Bonjour lecteurs! If you have been following me for a long time now, you would know that I am an ex-teacher. So I put quite a big focus on l’école. I love doing extra learning with Stanley and it goes in all shapes and forms. I often get asked for tips and suggestions to support children with their education. So today, I am putting together a list of 7 Simple Steps to Help Your Child Succeed In School. Those are merely some idées I have gathered over the last 7 years with Stanley and I hope they will be helpful.
Further Reading & Writing At Home
I am a strong advocate that parents should work collaboratively with their school. You and only are responsible for your children’s education.
You have to bear in mind teachers will have big groups of children. So they might not always have l’opportunité to give your child one-to-one attention.
On top of it, the curriculum proves to be bigger and more complex each year and sadly, teachers have a lot to go through with our kids.
I was surprise to see how little reading and writing Stanley was actually doing when he started school and I was quick to realise it was for me to take over after school. So we read and write daily if possible.
Progress Over Perfection
I love le concept of atomic habits and in life, I always remember that progress is better than perfection.
Small habits are a powerful way to help and support your children with their learning. Basically, you are their exemple numéro un and as so, you need to teach them that failure is the way to succés.
Remind them that you learn by making mistakes. Take spelling par exemple, I don’t expect my son to write papers for money (yet!).
Modern parents tend to over-praise. In a société morderne, we have been told to celebrate their everyday successes and I agree to a certain extent to it, but it is also good to tune it down and then to REALLY praise them when they make a lot of progrés and they can see it for themselves.
Teach Them Resilience
But we are taking it step by step. I strongly feel that reading and writing are key skills that should be spent a lot of time on.
They are primordial for his future. Nowadays, so many kids start université without spelling properly and it impairs their communication so much. Yes, you have new technologies like spelling checkers and you can get helped by writepaperfor.me par exemple, but it’s a great feeling to do it independently.
Teach your children resilience. I feel it’s a skill that is mentioned a lot at school and I always remind him if we struggle at home. It is something that you can develop in everyday life and not only with education. Plus, it’s a key skill children will need in their adult life.
Make Learning Fun & Creative
Learning is way harder if it is seen as a chore. I said it a million times: learning through fun is the best.
There are so many ways to learn, it does not have to be académique and boring. Be on hand, and make it lively and fun, especially at younger ages.
Today, there are so many resources for you to use: apps, blogs, crafts, vidéos and websites. No wonder why so many people decided to give a go at homeschooling!
Stanley is an excellent reader because he had fun practising with apps like Reading Eggs or even because we made it part of our routines. His language is also excellent because we used to do a lot of role plays and he is constantly stimulated.
Learning also happens outside the classroom! Go out with your children, explore the world, take them to the musée… Turn it into an adventure and it will not even feel like learning!
Allow Them to Follow their Passion
Every child est différent! They don’t tick all the same boxes, thank go for that! Initiate and constantly remind your child(ren) of their uniqueness.
It might feel sometimes like the school wants your child(ren) to be good at everything, but it is simply the current educational system that makes it look like that. In truth, they will be excellent in a few things and that’s ok.
Find what makes your children tick and let them explore and develop their passion. If your child shows specific interest and takes a lot of joy in a certain topic at school, they will find it a lot easier to excel.
Love the Way They Are
As parents, you will have a natural tendency to worry about the things your children are less good at. But who cares if they are not good at a specific subject as long as they try their best?
Stanley loves reading and has a big imagination. I have always pushed it with programs like Premier League Writing Stars. He also loves mathematics and has an incredible memory. En plus, he also enjoys building and designing but is not always keen on sports.
I often imagine he will end up being an architect or a designer or maybe a writer as he loves stories so much. Who knows!?
What I try to remember is not to compare him to other children in his class. He is him and him only. Love the child you have, not the child you wish you had!
Make Them A Critical Thinker
The school creates a lot of pressure on both children and parents and it can be sometimes difficile to know what parenting strategies will really help them with schooling.
A good education is not only about good reports. Idéalement, you want them to be independent and become critical thinkers. Initiate their curiosité et créativité and the rest will follow.
If you keep using those simple strategies, this is a great start for them to be successful at school and more importantly, be happy there!
So what do you think about my 7 Simple Steps to Help Your Child Succeed In School? What worked for you in the past? What do you think is the most important? What do you think of the British Education system? What is lacking in your opinion?
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post.
Your ideas are great and clearly Stanley is reaching his full potential with your help. As you say all children are different and this is not always acknowledged within our current education system.
I honesty don’t know how you balance it all out. My mum made me believe that learning always had to be at home or at school so we didn’t go many places during my childhood. Then I learnt more about montessori learning from my husband and it made so much more sense. Everything we are learning is to be apply for the outside work so why are we stuck indoors all time to learn. I learn so much better visually anyway so why not learn seeing the real thing if I can.
So now with my daughter and son we like to learn using the real world as an example if we can. We learn to count as we go up the lift floors and count the steps of stairs. I taught my daughter her fruit and vegetables as we shop together. I’m getting my son to read the signs around him, from the underground network to billboards. We get our son to describe his day and write one sentence about it.
Of course we still have our indoor seriously learning but it shouldn’t just be about that. Learning about be fun
Magical the girls will love too
Really helpful and insightful!
Wow, you do so many fun things. It always gives me inspiration for things to do with my children. I definitely agree all kids are different. My two girls are complete opposites. However it’s brilliant to have variety and for each of them to try things they didn’t think they would like.