Home is the first classroom where your child learns his first word or takes his first step. Schools make up a huge part of your child’s learning journey, but learning should definitely not be confined inside those walls. Children spend most of their time at home so it is important to make it a place conducive for learning. Parents must complement the efforts of teachers to ensure effective learning. Children nurtured in a conducive home learning environment possess firm foundation of positive attitudes and great learning experiences.
A core goal of education is to create lifelong learners and parents can engage in the following actions to create conducive environment for their children to learn effectively at home;
- Limit distractions during home study-With the advancement of technology, children are used to modern gadgets which reduce their concentrations while learning at home. Apart from increasing the amount of time it takes to complete the work, it also affects the quality of the study. Park the portable technology elsewhere in the house. Keep the smart phones out of reach. Remove instant messaging from the computer and ban Facebook during study time.
- Create a dedicated space at home for study. A place that is quiet, well ventilated with proper lightings will promote positive home learning environment for your children.
- Ensure Good Posture while studying. It is hard to maintain the same level of concentration when lying on the floor or propped up in bed as when sitting at a desk. The body’s habit when lying down is to relax and sleep. It is not helpful for a child to have to fight that tendency when studying. In addition, lying down promotes passive reading. It is hard to take notes or type while lying down. So children who are lying down are playing a less active role in their learning than those who are sitting up.
- Be available to assist with homework and answer questions– Children are more comfortable and will concentrate better if they are aware that you are there to render possible assistance to them.