Kids have a lot to cope with during their first few stages of their life. They have all kinds of things to learn and grow up with, constantly changing interests and friends, and all kinds of authority figures like teachers and us parents to learn to listen to at least 5 days a week. If you look back on your own childhood, you’ll probably remember a time or two when you struggled with it!
So in your effort to be the most effective parent you can be, in between running around with the kids outside and being artsy-crafty with them indoors, this is your chance to keep them interested in their schooling. And here’s a couple great ways you can make education evolve with them!
Switch Up Homework Tasks
OK, so we can’t become the teacher in our children’s schools and change the lessons they give out! But when they come home, homework in their bags and the idea already forming in their head of not doing it, we can make the home environment a lot more entertaining for them to keep learning in.
When your kids get home, don’t immediately demand they get on with their homework. After all, they’ve just had 6 or 7 hours of school, they deserve a bit of a break! So give them that time, and give them a deadline for when they have to come down and get on with their homework.
At the same time, we can offer sweet treats for every 5 equations solved, or ten minutes of a cartoon or video game whenever a lengthy English question gets answered. Or we could sit down with them and make sure they get through their task with their parent involved – it’s always a lot nicer for kids to have an adult they know and trust laugh, joke, and help them out with any problems.
Use the Computer!
It’s a simple idea a lot of us don’t tend to think about, but if your kids are very technology oriented, and always want to have a go on your iPad, why not use the computer in their education? It’ll be sure to keep their interest, considering everything they can do online and all the games they can play whilst they’re there.
And don’t worry, there’s plenty of educational games out there too. You could simply install a lock on many of the other websites they’d be likely to visit and then show them all the games that’ll bolster their reading, writing, spelling, and counting skills. Even if they’re a bit older, there’s plenty of advanced games to try out. Or they could even get a bit more serious and look into degree programs – even courses like lean manufacturing can be learned online these days!
Education doesn’t have to be a struggle for your kids, as long as you’re doing everything you can to encourage and keep them interested in it. You never want your child to be bored and unchallenged, so lead by example.
About Jammie Morey
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