15 Easy Ways to Help Your Child Learn at Home

Sidney brought home her first Report Card for the year.

I've always been really hard on myself when it comes to school. Anything below a 90% is a disappointment in my eyes. So it's kind of difficult to not beat myself up over Sidney's Progress Report Card (which is different than a regular Provincial Report Card).

Not that I have much to be disappointed about. A lot of G's for good and an E for excellent. 

But I can't help but wonder if I had spent more time with Sidney on her school work if she could have done better? Isn't it my responsibility as a parent to help her succeed to the best of her abilities?

Luckily the point of the Progress Report Card is to show her progress for the beginning of the school year and point out what Sidney is doing good on and what we could work on.

Since Sidney got average marks, I suppose we could do a little bit of work on everything. So I started to think of different ways I can help Sid learn at home and this is what I came up with.

15 Activities to Encourage Learning

Reading:

1. Weekly library visits! We are more likely to read every night when we have new books to read. Even with Sidney's growing book collection, it gets dull and not nearly as exciting.

2. Get to bed earlier! Some nights when we're pressed for time and are simply too tired to read, we will skip it altogether.

3. Select books for her age. If a book is too difficult, Sid gets frustrated. If it's too easy, she's not learning anything. I find it's a good idea for her to test a page or two at the library or book store before taking the book home.

Writing:

1. Don't rush! Sidney often rushes through things and when it comes to writing, she gets sloppy. It's important to get her to slow down and put more effort into the neatness, and the proper spelling.

2. Activity books! These are awesome. They cost a dollar, they have Disney princesses on them and she has fun working out of them.

3. Journals and notebooks! I've been journalling all my life, and just this year Sidney started, too. I tried to make it a nightly ritual, but I found it too difficult to make her to do it every night and it took the fun out of it. Instead, I encourage her to write in it when she has something really awesome to say about her day and it helps her with her writing

Math:

1. Again, activity books! Cheap, fun and you can select which level to buy. Sidney gets the grade 1 level which has simple addition and subtraction that she can almost do by herself with a little bit of help.

2. Computer games! There are a ton of free games online that help with adding, subtracting, graphs and everything else. Plus, it helps Sidney learn how to use a computer which is super important in today's society.

3. Add it into every day activities! Math is one of those subjects that many people don't really enjoy, but when your children are still young and doing simple math equations (that you can still understand) it's easy to incorporate it into every day activities. For example, you can count toys as you tidy up. You can add your food, "I have three carrots and five apple slices. That equals 8!" Sidney actually enjoys that one. 

Visual Arts:

1. Don't just doodle! Doodling is fun, but it's not challenging. I find that when I give Sidney a task, or a specific thing to draw like a giraffe, or a portrait of me, she concentrates more and does a better job.

2. Get creative! Being creative is a huge part of visual arts and children are still naturally very creative (or at least the ones I've been around are). Get out your craft supplies; pipe cleaners, googly eyes, buttons, stickers, construction paper, glue, scissors, recycled toilet paper rolls, dry beans, whatever you have around, and go crazy! Create macaroni sculptures, make a birdhouse out of Popsicle sticks, or use things from nature to create a landscape picture by gluing things like leaves, grass and twigs onto cardboard. Help your child think out of the box!

3.  Take your time! Sidney seems to rush through things, so I've really had to help her slow down, enjoy the process and to put effort into her artwork.This way she can think of how she wants to do things, and we can discuss why she chose to do it that way to help her understand her own art better.

Other Things:

1. Kitchen science expirements are a lot of fun for kids. Something as simple as cornstarch, water and food dye is a great way to explain solids and liquids while having fun.

2. Getting outside to play really helps with physical activity, balance, coordination, health, etc. Go to the park, bring a Frisbee or a soccer ball, get on the jungle gym, play tag, or whatever else you like to do. Sidney's favourite activity at the park is going on the swings.

3. A few other things we need to work on as a family is to keep things neat and tidy at home. To help her organize her desk and toys, to teach her to clean up after herself and to enjoy it.

I need to encourage her curiosity, help her explore the world around her, to try new things, to look for new opportunities and experiences. Children are really amazing. It blows my mind how much she wants to learn, and by tweaking little things here and there throughout the day it can really help her grow.

What are some things you do at home to help your children learn?

Thanks, 

Cole

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