Teaching your kids at home can be extremely stressful, especially for new parents. But it doesn’t always have to be!
Here are 5 early childhood teaching strategies that you can use at home to ensure both you and your children enjoy learning. Let’s get right into it!
- Use the web as a study tool
There’s an abundance of educational websites online where students are taught everything from basic skills to advanced higher education courses. The best part? Some of the most high-quality sites are completely free!
This makes the web a valuable learning tool while you look for a trustworthy learning center like Raising Stars for your child – look for things like well explained approaches to education and experience based expert input.
One of the biggest advantages of the internet is that you can easily find children-oriented, animated videos about any educational topic. These videos help simplify educational subjects and make complex concepts easy to understand, which makes learning not only effective but also enjoyable.
The best online learning websites have their topics arranged sequentially, which is especially important for mathematics. This makes it easy for children to work their way up to higher levels of competence.
In addition to simply using courses to teach children educational topics, you can also use the internet to encourage your child’s curiosity.
For example, try telling your child to make a list of 10 things they want to know more about each day. Then get involved and start looking up easy-to-understand information regarding those things online. You can then share this information with your child piece by piece, satisfying their curiosity and instilling a love of learning in them.
- Read together with your child
Reading is vital to success in life. Children who develop a love of reading also develop a love for learning, which goes a long way to help them through their adult lives.
Reading to your kids can be an extremely valuable way to boost their literacy skills and vocabulary. It also teaches them to process their thoughts and communicate better.
You should start by making sure your child has access to plenty of reading material. You can do this by filling up your house with books, novels, and magazines. You can also make reading a family activity where everyone reads for a few minutes each day.
The goal is to show your child how important reading is and try to set up an environment that cultivates this habit in your home.
Just make sure to make reading fun — not boring. If your child decides that reading is frustrating, they’ll do everything they can to avoid it and their learning ability will suffer.
Try to create fun reading activities for them and let them read books that they want to read. Then talk to them about how they felt after reading and ask them if they have something interesting to share with you.
Keep in mind to never quiz them on the content. It’s always better to have simple, encouraging conversations where the goal for both parents and children is to learn something from the experience.
To get you started, here is a list of some “must-reads” that children love.
- Use your backyard as a way to learn about nature
You don’t need to be in front of screens all day to learn.
Yes, the internet can be a lifesaver if your child is having trouble understanding concepts but try to balance online learning with some old-fashioned books and hands-on challenges — especially if your little one always seems to get distracted by YouTube!
Children can learn a lot about natural science and the world around them by simply going outside.
A simple stroll through your backyard can help them identify, get curious, and learn about the different types of trees, plants, and animals outside. To make exploring nature more fun, give your child a magnifying glass the next time they go outside.
You can also use outdoor activities like gardening as a teaching tool. Give your child seeds to plant and help them take care of their little garden. A camping trip with your family can also prove to be a great learning experience for your child. Here are 10 tips for camping with kids.
Activities like these instill self-confidence, excitement about nature, and a sense of responsibility in children. It also helps them develop object management skills.
- Play educational games during breaks
Most parents consider games to be only for entertainment. But games can help improve your child’s cognitive skills and expand their knowledge.
For instance, board games like Monopoly can teach your child about money management and basic economics. Pictionary can boost their visual thinking skills. And chess can help them develop abstract planning and higher-order reasoning skills.
Even simple roll and cover games teach your child basic addition and subtraction skills! Plus, many learning toys are available in the market that provide the perfect mix of learning and play.
- Have conversations during your one-on-one time
A lot of families don’t have meals together. But studies have shown that having family dinners is linked to better SAT scores and other academic benefits.
As an adult, you can be an extremely good source of learning for your child if you engage in good, meaningful conversations with them.
As a general rule of thumb, try to avoid stressful topics like bad grades or discipline issues when talking to your children on a daily basis. Instead, have conversations about topics that your child is curious about and positive experiences that happened throughout the day.
These meaningful exchanges can promote verbal and thinking skills that are essential to your child’s development. Plus, they’re great for bonding as well!
