For many, the pandemic seems like a lifetime ago with most of our children learning remotely or spending quality time with each other before life returned to a hectic pace. But it seems that now the effects of lockdown learning and the lack of a school environment are beginning to show. It can seem like many are trying to play catch up, which is quite overwhelming for parents and children, but it’s important to remember that while your child may feel like they are behind, it’s not uncommon for the need to play catch up. Let’s show you some of the best ways to help your child.
Involve the Teacher
Ensuring the teacher knows there are concerns that the child feels they’re lagging behind all begins with the conversation with the teacher, but you also have to talk with your child to get their distinct understanding of the situation.
This is an important beginning because this can help you find the right resources to focus on a specific problem. There are many tuition schools that cater for an abundance of age groups, but it all begins with a real perspective from the child and the teacher.
Filling in the Gaps
Doing extra work is never high on anybody’s wishlist! When you understand what the major issues are, you can approach the task with a more knowledgeable perspective. If there’s a very specific issue with their learning, you can hire a private tutor or find ways to make the learning more engaging.
They could be struggling to catch up because they’ve not given enough time and attention to a specific part of the subject, and if you are intending to help them rather than get outside support, you need to structure the learning but also make sure that you are catering for their learning style. Their learning style can be critical to how they learn and retain information, so ensuring you uncover the best way they learn will take away a lot of frustrations, for you and them!
Getting the Right Structure in Place
If they are doing an abundance of extracurricular activities and then the weekends involve long trips away, it’s so important to give the structure a second glance. When you have a routine in place will establish consistency, especially when it comes to learning. You need to make learning at home a part of everyday home life.
Many children hate homework because it involves effort, and when we tell our children they have to do something, this only makes things more difficult. Instead, we have to find the right ways to make it more engaging. You may want to give them a brief bout of learning, for example, 10 minutes and then give them a really long break to do something else before they come back, or you may want to have a solid 90-minute learning bout with ground rules and a big award at the end of it.
Above all else, you need to reassure them. When they feel like they’re a failure, you need to remind them that everybody needs to fine-tune something or practice their skills. The A* students are not telling the truth if they say they don’t try- they’ve had to learn something, whether it’s a method of study or the subject itself!
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