When your child starts attending preschool, it is the first step in their education. Even though it might not seem so important, the choice of preschool does play an essential role in creating learning habits that stick for life. So, your efforts to give your children the best education start with choosing a childcare, and even before that. However, there are also plenty of other things you can do to ensure your kids get the best education. Keep reading to learn more about them.
First of all, you need to be a proactive parent to make sure that your kids develop good learning habits and have motivation for learning. Kids are unaware of the importance of education at that period, that’s why you must be their support and provide guidance. You should be involved as a parent, provide academic support, be an active member of the school and support learning at home
Table of Contents
1. Be involved
One of the most essential things in your child’s education is your involvement in school and the education process itself, with all its activities. You should be involved in your child’s school. That means meeting the teachers and attending PTA meetings, among other things.
Meet the teacher(s)
With the start of a school year, you should make a conscious effort to meet your child’s teacher(s). Explain to the teacher that you are interested to help your child learn. Also, let the teachers know that they should contact you if there is any kind of (potential) issue.
Attend PTA meetings
Another thing that can help you be up to date with school happenings and stay involved in your child’s education is attending PTA meetings regularly. In that way, you show genuine interest in your children and their progress, with a willingness to help them be even more successful.
2. Provide academic support
As children are quite young when they start preschool and later school, they can’t grasp the importance of these institutions. However, you as a parent, are aware of that and you should provide academic support to your children. You can do that by tracking your children’s progress, providing additional help if needed, making sure they do their homework and helping with test preparations. This is quintessential in the initial phases of education.
Track progress
You should always know how your child is doing at school. You can ask the teacher(s) how your child is doing. Of course, you should always be familiar with the grades. If there is an area where your child is weaker, ask how you or the school can help. When you are up to date with progress, you can more easily and quickly work more on things that require some additional effort, without risking your child being too far behind.
Provide additional help if needed
Only if you are involved can you notice whether your child requires additional help when it comes to certain subjects. You can do your best to help your child understand and learn. However, you can also hire a tutor – they are more professional and know the methodology of how to teach a child. This kind of assistance can also have positive effects on future learning in the matter.
Make sure your kids do their homework
The habit of doing homework regularly and on time is developed from an early age. Most often, children are reluctant to do their homework – that’s where parents jump in and make sure that the homework is done. When you are strict about it at the beginning of education, your kids will surely develop the habit. If you don’t do it on time, while they are young, you won’t be able to instil that habit later on.
Help with test preparations
Some kids require more help from parents when it comes to studying, while others don’t. You need to be able to recognize where your child is. Always know when the test is and check how studying is progressing. Provide help if necessary. All children are different are require help with different fields and distinct concepts.
3. Be an active member of the school
We live in a hectic and fast world, with plenty of obligations regarding our family, household and work. However, we should find some time to be active members of the school.
Learn about the things the school offers
For starters, to make sure that your child is getting the best education the school ca offer, find out all about the things the school offers. These can be some extracurricular activities, which are essential for further education. To choose the right activities, you should know your child and its affinities.
Volunteer and join groups
There are also other ways you can get involved in your child’s school. For instance, you can volunteer at certain events and join some parent-teacher groups. If everyone does a little, we could do a lot for our children. Also, children look at school and education differently when their parents are involved together with them. They see it in a more positive light.
4. Support learning at home
Finally, to have a full approach, you should also support learning at home. You can do that by being positive about learning, encouraging your child to read, limiting screen time and talking a lot.
Be positive about learning
We are responsible for developing a positive attitude towards school and learning. You should show your child how we use education in our daily lives. We should model the behaviour we want the children to acquire.
Encourage your child to read
In the modern era, we read far less than we used to before. You should show your children that books can be interesting, too. Again, it’s essential to model your behaviour. Take your child to the library and design a reading nook to encourage them to read more. They will benefit a lot.
Limit screentime
It’s difficult to stay away from screens altogether nowadays. Children are required to use their phones, tablets and laptops for learning purposes. However, there should be some limitations when it comes to free screen time. That is especially true before bedtime.
Talk a lot
For all the things we mentioned to have sense, you should always talk to your children. In that way, you can learn more about their concerns, fears and aspirations. You get to know them better. And only if you know your children well can you help them be well-educated and successful.
By being a devoted and loving parent, you will surely make sure that your children get the best out of every stage of education – always keep that in mind.
