Watching your young children just picking up a book to learn without being told can be such a heart-warming experience. Although the individual personality of a child will indeed play a significant role in their inclination to learn and general outlook on education and schooling, stimulating learning at a young age can serve as a catalyst. Here are some approaches you can adopt to foster learning in your child.
Make reading interesting
Reading is the basis of learning. And while teaching your child to read is the first step, making it attractive is the next step. Once you make reading enjoyable, they will always look forward to reading, and through that, they will learn something new. Reading does not only help children expand their vocabulary, but it also aids the brain to learn the basics of processing concepts. The knowledge that is acquired via reading goes beyond just the books they read. Make reading fun and interesting so that it doesn’t feel like a chore or frustrating. The latter will diminish their interest and then limit their ability. Allow the child to select the kind of books that they like, just to increase their appeal. Then you can draw up a plan to include their school books to balance it out.
Communication is key
Having open and honest communication with your child is a great way to have them express their opinion. This creates an environment where concerns, likes, and dislikes can be aired and discussed. Sharing such thoughts can shed light on certain things that will be valuable and will improve the approach or learning environment.
Do not monopolize learning
Doing something over and over again can make it stale and uninteresting. Fortunately, there are several kinds of learning styles that you can adopt and even blend to make learning fun. All children have preferred learning techniques, and that may be termed as their dominant learning style. Using a blend of learning styles will quickly help point out their dominant learning style, and you can then focus on that dominant style to improve and quicken their learning. ABA therapy is a proven way to enhance learning and cognitive functions in children using the seven basic learning styles. These are Visual, Auditory, Verbal, Physical, Logical, Social, and Solitary.
Focus on learning, not performance
One of the significant reasons children lose interest in learning is the pressure from parents to see them excel. Wanting your child to do well is not wrong, but sometimes parents skip the process. You should focus more on the learning process than the performance. If the learning process is stable, it will yield the kind of performance you crave. So, let your child know that you are more interested in ensuring that they properly assimilate the learning process and do not burden them with having to show immediate results.
Keep your child organized
Helping your child to be organized is a great way to stimulate learning. Schoolwork coupled with personal interests and learning programs can get a bit overwhelming. But organizing all these into a timetable or calendar makes it less cluttered and provides a blueprint for active learning that will not lead to burnout or brain fatigue. Patience and consistency are the virtues to be extolled regarding organizing your child’s books, assignments, and papers. This will motivate the child to learn and feel in control.
Recognize and celebrate achievements or milestones
The recognition and celebration of the smallest achievements or milestones can improve your child’s confidence. For children in the early stages of education, this is particularly important as it will motivate them to continue to achieve more. Children at that stage require a lot of positive reinforcement to encourage them to do better. However, this does not mean that you should allow mediocrity.
Concentrate on strengths
Concentrating on a child’s strengths builds confidence and ensures that such positivity can be transferred to other areas that may not be as strong. This also has proven to be crucial to the emotional and academic progress and development of the child. Focusing on a weakness will do the direct opposite and will not encourage the child to learn.
Be enthusiastic
Being enthusiastic about your child and their progress can rub off them. Your passion for learning with them or providing them with the necessary tools they need for their learning can prove to be a turning point. As much as possible, try to share new information with them that will trigger their curiosity. Whatever they learn will be shared with you, which creates an incredible opportunity to bond.