Easy Ways to Support Your Children’s Learning at Home

As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, your kids may be returning to online classrooms when the new school year kicks off. Whatever back-to-school will look like in the fall, supporting learning at home can be immensely valuable. Children whose parents are involved in their education are more likely to succeed academically! There are several ways for parents to encourage learning at home, from planning fun science experiments to setting up online educational activities. Keep reading to learn more!

Keep It Fun and Positive

For many students—and especially those who are struggling—school can feel intimidating and stressful. Try to maintain a positive attitude towards school so your children can see learning as a positive experience. One way to do this is to make at-home learning fun through online activities and educational video games! There are tons of video games out there that make players think critically and problem-solve challenging puzzles. Plus, educational video games are great for keeping your kids busy when you’re working from home! Just make sure your internet connection can support everyone streaming video games and conference calls at the same time. To keep everyone happy, you may have to upgrade to a super-fast connection, such as 5G Ultra Wideband from Verizon. Shop around to see what will be a best fit for your situation and budget!

Read Together

Reading is an extremely beneficial pastime for kids of any age. Children’s Library Lady explains that reading boosts kids’ vocabulary, literacy, comprehension, and writing skills while expanding their minds and instilling good morals. Reading with your kids from a young age is a fantastic way to encourage a love of books—and the imaginary world that exists within them! If your children are older, Scholastic recommends encouraging them to pick books they really like instead of forcing them to read titles that don’t interest them. Consider also being more flexible with chores and bedtime when your kid is reading, so you don’t have to ask them to put their book down.

Encourage Real-World Learning

Real-world situations make for fantastic learning opportunities, so jump on any chance to get your kids thinking about what’s going on around them. Ask them questions as you go about your day and encourage your kids to ask questions too! Try to find ways to apply your children’s academic learning to real-life situations. For example, you could challenge your kids’ math skills while grocery shopping by asking them to estimate the taxes on your bill. Younger kids can help you pick out the shortest line at the till by counting the people in each one.

Take a Field Trip

Taking field trips out into the world is an excellent opportunity to show your kids that their classroom learning has practical applications. Think beyond the grocery store! Venture into nature and you’ll come across educational opportunities at every turn. Head to a local lake and observe the wetland wildlife, take a hike in the woods with a magnifying glass and get your kids to identify insects, or stick to your backyard and help your kids build a terrarium in a jar.

Support Your Children’s Extracurricular Passions

If your kids will be learning from home in the new school year, make sure they can still pursue their favorite extracurricular activities. This is a great opportunity to teach your kids the value of practicing on their own time, whether it’s music, sports, or something else entirely. Make it fun and easy for your children to work on their skills at home. Schedule regular practice time, help your kids set goals, and offer rewards when they overcome frustrating hurdles.

Helping your kids manage at-home learning can be a rewarding challenge. In fact, you’ll quickly find that this is a learning process for you as well. Every child is different. The educational techniques that help some students may not necessarily be the ideal learning setup for your kids, and that’s okay. Test out different educational activities and learning opportunities until you find what works for you and your family!

~ Jenna Sherman, Parent Leaders