Blog

UNLOCKING YOUR CHILD'S POTENTIAL

July 04, 2017

Every parent knows that their child is capable of amazing things – but how do we unlock their potential? VAKS has four easy things that YOU can do every day to maximise your child’s education.

READ FOR 15 MINUTES EVERY DAY

Reading with your child – or encouraging them to read independently – for at least 15 minutes every day can improve vocabulary, speed up their information processing and encourage mental focus. Discussion about what they’re reading can also prove to be a good way of bonding with your children, whilst also improving those all-important comprehension skills that teachers love to see!

ASK SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

When asked, “Do you like school?” most children give a “Yes/No” answer, leaving parents firmly in the dark. By posing focused questions such as; “What is your favourite game at lunchtime?” or “What do you like to do in maths?” you can discover your child’s strengths and where they need support. As parents; our curiosity about what our child has been doing all day can be interpreted by the child as interrogation rather than a chat. Questions such as, “Who was naughty today?” or “What was your favourite lesson?” removes the emphasis on performance and enables you to learn more about your child and their school life.

PRAISE THEIR ABILITIES

Focus on what your child enjoys or excels at. Are they good at art? Do they love history? Praise them and relate these strengths back to how this can help them with other things that they find difficult, teaching your child how to stick with things when the going gets tough. Support them in discovering the skills that they do have, and how they can use these to overcome difficulties. This removes the emphasis on what they find difficult and instead focuses on what they have achieved, increasing confidence and promoting a can-do attitude in your child going forward.

TURN LEARNING INTO A GAME

Improve core skills by making up games to play during the day. Simple games like I-Spy can help with spelling and vocabulary whilst times table games can help mental arithmetic. Try and find opportunities to help your children test their skills, such as asking them to help you add up the cost of simple items when shopping, or planning the correct measurements whilst cooking in the kitchen with you. Children need to see where maths, English and science fits into their home in order to make the connections between practical and theoretical education.

For more expert advice or our tuition services, visit www.vaks.co.uk