What things do you do to support your child's education?

[BigFishontheTelly]

I wasn't well supported at home, growing up.

I am determined to help my child in any way I can. We read everyday, talk about current affairs, do a bit of maths and spellings. Dh is showing him how to play the piano.

I am quite interested in education (as a lay person. I don't have any expertise!). I just wondered how other people support their child's learning.

A lot of what others have said:
Read every night with them, have lots of books - both fiction & non-fiction
Be interested in their education, so help with spellings & learning lines etc
Facilitate their learning with books, resources, equipment, dictionaries, thesaurus etc
Expand their learning by taking them to places of interest - like museums that link up with their topic work
Expand their cultural knowledge by going to the theatre, art galleries, museums etc
Provide resources like Whizz Pop Bang, Nat Geo Kids etc; Science kits, magnifying glasses & encourage curiosity
Visit the library regularly & try to get them to move beyond their comfort zone in reading genres
Play games - there are lots of great board games & card games (not just monopoly etc) that build on lots of skills
Encourage sports that they are interested in & have an aptitude for - but be open to unusual sports (ie not just ball games)
Watch documentaries & programmes & read books together that relate to their school work or just for interest & that may discuss difficult topics
Discuss current affairs/life in age appropriate ways
Discuss history & how it was different/difficult for many people
Take age appropriate workbooks/colouring/word searches etc out when eating out
Encourage them to help with cooking, gardening etc so they understand about food/plants
But also allow them to have fun & be kids!

I honestly think the most beneficial thing we did for our children was to sit round the table most evenings and talk about the day, the world, their interests, their friends their schoolwork. My two are now 16 and 19 and they always say they know much more about the world, current affairs and popular culture than their friends. This is not because we are in any way a particularly erudite family but just because stuff comes up and if you have an opportunity each day to sit together, you talk about things.

We also always leapt on things they were interested in and incorporated days out to expand their experience and knowledge. We live close to London so the museums and art galleries are (relatively) cheaply accessible. My ds was not a club joiner but my dd was and if possible and it was affordable we would always encourage her involvement in things like sport, arts, guides etc. I feel lucky that we were able to do this and know it's not always possible.

My dc have very big passions (in the arts) which they are both studying at their uni and sixth form college.

Well tonight after getting home from work I have listened to one read, helped another with a google slides presentation, listened to one having a long rant about exams, booked tickets for a school play and more tickets for a school open evening, driven one round to four different shops to find an obscure ingredient for food tech, dropped one off for a school trip after tea and due to go pick them up at 10.15pm, and currently shrieking at one of their laptops trying to do a reset on it because they have filled it with useless videos of crap and can’t get it to run their homework programme. I’ll sign the planners and reading records before bed and naturally sort the uniforms and packed lunches, and top up the lunch payment cards.
The amount of support they require is some days off the scale. I’m in about 12 school WhatsApp groups and they ping all day long.

Books everywhere and a value of reading - together, on our own. Sharing books, discussion.
With maths - did mental maths and solved puzzles on different ways - still do this now and year 4 student is doing year 5/6 maths and year 11 student has already done maths a level, both play sudoku daily
with reading - library every Saturday lots and lots of reading including the week junior, national geographic, word searches etc

always did puzzles in the back of week junior

topic learning also went the extra mile eg Romans - had a weekend in bath

learnt Latin and extended vocabulary for fun - we had fun words for the week and they have to try to use them every day

lots of cgp books and rewards when they are done

no phone until 11
no tv Monday to Friday but they can record what they like

lots of board games that teach eg ticket to ride

dvds such as David Attenborough or Lucy W - they love.

they love audio CDs eg cabin pressure

the tv seems to be the more they have the more they want but no use Monday to Friday - maybe strictly or a Netflix or chill down day

We discuss hobbies in advance eg what I’m willing to do or pay or them and they they have to stick

plenty of arts and crafts, animals and gardening

I never asked how was you day at secondary either.

I asked what was the best bit of your day
what did you do In French period 1 what did you learn? Period 2 english what did you do

as it was expected it became routine much easier to have a 20 minutes about 6 lessons then a generic ‘day’

Thanks for replying everyone.

You are doing a great job already. As long as you are an engaged and encouraging parent, your child will really benefit. My DH had a similar upbringing and said that he wished he did have more support growing up. MIL didn't value education and wasn't really present or supportive for DH when it came to education or school. He’s even said that he wished his mum cared about his education so with our DC he’s really supportive. I had an opposite upbringing where my immigrant parents raised my brother and I in a supportive manner where education and developing a good work ethic were priorities.

Follow their interests but do not be the pushy parent. Be flexible with your child. Teach them about being well rounded with life skills. It’s not just about being having the best grades. It’s also about being kind and teaching them life skills and people skills that they can use in the future.

Help build their confidence.

Help with school projects and homework.

When it comes to subjects that are tough for them, sit with them to go over it or get a tutor.

Encourage education. Learn new words and build their vocabulary. Get a thesaurus. For every one word, they will learn a few more. A children’s encyclopaedia is good for them to learn facts too. We read the Week Junior and it’s a great publication for kids.

Show interest in their exams or major school events.

Make learning fun. Play games etc..

Praise them for the effort they put into their work. It might not be perfect all the time but it’s about their effort in studying and perseverance with subjects that are tough for them.

Talk to them about everything, while on the school run or during meals etc..

Find out what their interests are and sort out activities and classes to support their interests.

Trips to the library, museums, art galleries, National Trust sites, points of interest etc.. Make a bucket list for each season so you can have activities planned each weekend.

Have a good night time routine for bed time.

Provide a clean uniform and things for school as they need them.

Help them get organised. Put a timetable in their room or in the kitchen. Have an area where they can do school work.

Get involved in school and participate the best you can given your schedule. Meet parents of their friends. Join the PTA. Volunteer when you can. These connections can help you get some insight on what’s happening in school.

Talk to them about their future. Talk to them about the various career paths and what steps it takes to get there. It’s good to pursue passions but talk to them about the realities of cost of living and salaries. If they have interests in a certain field, see if you can get them to have a chat with someone that works in that field. Talk to them about the process of applying for work experiences, internships, jobs etc..

@snoodles
My son learnt piano with "Simply Piano" for around two years before he started lessons. This was from the ages 8 to 10, when he then started lessons.

It was great because you can play nice tunes to backing tracks pretty much from the first lesson the way it is set up so that motivates them to enjoy it and keep it up. It "listens" to you so you know if you get it right or wrong.

When he started lessons at 10 he was ready to learn his grade 1 pieces (Grade 1 is probably harder than you would expect - harder than I expected - I probably would have thought it was "row your boat" but no)

Piano and music has really proved to be his thing now (he's 13) so a couple of Simply Piano subscription years at £80 odd quid a year (or was then) ended up money well spent for us. I went for it as I thought the cost for a year was equivalent to only a small number of real life lessons.

I think there is usually a free trial or a pay monthly option if you aren't sure if they will stick with it.

One thing that has just occurred to me that we did with his music is that the keyboard/piano has always been in our living room. My son playing it, us reminding him to play it, listening to him, praising him etc is embedded in our family life pretty much every day.

Thank you

You are an amazing mum, so nice to read things like this. Taking copious notes

Aw, thank you @ScornedChicken.

School is a big priority and i show huge interest in everything my son tells me or shows me. His school rewards have pride of place in his room.

Hear him read every day and record in the school journal to show we are all working together. Always practice spellings etc.

Always back the school if he tells me he has been told off.

Emphasise the importance of being clean and smart to school - not turning up looking like it's any old lazy day at home.

Forgot to add that I agree with others- if he is interested in a topic, we might get a couple of books out from the library about it, visit somewhere or watch something on TV to broaden his knowledge.

• reading
• listen to loads of different types of music: Jazz to Pop, rap (censored for the most part) to classical.
• talk history and culture whenever we can and share random fun facts. If it's on FB we make a point of fact checking.
• watch documentaries together - child friendly of course.
• visiting castles and NT places is matched (by us adults) with the energy kids get with soft play. We really push for a love of history
• Big up every successful female we can and recognise people doing good today 👍
• talking up their mixed race culture and acknowledging others- DH (half Iranian) grew up on diverse estate, I have Jewish heritage and we link to these things through food and family and history
• Having conversations and answering things honestly if the subject is appropriate
• Recognise when things are hard to do and understand.
• validate their feelings

You're doing a great job OP!

Thank you.

Reading to them and making sure they have books that they want to read - let them pick from the library.
Finding 'fun' ways to do extra learning - we play lots of board games that encourage logic, strategy, maths, reading and other skills.
Make sure home work is done and help with it, sometimes find some extra stuff to do around it if there is an interest there (DD1 likes maths so we often find extra stuff to challenge her)
Ask the teacher what we can do at home to further her learning.
I'm also big on extra curricular stuff - I never did anything outside of school and had no hobbies so I try to encourage this and direct to where their strengths lie.

we read and generally just try to provide ways for them to engage in what interested then (eg books/films related to something they’re interested in). Talk about issues, current affairs but obviously only in a basic way. Try to have lots of things available for them to be creative with eg craft items etc.

I think one thing I need to do more is give them more unstructured free time, free time to experiment/read/play etc.

Encourage a love of reading from a young age (all three of mine love a book)

Help with homework and make it clear that we think it is valuable.

Show interest in exams with the teenager - making it clear that trying their best, learning from mistakes is as important as getting a good grade.

Trips to interesting places, encourage them to want to learn for the sake of knowing something rather than it just being for school.

Showing them that we are interested in learning new things.

Get them to school on time.
Good attendance.
Positive talk about their teachers , classes, systems .

This x 100.

As a teacher, you can spot children whose parents talk with them (not necessarily just TO them!) and they are curious with a thirst for knowledge.

Encourage one thing (at least) that they're good at, nurture it and enable them to develop that skill. Whether it's football, drawing whatever it is. By developing them in something they love and supporting them in that can instill confidence which they will then bring to other areas of their education. I read about this in a book raising boys. Having the confidence to try is really important, if boys (I'm sure it could apply to both sexes mind) feel like they will fail they can stop trying which impacts learning, so channelling something they're good at to build confidence has a knock on effect on other areas....that's the theory anyway!

Make sure kids arrive at school on time, well fed and well rested.

Go to parents evenings.

In primary school, check the school bag every night for notes, homework etc.
In secondary school, make sure they have time and a quiet calm place to do homework.

Limit screen time; encourage energetic physical activity in fresh air.

Thanks, all.

We use the Squeebles apps (spelling,telling the time, times tables etc) very good for quick spurts of learning before school.

basics: enough sleep, enough food, calm predictable home life are very important and come first.
right kit and a place to do the work
being around to supervise encourage and trouble shoot
then if time:
Find out what they’re going to be doing in school ahead of time
get hold of some extra resources - like books or the CBBC mini videos on it for example so you can read them at home around the time they’re doing it at school to reinforce the learning
take them to places which make what they’re learning about real - museums and archeological sites and workshops
the uk is amazing for these
encourage them and praise effort not outcome
let them develop interests and support those by buying or borrowing books about them/taking them to practice/playing it with them etc
let them teach you what they know about and you don’t
go to see their matches and plays and performances and open classrooms and let them know how much you love watching them do their thing
help them plan their homework and longer projects
make sure some of their time is for rest and unstructured play so that they don’t become overwrought
decide what is non negotiable in terms of needing to make an effort and what is for fun - so that if towards the end of the term they’re tired and need more sleep or generally they’re feeling too busy you have a clear sense of what you can let slide
and which extracurricular activities can go (for us for example swimming is non negotiable as it is a life skill but other extracurricular stuff can be ditched if it’s all too much)