a positive impact on their schoolwork.
