Children are naturally curious and with the right support, they tend to enjoy learning about new things. However, when you’re trying to teach your child something in detail or trying to encourage them to learn about something that they might not be as interested in compared to other subjects, it can often be difficult to get them to focus and they can quickly switch their attention. Traditional education does not often do very much to spark a child’s desire and love of learning, with everything centred around testing and exam marks. However, it’s only natural for you as a parent to want your child to succeed in school, get into the best high schools, and go on to do well in their adult life. Here are some of the main things that you can do to help your child develop good study habits and a love of learning.
Consider Tutoring:
Often, kids will work better with a professional tutor who can get to know them and their abilities, and has more skills and knowledge compared to you as a parent when it comes to teaching your child about certain subjects. Having somebody that they can go to and ask questions, knowing that they will be able to help, can be very supportive for your child and make learning easier on them, especially if they are in the process of preparing for important tests like the 11+ exam. 11 plus online learning is offered by Test Teach, helping kids prepare for the 11 plus Sutton online. You can find an online tutor for your child from year four or five at Test Teach to help them prepare for this important exam and secure a place in one of the top independent schools or grammar schools in your area, which can help your child feel a huge sense of achievement for the work that they have put into getting there.
Compliment Them:
All too often, parents focus on what their child isn’t doing well or what they haven’t done rather than what they have actually achieved. If you always mention when your child’s test scores are dropping or have something to say when they don’t do their homework, but forget to compliment them when they get great marks for their homework or pass a test with flying colours, you are probably not helping them foster a lifelong love of learning. Everybody is naturally better at some subjects than others and recognising this in your child so that you can offer compliments for the work that they put in and the grades they achieve will bring some balance and encourage them to work harder.
Apply Learning Outside of School:
Often, schools are very heavily focused on helping kids pass exams and get the best grades. And while this is important, it does not do much to help your child understand just how much of what they learn can be applied in the real world. Often, kids will have much more fun learning and will be more invested in a subject if they are able to see how they can put it to use outside of the classroom. For example, your child might not be very inspired to learn more about maths because they can’t see how it might be useful to them in real life, and telling them that they’re going to need it when they grow up is not very helpful. You can help by showing them how maths is applied in the situations that they are surrounded with on a daily basis whether you are working out how much to spend on something or figuring out how much of an ingredient is needed for dinner. Get them involved and make them aware of the relevance of what they are learning in the world around them, to help them take in the information and become more interested in it.
Read With Them:
Phonics reading books can help a child learn and encouraging your child to love reading is a great way to help them do better in school, especially when it comes to subjects like English and other classes where they will have essay-writing or creative writing to complete. Reading together can be a fun way to spend time with your child and they don’t have to be poring over textbooks to learn something new. Your child can learn a lot from reading their favourite novels like the Harry Potter series or other fun stories that they are interested in. Perhaps you might want to start a quiet reading hour on the weekend or one evening per week for your family where you can all get together and discuss what you’ve read or create a cosy reading nook in your home to encourage your child to pick up more books.
Sign Up for Extra-Curriculars:
While extra-curricular activities are not an essential part of education for your child, students can learn a lot from them and there are plenty of reasons why they are so popular. Extra-curricular activities give you a chance to find out what your child wants to learn about the most and will encourage them to develop hobbies that will support their other learning and help them learn new things about the factors that they are most interested in, whether that’s art, music, drama, dance, sports or anything else that gets them excited.
Create Learning Opportunities in Free Time:
When children begin to see that learning is not always about sitting in a classroom or reading books, they can often become more interested in finding out more. There are plenty of fun and interesting things that you can do to help your child learn more things that they can apply while back in school. For example, going out in nature is a wonderful chance to learn more about science and this will also give your child a chance to apply what they’ve learned in school to the outside world. Travelling together as a family is also a fun way to learn more about history and different cultures, especially if you take your child to landmarks around the world that they might have learned about in school, which can be seriously exciting for them.
Set Short- and Long-Term Goals:
Setting short- and long-term goals for your child and their learning can be an ideal way to make it easier for them to work towards what they need to achieve. Bigger goals for the long-term are important but working with them alone can often be overwhelming for a child. Most of us will work better when we have a series of short-term goals to hit during the process, so get together with your child to work out their overall long-term goals and what the best way for them to hit them is going to be. A series of short-term goals that you can set on a weekly or monthly basis will be easier for your child to manage since it breaks the workload down and provides them with a more regular sense of achievement when they hit each smaller goal, helping them stay motivated for the future.
Any good parent wants their child to succeed academically but helping your child love learning can be a challenge. Try making learning more fun and applying it to real-life situations to take some of the focus away from tests and exams to spark your child’s interest.