Home Learning Experiences

What is the Purpose of Home Learning Experiences?

Home learning experiences are an important component of student growth and are structured as a learning tool as well as for practice. Home learning experiences viewed as practice promotes a growth mindset. In middle school, we believe home learning experiences should be engaging and relevant. Home learning experiences is given with the intention of supporting learning and enriching the classroom curriculum. We encourage students to ask questions both inside and outside of the classroom so home learning experiences can be completed independently.

In some cases where students do not use their time in class effectively, they will have to spend more time at home completing their work. The Toddle class stream is used by teachers as an online classroom and parents should explore the platform with their children. We provide support such as after-school study halls, teacher office hours, and upon request, a list of ICS teaching assistants who tutor. We believe in a home-school-life balance. We recognize effort as well as completion, and in doing so expect students to contact teachers if they have any questions or concerns about an assignment.

We support students in developing positive work habits. Parents can support their children by facilitating a routine time and place which helps students study at home. Here are some other tips:

• Help only when your child truly wants it.

• Help only as long as you are enjoying the process. As soon as anger and frustration enters the equation, you run the risk of having your child associate learning with these uncomfortable emotions.

• Avoid creating unhealthy dependency. Tell your child, “I’m going to let you work on your own most of the time so that you will know that you can learn even when I am not sitting next to you.”

• Help only as long as your child is working harder than you are.

• Remember that it is far better for a child to learn that they are responsible for completing their home learning experience than to believe that it’s their parent’s responsibility to force them to do their work. (from Love and Logic,  https://www.loveandlogic.com/pdfs/501homework.pdf)