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What I'll be teaching my children during lockdown and beyond

Homeschooling continues for another few weeks and many parents are faced again with juggling work and helping their children learn a range of subjects – from Science to Arts, P.E, French, Music and of course, Maths and English. If we are honest, we can only really manage one or two! So how can we do it all or should we really be trying to do it all? 


The truth is, when it comes to learning I focus on developing key skills in children rather than proficiency in any particular subject. In my opinion, there are two most important skills to nurture and develop in children when it comes to learning.

Join the conversation here Help your Child Love Learning
Firstly, 

Independent Learning! - We mustn't underestimate the importance of teaching our children to become independent learners. The truth is it takes time and patience, nurturing! Sometimes it takes forward planning and most importantly, it means we have to let them make mistakes! To be confident independent learners they will require regular practise and their successes will have to be celebrated whilst their mistakes are handled well to encourage them to try again. It is much easier to spoon feed than to cultivate a learning habit.  

I can tell you that I found it so much easier to feed my babies pureed food than to let them handle food and figure it out themselves. I get it! Sometimes I just didn't want the mess, or the hassle. Yet, I can't stress how important independent learning is for life-long learning. Just like with the baby feeding analogy, you reap the benefits as the child gets older and is not afraid to take on new challenges, is resilient and actually enjoys learning.

“What we learn from our teachers is only a small part of the full picture. We only reach true mastery when we take the time to study on our own!”  

A friend once said to me, "we hardly ever sit our children down to teach them how to play video games and yet they have no problem mastering the game all on their own".  

Secondly, 

  • A Love of learning! There is no doubt that children want to learn! They are born with a desire to learn, but as with all natural gifts, it needs to be nurtured and developed over time. To help our children become life-long learners we need to cultivate in them a love of learning. We do this by making learning fun, thinking outside the box and using resources that the child finds interesting. Children enjoy learning when they are not forced, when they are presented with attractive options to choose from, when the activity is challenging but within their ability to achieve, when they are allowed to self discover and think independently, when they can find and correct errors themselves with a little guidance, when there are rewards for their achievements and they are not penalised for mistakes, when the parent/teacher takes an active interest in their learning, when they can see that progress is being made. 

  • So, as we print off the worksheets and activities for homeschooling let’s remember that the skills of independent learning and a love of learning are far more important than any one subject. Head over to the Facebook group, Help your Child Love Learning for some tips on how make learning fun, and to share your ideas on how you cultivate a love of learning in your child 😊

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