The STEAM Project Presents: 3 Ways You Can Be More Involved In Your Child’s Education
Long before a teacher enters a child’s life, a parent or guardian is a child’s biggest educator. It is important to know that being involved in your child’s education is crucial for their growth and development (behaviorally, academically, etc.).
For some this may mean rigid routines and strict rules. But while having discipline is important, so is leaving room for their imagination and independent learning by experiencing things themselves. This way, children subconsciously pick up the habit of learning on their own and it strengthens the bonds between families as they learn together as well.
Below are three ways you can be more involved in Your Child’s Education!
Learn With Your Child
Get to know what your child is learning! No matter what grade or age they are, a blast from the past can be fun for the both of you, especially when you do it together. You may not feel much excitement from learning something like addition again, but creating games or finding alternative ways to teach your child is a great way to be involved, as well as track your child’s progress.
Find new resources, play new games, research cool experiments that not only help teach your child, but have them realize that there isn’t a set way to learn any subject. Creativity is key in this aspect, and once you get them started, you may be surprised with what they can come up with!
You may have heard this learning method before: teach others, teach yourself. What we mean is, have your child teach you! Have you ever heard that study method growing up where teaching someone can help you retain information and help you understand the subject matter better?
Children are no different! Ask questions to your child while you learn together, and even if they don’t know, spark their curiosity!
“You don’t know? That’s okay, let’s find out together.”
Recognize Signs of Struggle
Being involved in your child’s education is more than just acknowledging their progress and successes, it’s about recognizing their setbacks and struggles as well.
It’s important to remember that children don’t always ask for help. Some may not feel confident enough to reach out and get some guidance from whoever they need. While encouraging independence is certainly important, so is knowing when to ask for help. In fact, it’s beneficial for their learning.
Confidence has a lot to do with this– all of us at some point in our education have probably hesitated (or seen a classmate hesitate) to ask a question at least once. Remind them that there is no such thing as a ‘stupid question’! Helping your child overcome that fear of asking for help is the first big step in helping whatever they’re struggling with.
The next side is from then on, recognizing when your child is struggling and responding fast by offering them some help. A parent’s willingness to help their child will encourage them to seek out help more, because they understand that they have their parent as a resource.
Involve Your Child
Having your child get involved with your everyday life can actually be beneficial for their education. Obviously there should be boundaries involved, but getting them to be aware of simple and routine decisions not only makes them feel more involved, it increases their confidence!
Some examples are having them choose between which vegetable to eat with dinner, what day they want to visit their grandparents that week, what book they want to read before bed, and more!
Not only does this make your child understand that you value their decisions and opinions, it helps establish trust while learning more about you and your life. You may even be surprised by the questions your child may ask you about what decisions need to be made and why!
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The above are just some of the many ways you, as a parent or guardian, can be more involved in your child’s education. We didn’t put it on the list, but another way is researching and finding out more methods! We can help you get started. Head on over to our cited and extra resources for more information.
Let us know your teaching methods in the comments!
The STEAM Project Family
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Cited and Extra Resources:
https://www.nytimes.com/guides/smarterliving/help-your-child-succeed-at-school
https://www.learningliftoff.com/7-ways-to-be-involved-in-your-childs-education/
