Feature Articles—Child Care
Ready, Set, Go Back to School
Leanne Spengler, Human Development Specialist, University of Missouri Extension
As the child’s first teacher, parents have the responsibility of nurturing their child’s potential. The tasks include understanding the child’s needs and then supporting the child’s learning efforts.
Understanding Children’s Learning
What do you know about your child’s learning style?
Early in life, children show personality traits and preferences
for what they like and dislike. By planning learning opportunities
with children’s unique personality styles in mind, you raise their
level of confidence and success.
Understanding when a child is ready to learn may mean the difference
between success and frustration. As with other areas of development,
children have their own unique rate of development.
Supporting Learning Efforts
The learning environment is also an important factor in the learning
process. The goal is to provide the best conditions for learning
and to balance conditions when learning is hindered. The following
suggestions may be helpful to parents for providing appropriate
learning environments:
- Demonstrate or model behavior yourself by setting the examples you want your child to follow. Organize and prepare as much as possible the night before by making lunches, gathering materials that go back to school or work, and getting clothes ready. Establish a ‘rise and shine’ routine for the whole family including individual alarm clocks and responsibilities for getting up.
- Provide reassuring routines. Knowing what to expect can prevent the problems and stresses of sudden change. Keep the ‘before school’ and ‘after school’ routines as consistent as possible. Make sure that these routines allow for adequate sleep and nourishment.
- Parents can anticipate difficulties and frustrations from
the knowledge they have about their child. Use the information
to provide guidance, encouragement and an environment to help
the child manage the situation.
- Introduce new concepts gradually and allow the child to work at his own pace. Provide your children with easy-to-follow directions for doing everyday activities and household tasks.
- Provide guidance and encouragement to solve the problem without losing control. Try to make the last words your child hears positive, especially on her way to school in the morning. When you and your child are back home in the evening, ask specific questions about your child’s day. If you find it difficult to get more than an ‘uh-huh’ or a ‘nope’ for an answer, use questions like what happened in school today that you thought was interesting or what are some upcoming activities or projects to stimulate conversation.
- Change the activity, situation or surroundings when needed. Distractions and boredom are potential hazards to learning. Having a supply of markers, scissors, paper, and a dictionary/thesaurus (even if you have a computer) may be helpful in developing imagination and hidden talents in your child. You also need to be careful about over stimulating your child.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Parents can naturally become so emotionally involved that an accurate picture of the situation is not possible. The school can be a source of help and support. Many school professionals have special training about children’s learning, who can provide information and guidance for making decisions. Parents are also experts, they know their child better than anyone else, know their own limitations, and know what their child needs.
Resources:
Crary, Elizabeth. (1990). Pick Up Your Socks … and other skills
growing children need! Seattle, WA: Parenting Press.
Gable, Sara. (1997). Nurturing Children’s Talents. [publication
GH6127]. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Extension.
Peel, Kathy & Mahaffey, Joy. (1990). A Mother’s Manual for Schoolday
Survival. Pomona, CA: Focus on the Family Publishing.
Turecki, Stanley. Presentations at the Practical Parenting Partnerships
conference, March, 1998. [231 East 76th Street, Suite 1B, New York,
NY 10021; 212-517-9092].
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Last update: Tuesday, August 25, 2009
