This is a collaborative post
Parents can help their children to make the most of their education in a number of different ways.
A great place to start is simply by taking an interest in your child’s school life. The more supported a child feels at home, the more effectively he or she will perform at school.
To help enhance your child’s performance at school, here are some great tips from The Manor Preparatory School…
- Always show encouragement towards learning and keep a positive attitude when discussing school. This is particularly important if your child seems unhappy at school or finds the work hard. It is also important to praise your child’s achievements to help boost their confidence.
- Help to develop a love of learning by teaching your children that learning can happen anywhere, not just in the classroom. This can be demonstrated by observing the wildlife in your own garden or taking a trip to a museum.
- Explain the importance of learning and talk together as a family about what you have learnt each day at work or school. This will motivate your child to listen in class, in order to share interesting facts with you at home.
- Create a family calendar to help your child feel organised and prepare them for exams and homework. This will also help to develop your child’s time management skills.
- Try not to enforce high expectations on your child. Instead allow your child to develop at their own pace. By putting too much pressure on children you can negatively affect their academic performance and cause anxiety.
- When helping with homework, it is important to let your child work out problems alone. Try to give your child helpful feedback instead of criticism. This means helping your child to think about different ways to achieve their answer.
- Get to know your child’s teachers and try to be a part of the school community. This will not only show your child how much you care about their education, but it will also help you to keep up to date with your child’s progression and school events.
- Always encourage your child to ask questions. Curiosity is one of the best ways to learn new facts. It can also be fun to ask your child to role play the teacher and teach you about what they have learnt at school. Repeating what the teacher has explained in class will help your child to remember the information.
- Support your child’s literacy skills by regularly reading and writing with them. This could be reading a story at bedtime or asking your child to read a recipe and then write your shopping list.
- Finally, try to learn together in your free time by playing games, visiting interesting places and using educational online resources.