Ways to Teach Your Children Without Breaking the Bank
Posted By :Ben Williams
Posted At : Monday, Sep 20, 2010
Improving a child’s scholastic success is one of the top endeavors of every parent. Providing your child with the tools they need to succeed in school opens up so many opportunities for them later on in life. While we would all like to be able to give our kids everything when it comes to their education, unfortunately we are often prohibited by our pocketbooks. But just because you can’t buy your child the latest and greatest computer learning game doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice providing them with the knowledge and understanding they need to achieve. By focusing on some of the fundamentals of learning such as reading comprehension, memory and vocabulary, you can ensure that your child will have what he or she needs to do well in school. Here are some ways to improve your child’s scholastic success without having to spend heaps of money.
One of Heather’s “Key’s to Riches” is to become a voracious reader, and by surrounding your child with books you can encourage them to do this at an early age. By giving your child books and other opportunities to read, you are opening up new doors for them that will grow not only their imaginations but their vocabularies, too. Reading helps to develop children’s language skills; they will be better equipped in their ability to express themselves verbally and understand others. The more your child reads, the better he or she will become at reading, which can lead to success later on in school and in life. Encourage your child to make a list of words that they don’t recognize during their reading and then to look them up and write down the definition. Reading also helps children to better understand the world around them. By reading more in a variety of subjects, your child will become more educated on different ideas and topics that may arise in their everyday lives.
Another way to ensure that your child will have a healthy academic future is to encourage them to do more writing. Often children abhor writing exercises because it involves tedious copying of words, so make writing fun by encouraging them to write their own poems or short stories. Creative writing allows kids to think freely and to develop the vocabulary they need to express themselves, which, of course, will be much needed later on in life. You can also play games that incorporate writing such as hangman and crossword puzzles to help your kids learn new words and how to spell them.
By teaching your child different ways to memorize and retain information you can give them a huge jump in how to study and remember what they need for tests and assignments later on in school. Make your own flashcards to teach your children anything from the alphabet to states and capitals. Play memory games with them and encourage them not to guess but to try to remember where the pair is. Teach them mnemonic devices to learn to spell simple words. The better your child’s memory, the more prepared he or she will be for grade school and beyond.
You don’t need the newest learning toy or software program to ensure that your child has what he or she needs to succeed in school. It doesn’t take an exuberant amount of money to ensure that your child has the tools they need to do well in school. All it takes is a little creativity and some encouragement and your child can be well on their way to achieving their full potential. The best thing you can give your child is time and attention. Help your kids grow and learn; emphasize that you are going to do it together and that you are there for them. That is way more beneficial than any expensive computer game you can buy.
