I often focus my content on the benefits of teaching kids to learn at home. Whether you have preschoolers or teens, a positive relationship with home learning is hugely rewarding. It will aid their academic studies while also teaching discipline and valuable life skills.
However, the full benefits can only be seen when kids are engaged with the idea of home learning. While all children are unique, several tips are shown to have great success rates. Here are five of the best.
Find non-taxing activities
Kids don’t always want to be challenged with difficult tasks, especially when their current school work is tough. So, finding easy activities that still encourage them to learn in a more relaxed manner can work wonders. Check out https://www.pennydellpuzzles.com/fill-ins/books/ for some great options. The simple fill-in books encourage kids to maintain active minds without feeling overwhelmed. This is a particularly good option to keep them occupied on car journeys or get them back in the mood as they return to school after a break. Board games and single player logic puzzles (like Thinkfun or SmartGames) are other great examples.
2. Find age-appropriate tasks
All kids learn at their own pace. They may be strong in some subjects and weak in others. Good communication links with your child’s school lets you work together to provide a consistent and suitable approach. However, the idea of setting age and skill-appropriate tasks can start even earlier. This guide to teaching maths to preschoolers should come in useful for parents of youngsters. After all, it can be very easy to overlook numeracy in favor of literacy. If nothing else, embracing both aspects will provide the variety needed to prevent boredom.
3, Find engaging ways to learn
Keeping kids interested in learning is a lot easier when the work is actually fun. Is it possible to relate math equations to their favorite sport? Would computer games with subtitles aid their reading? Could you turn it into a physical game by writing vocabulary words or math answers in sidewalk chalk and jumping between them? Could you shoot answers with Nerf guns? Not everything has to be a dedicated lesson to provide educational benefits. The sooner you appreciate this fact, the better. It will also promote a better relationship with learning. This is because schoolwork and home-based learning won’t feel overly repetitive.
4. Reward them
Kids respond well to rewards and ideas that reinforce positive behavior. This could mean using reward charts for young children. You can find some great templates at https://templatelab.com/reward-charts/. When my oldest was younger I wrote about "Hiring my 4 Year Old." Or it could mean rewarding teens with pocket money or extra time for playing video games. You know your children better than anyone else, so will have no problem getting this right. Once you find a plan that works, stick to it. Consistency shows that their hard work will continue to gain the rewards they deserve time and time again.
5. Remember it’s only one part of their upbringing
As parents, we all want to see our kids flourish with their schoolwork. However, this is only one part of their overall development. It is equally crucial to consider their social skills, physical cognitive growth, and emotions. Likewise, you should remember that these previous years will pass in the blink of an eye. Therefore, creating magical moments together should be considered just as important as education. While learning will open many doors in life, none of them matter more than the door to happiness.
This is a contributed post
