New year, new school, new opportunities for growth! Read our article as we share some tried and true tips for parents and children in the lead up to the first day of primary school.
A Whole New World Awaits
New classmates, new teachers, new school environment — your child’s tiny world is about to get a lot bigger. With these changes come opportunities for personal, social and cognitive growth.
The Countdown And Preparation Begins
In these weeks as you count down to your child’s first day of school, you may be wondering, “What will school be like for my child? Will my child be able to cope in the new environment?”
Parents can help by being proactive — research from professionals at Duke University suggests that establishing a strong communication channel with your child’s teachers helps and so does monitoring changes in your child's behaviour or mood when he or she first starts school.
Whether at home or in school, we’ve got some great tips for every stage of preparation that will help you (and your child) pave a smooth journey towards the new school term in January.
1. Create A Routine That Works
Studies have shown that routines help children feel safe and secure. Set up a routine that works for your child — whether it’s a shower before dinner or an afternoon snack before naptime, it’s important that your child gets into a routine that he or she is comfortable with.
2. Identify Friendly Figures In School
Helping your child identify teachers or staff he or she can go to for assistance is important. When your child recognises trustworthy figures of authority, he or she will feel more secure in the new environment.
Related Article: Gear Up For Primary 1
3. Prepare An 'Emergency' Fund
You may want to consider setting aside an “emergency fund” for your child. Placing extra money in a separate wallet or purse to be kept in his or her school bag means that your child will still have access to money if he or she misplaces pocket money. However, you should set some strict rules about when this money can be used.
4. Test Out That Transport Route
It may be a good idea to have a few dry runs of your child’s journey to and from school to help your child familiarise himself or herself with the route. Help your child identify key landmarks and remember the specific place where he or she will be dropped off or picked up from everyday.
Related Article: Raising A Responsible Child
5. Set Mini Goals To Achieve Together
Help to make the experience seem less daunting by setting mini goals for the first day of school. Start with small tasks like “Leave the house on time” or “Remember to bring my water bottle home” or “Meet one new friend in class today”. These mini goals give your child something to look forward to on his or her first day of school!
Download Our Special Guide To Surviving And Thriving In Primary 1
The Learning Lab would like to extend our help as you and your child are preparing for Primary 1 and the new adventures that lie ahead. Download our fun and informative guide filled with 25 great tips to help your child survive and thrive in Primary 1!
Why is the desire to learn important for your child?
Learning is a superpower. As children, we learn good habits, build our characters, and hone interaction skills. About one-third of our attributes are derived from our DNA, while the other two-thirds are acquired through learning. This means that we have great influence over who we become and can take charge of who we want to learn to be.
Nurture your child’s love of learning by trying some of these tips.
In Case You Missed It: How to Raise Kids Who Love to Learn: Part One
Give Your Child Autonomy
Much like adults, children do not appreciate being constantly told what to do. Their resistance and stubborn refusal towards unwanted tasks is a clear testament to this.
Give your child space to figure things out on his or her own. You may be surprised at how well he or she grasps things without adult intervention.
To support your child’s individuality and independence, you can involve him or her in making decisions.
Asking simple questions can make your child’s input and ideas feel wanted and valued. You can try asking your child, “What can we do over the weekend?” or “Which colour would you like to paint your room?” or “Who would you like to invite to lunch on Sunday?”
By giving your child plenty of trust, involvement and some freedom, he or she is likely to be more receptive to your requests and be more eager to learn independently.
Breakdown Big Tasks into Small Parts
Completing a project and learning new things can seem intimidating and sometimes even impossible for children. “How am I going to do this, let alone finish it?” your child might ask.
Boost your child’s intrinsic motivation by reminding him or her that, sometimes, completing a task or learning a new skill won’t happen overnight. But the good news is that he or she can take it one step at a time.
For example, let’s say your child needs to create an enlarged model of a single human cell to be assessed as a final project for the school term. Your child has two weeks to prepare. You can work on a plan together with your child — brainstorm ideas first; pen them down, then source the necessary materials. You can then create some prototypes and slowly work on the final product with your child.
By taking it one small step at a time, you can demonstrate to your child that visions are easier to achieve than we imagine or expect. Taking the first step is often the hardest part of the process.
Teach Your Child Not to Fear Failure
Failures are integral part of learning. A child who is not afraid to fail or make mistakes is a child who will keep trying until something finally clicks or falls into place.
If your child tends to give up before even starting an activity or get upset when he or she doesn’t get the task right on the first try, your child may have a fear of failure.
When this happens, it may be best to start the task with your child to reduce initial performance pressure. You can then slowly let your child continue the task on his or her own, all the while cheering on the progress and effort invested in learning the task.
Additionally, you can put a positive spin to your child’s failures by emphasising what is learnt from the mistake or failure.
For instance, if your child failed at his or her first attempt in baking, you could continue encouraging him or her by saying, “Well, at least we learned that 200 degrees is too hot for a cupcake.” or, “For next time, what do you think we can do differently?”
Turn the failure as a motivation to improve, not a reason to give up.
Related : Learning From Mistakes: How To Motivate Your Child To See The Good Side Of Making Mistakes
Having these essential learning dispositions help your child become a stronger and more balanced independent learner.
Learn how you can equip your your child with the right learning attitudes to take control of his or her learning journey by downloading our guide here.
Nurture Curiousity and Excitement in New Endeavours
To get children to try and learn new tasks and skills, we need to create anticipation and a sense of wonder. Nurture your child’s love of learning by supporting his or her curiousity.
Curiosity helps children to be more observant and to figure things out. When children explore their curiousity, they expand their vocabulary as they use language to describe what they’re thinking, seeing, hearing or experiencing.
For example, you may notice that your child shows a genuine interest in football as he or she watches the games on television. You can nurture that curiousity by taking him or her to watch a live football game. If you find that your child is definitely interested in trying out the sport, you can ask if he or she might want to sign up to a local football game played by children of the same age.
This way, you expose your child to the practical side of learning, which enhances mental memory as well as muscle memory.
Celebrate Your Child’s Achievements
Children need encouragement and support from adults as they learn new information and develop new skills.
Celebrating your child’s learning milestones and successes boosts your child’s self-esteem by highlighting the efforts and passion he or she put into a project.
The celebratory experience (such as organising days out or cooking up a feast) not only offers children new memories, it also sparks a new-found drive to keep his or her learning discipline up to his or her own standard.
And while it’s important to compliment your son or daughter for his or her effort and the results earned in specific tasks, it’s equally significant to ensure that your child does not become reliant on external validation.
What you say and how you say it, can help your child develop the ability to take pride in whatever he or she is doing.
How do you find the middle ground?
Let’s look at one scenario: Your child knows that he or she did well in a project. Rather than saying, “I knew you could do it!” or “You are so brilliant!”, give your child a positive recollection of how he or she arrived at the result.
You can try saying something like, “I’m interested to know how you did it. Can you share it with me?” or “I observed that you had some challenges along the way. How do you feel about overcoming them?”
By being specific with your compliments and guiding your child in processing his or her learning journeys — whether the results are a success or a failure — you are well on the way to raising a child who loves to learn.
Stay Ahead in Term 3
The resumption of school offers a wonderful opportunity for your child to pick up the pace in their learning progress and allay any concerns they have in areas of uncertainty. Click here to find out how our Term 3 curriculum can equip your child with the confidence and knowledge to conquer the rest of the academic year.
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If you have any questions about our programmes, please email us at enquiry@thelearninglab.com.sg or call us at 6733 8711 and we will be happy to assist you.