Life requires us to learn new skills and gain knowledge, and it’s up to us to raise children that are ready for this challenge. Because learning starts when we’re children, it’s also the best time to foster a love of learning. Here are a couple of ways to help our kids love learning.
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Issues could be social, emotional, or potential learning disorders. While teachers are on the lookout for these, kids sometimes hide it by overcompensating.
If you believe there’s a problem, talk to your child in a comfortable, safe environment. See if you can find any suggestions for stress or avoidance about a particular subject or activity. Questions to ask include asking what their favorite and least favorite part of the school is and why/why not, what are the hardest things they did and why.
Help them engage. Education experts believe that under-performance in school can be caused by a lack of engagement. There’s a plethora of strategies and reforms in place to improve classroom engagement, but parents have the starting reins to work on this lack of engagement at home.
Start by regularly asking your kids what they learned at school. This will help them be proud of their newfound knowledge. Many kids also relish the opportunity to teach something to their parents. This will also encourage them to think more critically about their learning in school, and to learn better. Your questions will need to be age-appropriate.
Make learning enjoyable. Check out your child’s curriculum, textbooks, and homework. There are many examples, but you should be able to find examples to use for activities. If you’re reading this during the current COVID-19 pandemic, then you’ll have plenty of time to revisit and try out more activities.
Assess your child’s curriculum, textbooks, or homework. It can be as simple as counting games, getting them to spell words from their favorite books. For older kids, assist them to discover their passions and interests.
Remove the pressure. We’ve all been there. Academics do put pressure on kids. This includes grades, peers, and parent approval. Giving them a hard time or punishing them for poor results can backfire and make them dread the learning process.
So instead of punishing poor performance, offer support both emotionally and academically. Allow them to be free to express their disappointments without fear of your judgment. Speak with them, listen well, and collaborate to find ways to help them improve and enjoy school.
Choose the right learning institute. The kind of school where you enroll your child will serve as a beacon in developing many aspects of his or her character, which is why choosing an appropriate one is of paramount importance.
Some curriculum is better than others when it comes to the learner. For instance, expat children and those with international connections should prefer international schools. Consider schools that offer inquiry-based programs like GMP Montessori which not only fosters the development of cognitive, expressive and motor skills but also induces a sense of social responsibility, cultural awareness and environmental consciousness - all key components of GIIS's holistic pedagogy.
Encouragement during this stage must come from you. You need to walk the talk. The values you teach should also be present in you because your kids innately look to you not just for support, but for inspiration as well.
These tips can help to make the school what it needs to be for children — a fun, secure location, where they can learn about the world, themselves, and find out who and what they want to be.
