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Today, Monday November 8th, is National Parents as Teachers Day, a day designated for the celebration of the work that all parents do in teaching their children on a daily basis. National Parents as Teachers Day also honors alliances and associations between parents and teachers working towards the same goal of nurturing children’s growth.
Today is a day to celebrate all those parents, like you, who go above and beyond to fill every one of their child’s days with important life lessons taught in a fun and engaging way! We know you’re one of these parents because you read the Wondrfly blog!
You don’t have to be a homeschool parent-teacher in order to be a teacher to your child. The ways in which you help your child learn and grow on a daily basis are myriad and varied.
However, if you’re reading this, you’re likely the curious type, who always wants to learn and improve. That’s why we’ve assembled a list of 10 tips to help your child learn more at-home. These tips will give you easy, every day ways to boost your kid’s cognitive, motor, sensory, emotional, and social skills. That way you can really relish your role as your child’s first and most important teacher.
1. Read To and With Your Kids
Reading together with kids gets them engaged in literature and developing literary skills like nothing else. Kids who are still learning to read develop literacy skills faster when the reading experience is interactive, so they need your help to personally engage them with the story using questions, silly voices, and repetitive refrains. Older kids will get a kick out of reading chapter books alongside you, discussing the book together, and even racing to see who can complete a book or series the fastest!
2. Get Together in The Kitchen
The kitchen is not only a place for family bonding, but also learning and cognitive development! Following recipes and instructions gives kids practice using various cognitive skills, while the sensory experiences of cooking engage many areas of the brain at once. Fine motor skill development happens when kids are old enough to use tools and help out with food preparation tasks. Getting kids involved in meal prep, planning, budgeting, and shopping will give them a leg up in organizational and practical life skills. Altogether, cooking makes for a terrifically educational experience for kids. It works out well for parents too, who get a little extra help in the kitchen!
3. Ask Them Questions
Start asking your child for their opinion on things early in life and teach them to ask questions of the world around them. Whether it’s everyday events, movies, books, or TV, take every stimulus as an opportunity to ask your child questions. When they’re very young, you might start just by asking them to recap movies, books, events, or TV shows or recall details. Then, as their cognitive development progresses, you can get into the how’s and why’s, and ask them to express more fleshed-out opinions and theories.
4. Answer Their Questions
This runs the other way as well. Your children will likely ask you thousands on thousands of questions from the day they can speak, and it may feel overwhelming at times to have to answer all of them. Stay calm. Remember that, although your child considers you an expert on everything, you don’t have to be. There’s nothing wrong with answering a question by saying, “I don’t know! Let’s look that up.” If anything, it’ll teach your child that the search for knowledge is lifelong and constant.
5. Practice Arts and Crafts
Like gathering in the kitchen, taking time to make DIY’s and arts and crafts as a family is not only fun, it’s fundamentally educational. Arts and crafts build fine motor skills, decision making, focus and concentration, and provide sensory stimulation for healthy brain development. All the benefits of the arts and crafts table can be yours if you try one of these 9 autumnal arts-and-crafts projects for kids!
6. Practice Mindfulness Together
Taking a few moments to practice a guided or timed meditation each day, even if it’s only five minutes or so, can bring substantial cognitive and emotional benefits to you and your child. Meditation and mindfulness have been shown to improve kids’ focus and concentration, which will help them to apply themselves to all other types of learning activities more fully.
7. Exercise With Your Kids
One of the key things your child must have to learn is a healthy mind, and having a healthy mind is just part of having a healthy body! Developing a regular fitness routine with your kids and practicing physical activities with them can help to build a healthy lifestyle, and in turn, a healthier brain. Studies have shown that kids who get regular physical activity perform better in school and have increased focus and concentration.
8. Make Screen Time Valuable
Make sure your child is making the most of their time spent on screens. We all want our kids to be learning and growing all the time, but sometimes we just need to keep them occupied. Check out these online learning activity programs for kids for an easier way to ensure your child’s screen time is productive and well spent.
9. Hire a Tutor
One of the best ways to act as a teacher to your child is to know when you’re out of your depth and need trusted help. If your child is struggling in a particular subject or area of learning, it’s your job, along with their teachers, to notice and assess their need for supplemental help. Don’t feel like you’re “taking the easy way out” by hiring a tutor. Knowing when your child needs the expert help of another is just another way of making sure they’re equipped to learn all they can.
10. Set Your Best Example
Whatever qualities you want to see in your own child, you should do your best to embody yourself. After all, you are your child’s first and most important teacher. They have been looking to you for support and validation on how to do pretty much everything since they were born and will continue to do so. So, if you want your child to be dedicated, determined, and always ready to learn, do your best to lead by example!
For more tips on how to pack a little learning into every day, keep up with Professor Dad on the Wondrfly blog!
Looking for tutors and learning activities in the Jersey City or Hoboken areas? Search Wondrfly’s directory of the best activity providers near you!
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