Whether your child is building new foundations, moving to more complex areas or studying for their exams it's important to make time outside of school to dedicate to their learning. Whether it is 10 minutes a day or 30 minutes a week, the extra practice can really make the difference. Take the time to work on their reading, spelling or maybe the new maths topic they are learning. Practice makes perfect and by scheduling the time you can help ensure they do not burnout from long homework sessions!

Learning doesn't always have to be done from textbooks or worksheets! Why not relate maths problems such as fractions to their favourite foods - if you are having pizza practice cutting this up into certain fractions. Alternatively you can use props to help, maybe have dice and roll them to work on mental maths skills or even averages! When it comes to descriptive writing, if they love their technology, you can ask them to imagine you are wearing a VR headset and in order for you to imagine what they are writing about they must paint the entire picture for you. Even by using their name or their friend's names in the questions can make it exciting for them!

We all work better when we know that we are working towards something we want and this is no different when it comes to children and their learning! To help persuade your child to do those extra maths drills or write that creative story, why not set some goals with them - maybe this could be a family fun day or a Friday games night or a new toy. Involving them in this process will work wonders as they will feel like they have chosen their 'prize'. Remember that incentives don't necessarily have to be material, maybe they just get extra tablet time!

Encouragement and positive reinforcement is really important, particularly when it comes to difficult topics for your child. If a child is struggling in a topic at school they may feel that they are behind their friends and this can knock their confidence which can have an impact on their willingness to try further. So be sure to celebrate the small successes, start with easier questions and then build to the complicated ones. Building their confidence can mean they are more susceptible to taking on board what you are trying to teach them.

Everyone has their own style of learning - this may be visual, aural, verbal, physical, logical, social or solitary. If your child likes pictures, colour and brainstorms it's likely they are a visual learner. If they like sounds/music it's likely they are  an aural learner, talking it through using words would be a verbal learner, learning through touch would mean they are a physical learner. Knowing what style(s) they prefer the most will help when getting them to retain information because not only can their notes be in their style but it will also be fun to them.

When going through work with your child it can be easy to do the questions for them, particularly if you are rushed for time, however this doesn't allow your child to learn and make mistakes for themselves. Regardless of whether it is reading, maths drills or project work, encourage them to always try to do it themselves first. You can of course give them suggestions but give them the space to make mistakes. Where your child is really struggling you can show them how to do a question but break it down into steps, ask them regular questions and then ask them to answer another similar question in the same way to ensure they have understood the concept.

The environment in which work is done can have a big impact on how much the child retains. If they are surrounded by a lot of noise or distractions they aren't necessarily going to take as much in or perform at their best compared to if these distractions were not there. Try to pick a neutral place for them to do their homework, maybe the kitchen table shortly after they come home from school so that it is quiet, early and tidy. This allows them to not feel isolated (unless they like to be) and for areas such as the living room and their bedroom to remain as relaxation areas for them. 

Children will often mimic those around them, so why not make the most of this and sit down to do your shopping budget or some work of your own or maybe read a book whilst they are doing their homework. These tasks don't need to be made up, they can be part of your daily routine - maybe it's just cutting food into fractions. But if your child sees you using Maths for example in your daily life or they see you reading they are more likely to want to do the same and won't question you as much when you ask them to do their work.

It can be useful to keep a notebook, scrapbook or file that can be added to as your child completes various subjects. If they are a visual learner (see tip 5), your child can make a brainstorm or poster about the topic and store it in the book. This will save a lot of time when it comes to revising those topics as they will have all of their notes and previous worksheets in one place to refer to. It would also be a good idea to make a copy of the 'perfect' method as and when they learn it so that they always have that to hand should they get stuck.

If your child is struggling, don't be afraid to reach out to their teacher to see if there are any extra materials they can give you to try at home or maybe they could provide some extra support at school. If this is not available and you are able to, take a look for a local tutor that could help your child. This can particularly help if you feel your child could use a third party to help out (i.e. not a family member or a school teacher). If you would like to enquire about tuition sessions with us, please get in touch.