Parents are teachers, providing support and encouragement for their child’s learning activities at home as well as for those at school. In fact, we as parents are not only our children’s first educators but also their life-long ones. When our children begin participating in learning activities outside of home and family life, we have a lot of valuable information to pass on to their educators.
In turn, once your child begins learning from new people, these teachers will have a fresh outlook on your child and their learning styles. This time of discovery between your child and their educators is essential for their future learning, and you don’t want to miss the knowledge they glean.
The importance of cooperative and productive partnerships between parents and other educators cannot be stressed enough. There are many benefits for all involved, with higher student achievement and parental engagement being invaluable examples.
Research has shown that family engagement improves student achievement, restores confidence in parents about their children’s education, and reduces absenteeism. Not only do students with engaged parents earn higher grades, but they also exhibit improved behavior and better social skills.
So, how can you become more involved with your child’s education? Here are some ways to increase your engagement as a parent and help your child develop a lifelong love of learning.
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Be a role model for learning
One of the most simple, yet far-reaching, ways you can involve yourself in your child’s education is to be a role model for learning. This is a practice that begins the first time you express curiosity about something in front of your child. As you add sounds and phrases to their vocabulary, you integrate and broaden your child’s understanding and appreciation of learning and curiosity, which will hopefully remain with them for the rest of their life.
Discover ways to appeal to your child’s learning styles. This includes creative ways to explore reading, counting, and nature together. When your child enters into a formal learning environment or private preschool for the first time, show them that school is an extension of the learning they started at home, giving their new experience more meaning. As they develop in their educational environment, your role becomes more akin to that of a learning coach, offering reminders and guidance to support their desire to learn new things.
Be a role model for teaching
Just as integral to learning as learning itself is teaching. So, when your child reaches the stage where they can, and wish to, relay a concept to someone else, give them the full go-ahead. Teaching someone else – even if it’s simply modeling skill to a younger child – helps your child get a good grasp on just how well they know what they’re teaching. This also allows your child to break down a skill that has become second nature into parts when explaining it to someone else, giving them insight into the lesson from a different angle.
Enroll your child in a private preschool with high parent engagement
Once you and your child are ready for them to do more learning outside the home, make sure that you choose a private preschool with high family engagement, such as CadenceAcademy. Getting to know other parents and their children at ice cream socials or luncheons right off the bat will make the transition to a formal learning environment easier for you and your child.
Pay attention to the things your child loves
Notice what interests your child and help them explore and build activities around these things. Once their curiosity is sparked, they will more naturally reveal to you the ways they like to learn. Sometimes it will be more difficult than others to read your child’s interest, especially if they are timid. The more you introduce new things, however, the more likely you are to have an “A-ha!” moment followed by creative ideas to help your child learn more.
Maja is a talented writer and content editor at TheFrisky, with a diverse range of interests spanning from the arts to gardening and interior design. A graduate of the Faculty of Arts, Maja brings a unique perspective and a passion for creativity to her work.