Absolute Essentials To Help With Your Children's Education At Home

If you have kids, you’ll be used to the weekday routine. You wake them up in the morning. They get ready and you do the school run. You embrace a few hours of much needed silence and recuperation time. Then pick them up, make dinner, tuck them into bed and get some shuteye yourself. Repeat, repeat and repeat again. With all of the effort that goes into getting them off to school, happy and with packed lunches or lunch money in hand, you’d hope that they’re getting all they need out of their education.

However, sometimes they’re not quite up to standards with their homework or on their tests. It’s important to remember that children are constantly learning. They’re like sponges. Taking in all sorts of knowledge that we wouldn’t even think twice about. Their education isn’t limited to what they’re taught from a whiteboard during schooling hours. They learn at home too. What they learn is up to you. So here’s a few tips and tricks to help you out when it comes to seeing your children learn from home.

The Internet

The internet can be your best friend or your own worst enemy. Let’s start with the cons first. There are plenty dark and questionable parts of the internet. Typing in the wrong search term or perhaps just delving a little too deep into the back pages of Google can see you land on a site full of things that you’ll wish you never laid eyes on. If there are things that can disturb full grown adults out there, then just imagine the amount of things that can confuse or disturb children. This is why you need a child protection block on your internet server. This will block any sites with content unsuitable for those under the age of 18. Bye bye gore, violence, swearing, drugs and sex.

Simply contact your internet provider to have a block installed. This will keep innocent minds innocent and remove the need for you to explain certain things to your children before the time is right. Beyond the bad side of the internet, it can also pose as a terrible distraction. Games, social websites and various other things will consume your little one’s time, when it could be better invested in something else. Remember to draw a line when it comes to pure play time. Don’t ban it completely. We all want our kids to have fun. But limit it to certain times of the day.

Okay, so now onto the pros. There are plenty of things that the internet can offer for kids in terms of education. After all, it’s a hub of information, a news source and full of all sorts of enlightening facts and thoughts.  There are all sorts of learning sites out there that can help your child with revision and exam preparation. For example, Bitesize and enotes. Encyclopedia sites such as Wikipedia can give your child a basic explanation of most things they might want to know about. There are also sites and apps that help your child to learn through games and puzzles.

Make sure that you have a good internet server, so that your connection is strong and consistent. Choose a reliable provider. For more information, find out from Sudden Link.

A Workspace

You know how many adults like to have an office space to work from at home? Well why should your child be any different. It’s important that your little one has a place to carry out their homework in comfort. Homework may not seem major to you, but it’s definitely important to them. They will want gold stars, good grades and certificates. This is something that you should encourage.

For a good work space, you will need a quiet and calm environment away from the distraction of toys and games. Get your child a small desk to work from and a comfortable chair to sit in. This will make them feel grown up. Have everything that they might need there. Pens, pencils, rubbers, rulers and coloring pens are a good start.  A calculator, protractors and other maths equipment are necessary too. Most of us will forget these, as we haven’t used them or even seen them since our own school days. But when it comes to maths work they’re essential. Make sure there is lots of paper. Also ensure that you are near to help with any problems or questions that your child may have. It’s important to show your support.

Sticker Charts

Sticker charts increase your child’s motivation. Have at least one set up somewhere near their workspace. Every time they achieve something, put a gold star sticker next to their name. They’ll feel rewarded for their hard work and will continue to strive for good grades. Alternatives could be certificates (which you can easily make yourself) or little rosettes and prizes.

A Relaxing Space

Once all of their hard work is done, they’ll need to relax. Don’t push your child too hard. They shouldn’t be working all day every day. Remember how tiring school seemed when you went there yourself. Make sure that your child has time to unwind before their next big day. Ask them about their school friends. Listen to their troubles. Give advice on how to resolve playground arguments. Put a film on and watch it with them. Snuggle up in blankets and spend some quality time together. This will bring you and your child closer. You will enjoy this time just as much as they will.

Night Time Recap

As you tuck your child in to sleep at night, have a recap of their day. Talk about all of the things that they have learned and achieved. Praise them. Show them that you care. Tell you how proud you are of them. They will go to bed with a smile on their face. The next day they will wake up happy. They will go to school ready to make you just as proud as they do every single other day.