Education is important, but it’s difficult to get kids to take an interest in their lessons when they’re mostly learning from textbooks and computers. Often, it feels like they’re just counting the days until the next school holiday, and who can blame them when their little heads are trying to remember everything they’re taught on a daily basis.
As parents, you know how your child learns best, and you can devote more time to helping them achieve their goals, unlike their overworked teachers. Here's how you can supplement your child’s education by encouraging them to learn outside the classroom.
* Collaborative post
Travel
Nothing brings education to life quite like travelling. History classes in particular will benefit from trips abroad during school holidays; there is no better way to teach children about the Romans than by walking through the ancient sites in Rome. Budding biologists can get back to nature with excursions into nature reserves and national parks. Finally, travelling teaches children about different cultures, develops their critical thinking and empathy skills, and encourages them to practise their second language.
Field trips
If your child’s school doesn’t have the budget to take them on music school tours, then you should take them yourself. The best way to engage children with their education is to physically and visually show them what they’re learning about. Find out what they’re currently learning at school, and plan your family field trips accordingly. If they’re learning about the government, visit your local city hall, or the Houses of Parliament. There are plenty of museums to supplement what they’re learning about World War II or the Victorian era. If you schedule these trips shortly before their exams, then they’re getting the perfect combination of a study break, and the ultimate revision session. These trips will allow your kids to connect what they are learning in class with the outside world.
Conduct experiments
A little mess is worth seeing your kids having fun with science. Conducting science experiments at home will help your children review everything they have learned at school in a fun way, and reinforce their understanding of the lesson. This visual aid will be useful for exam revision, because it will cover everything they need to know, and it will probably stand out in their minds better than if they had just reread their textbooks and notes from class.
Be their students
Whether you remember everything you learned in school or not, your kids might retain information better if they have to explain the material to a fresh audience. Younger kids in particular get excited informing you about a new topic they’ve learned, so just let them explain it to you in the best way they can. Ask them to repeat it to you again and again, until the information is stuck in their brain. Older kids might also benefit from this technique; if they can accurately explain how to solve an equation, then they become more confident in their own skills.
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