Welcome to 2019! With 2018 now fully wrapped up, now is the time to consider how to help give your child the best academic potential in 2019. Whether they were behind, ahead or around the middle of their class in performance last year, giving them a head start as they head into a new year and a new grade can do wonders for confidence and self-esteem. Here are our tips for boosting your child’s academic potential in 2023.
Know What Your Child is Studying
When children are in the younger years, it’s usually quite easy to stay up-to-date with what they are studying at school – Maths, English, Art, Sport, maybe a language. It’s important that as they move through the grades, that you stay in tune with what subjects they are studying and also take an interest in how they are progressing within each one. Which ones do they enjoy? Which do they not enjoy? Are they struggling to keep up in any area?
While it’s almost impossible to understand every subject, it’s critical that parents and guardians understand enough about the subjects and their child to also recognise when the child may be struggling to keep up. If you do recognise any signs of the child falling behind, get help or an assessment in that area as soon as possible. More often than not, if the “struggle” is dealt with soon after the difficulty appears, getting the child back on track and motivated to learn is much faster and easier than if left for months (or years)! Part of this is also recognising when you can’t help them and taking responsibility to source external help to get your child back on track.
Use Everyday Experiences As Opportunities to Learn
With an understanding of what your child is studying, you can begin tying everyday occurrences into learning. For example, if your child is learning percentages at school, take them on a shopping outing and ask them to work out how much an article of clothing will be that says 30% off. Perhaps they are learning about cold-blooded animals in science – take them to the zoo to meet some reptiles.
Read More
Reading is so often underestimated! A number of research studies have been performed on the importance of reading and experts still agree that one of the most important things you can do for children of any age to help them succeed at school is to read. Make reading a normal thing to do at home. This means you need to read too – so it becomes something that children see as the whole family doing. If you have kids that love reading, why not encourage more by setting a goal for the year <link to blog on new year goals>, for example, reading one book every month for the year. You can even set up a chart and mark which books were read and when. Reading the same book as your children can also help as you can ask questions about the book and discuss topics raised in it (particularly useful with older children).
Keep Encouraging
You need to be your child’s biggest advocate. This means knowing on a very intimate level how they are going and ensuring you keep encouraging and ensure they stay motivated and confident. Encouragement DOES NOT mean only praising when they bring an “A” home. Sometimes, doing their best might not bring home the top marks, and that’s okay. Remember that not everything at school will come naturally to every child. Be aware of this and understand their journey enough to know when they are okay and when to ask for help – whether that be through the school or an external tutor.
A great way to begin the new year is to gain an understanding of how your child is currently sitting academically. Did they understand all the concepts from last year? Do they have a firm foundation to build on this year or are there areas that could hold them back? Lynn’s Learning can assist with a free assessment. Our free assessments review your child’s understand of Maths and English and these results are then discussed with you so you have an indication of how your child is currently performing and any other areas that could cause problems with the concepts that will be introduced in the new school year.
You can book your free assessment online or contact our head office on 03 9796 8779 to book.
Other Education Sources:
Police Entrance Exam Preparation: https://testprep.com.au/victoria-police-practice-tests or https://www.vicpol.testprep.com.au/
Year 11-12 Maths Tuition: https://testprep.com.au/math-tuition
