One of the things that all parents are hoping for is to make sure that their children are learning and enjoying it while they do. 

Not all children learn at the same speed or the same way, but there are so many ways that you can give them a little boost in confidence and love of learning. 

Praise

Every time you see your child picking up a book Unprompted or asking questions that will help with their overall learning, let them know how proud you are of them for doing it. 

It’s important to keep in mind that you don’t want to be harsh on children that might not be achieving as much as you want, though. When children feel down on themselves about their learning journey, they are unlikely to try more. On the flip side, if you praise them for doing well, they’ll likely keep trying.

Space 

You probably already know that the space you work in has a big impact on how much work you get done and how positive you feel about it. 

What does the space your child works in look like? Is it clean and tidy and can they find everything they need? Or is it messy, and makes it difficult to find the tools they need to complete their work successfully? 

Perhaps you have your child working at the kitchen table. In which it might be time to look around to find a little space that could be modified to their needs. 

Together 

Our children learn a lot from us. They look to us to see how they fit in the world and what they should act like. So if you are regularly spending time with them learning, reading, and watching documentaries and natural history programs, they’ll feel that it is a natural part of their world. 

Reading tighter strengthens many skills – including how to describe what is happening using the images, comprehension and so much more. 

Photo by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash

Passions

Every child will love something different, and once you unlock that, your child will cover a lot of ground for the subjects they enjoy the most. It might be a particular spider that has cool skills. The amount of work that can happen around the spider, an essay about the best type of spider, how they move, the number of spiders in the world, and so much more. 

All subjects can be pulled into the same subject – and so much more besides.

Learning styles 

Earlier, we mentioned all children learn differently – and that is true. Some children need to ‘do’ the thing to understand it, and that is kinesthetic learning. Others will need to hear it in action, so they are aural learners. 

Other children will thrive just by reading and writing, while others will get a great benefit from seeing things. 

All of these different learning styles will come into action for everyone who is trying to learn something new. But some people find that they can learn things quickly and efficiently by sticking to the style that suits them best. 

Unlocking a love of learning may be done by presenting all of these different ways and seeing what your child works with. 

A mix of all of them can be a lot of fun, though; moving while learning has proven to be very effective with children who would otherwise want to do nothing. 

Talk don’t tell

There is a vast difference between telling your child all of the answers and talking about things with them until they come to a conclusion on their own. Children ask hundreds of questions a day, and it can be all too easy to just keep answering them. But giving the answers all the time can put a damper on that inquisitive spirit that children have. 

Instead of giving the answers, and for those occasions where you truly don’t know the answer – start adding questions to their questions. If they ask what happens if X, think of another question and add to it. 

Encourage them to make a list of all the questions and head to the library or take to the internet to find the answers. 

One of the best things about doing this is that you will hear many questions about the same subject. 

Support

Praise and support are different, and praise should be something that comes up a lot for your children during their learning journey. Perhaps they have found some interests that don’t directly relate to what they are supposed to be learning at that moment. 

Any form of learning is something to be supported – because it shows initiative and being a self-starter. 

Often children can associate failure of something with not being smart enough – and that can be tricky to rectify. 

Often motivation and viewing challenges as a learning opportunity can mean that even the things that seem tricky at first, like reading, mathematics, and those other early childhood education moments. 

Waves

Just like all of us, children have waves that are more inspired and excited about learning, and then other times that it’s not as strong. Keep in mind that these waves are okay and that sometimes when you try to force someone to learn something in the periods where they don’t have the mental space to do so can make it much more difficult. 

Errors

Errors are a big part of learning – and without them, you can lose out on a lot of the fun. There should be plenty of room for children to try new things, experiment, and learn. 

Be sure to show your child that you don’t know everything and that you, too, make mistakes – and it is what you do about them that matters. 

It is a good idea to think outside of the regular things that are taught at school. Think about things like graphic drawing, music, and more! Here are some tips for bringing great noise to your life: Bringing Music Education Into Your Child’s Life: How To and Why It Is Necessary

Categories: Me

Vicky Charles

Vicky is a single mother, writer and card reader.

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