Academics At Home"Why is learning academics at home so important; isn't that what school is for?" Sure, but isn't it a lot more fun to learn the basics in the comfort of your own home so that you are able to function in the outside world? Wouldn't that apply to your children? How many of us remember our first day of grade school? It can be challenging for a young child to deal with lots of strange and new faces, new rules for behavior in a classroom, new sights and smells? On one hand, how exciting! On the other, how this can be intimidating or overwhelming. Besides THAT adjustment, wouldn't it be more fair of us as their parents to equip them with the basics by teaching them basic academics at home BEFORE they are dropped off in a strange land of sensory overload? Okay, so, I'm carrying this to the ridiculous a bit, but, hopefully, you get my point. Academics at home begin when our daughter(s) are little babies. They include the fundamentals: reading, writing and math - all necessary tools for our daughter(s) survival. Good moms believe the importance of academics and model their enthusiasm for learning while teaching their daughters these basic areas of study at home well before they enter pre-school. The key to creating great learners is to make learning fun and to learn along side your daughters. After all, we don't remember everything we were taught in school, do we? Isn't it fun to rediscover stories we heard as children at home and in school; or to write creatively - simple correspondence, making signs, keeping a personal journal; and, what about the fun of flash cards, learning how to count, multiplication tables, sets, relative relationships, distance, time... life is a daily lesson. Keeping learning fun, keeps life fun. And, starting academics at home early on and reading with your daughter, showing and teaching her how to write, counting with her, etc. can be fun for both of you. There are all kinds of games that promote these skills as they grow. There are also things you can do at home to help her identify and read and count items at home. For example: I’m a place-for-everything-and-everything-in-its-place gal. I don’t deal well in clutter or chaos. When either is present, I clean up first. One way I integrated academics at home was through a reading and math exercise that I used to do with my daughter from the time she could move herself about our, then, apartment, was to purchase some inexpensive clear plastic shoe boxes. I labeled them each with both picture sand words displaying what should be stored in each. Then, I'd make a game out of putting her toys away playing alongside her Sometimes we'd sing or create rhymes or whatever other fun we could inject into cleaning up. Setting high academic expectations is not only necessary for our daughers to compete in the business world, but also essential for them to grow themselves. While some children may be more adept at sports or hands-on activities, they can still be challenged in a positive way academically without making them feel less intelligent. Some of the most brilliant creative minds were not necessarily exceptional scholars. Still, when you see academic potential in your child as they are developing, by giving them educational learning games and working with them at home, you will build their desire to learn and challenge themselves mentally. Keep your eyes out for game recommendations coming soon! Something else I learned early on was that giving my daughter things to do around the house helped her not only learn how to keep a clean house, but where items belonged, how much nicer it was to live in a clean, uncluttered hours, she was able to take pride in her home because she’d contributed to its appearance, she learned responsibility and accountability, she had fun as she realized she could positively change her immediate surroundings Academics continue at home through grade, junior and senior high too! As our daughters get older and they start bringing home homework, it is important to set rules and guidelines to help them complete their work in a timely fashion and to insure that they fully understand what they are doing. As parents, it is our job to be their time management guides and to provide them with a clean and clear learning environment at home. This could be a well-lit designated area of their bedroom; a home office, study or library; the kitchen or dining room table; a table on an enclosed or screened porch; a finished basement. It really doesn't matter, as long as the designated area is free of clutter and conducive to quiet study and reference. Make sure they have plenty of paper, pencils, pens, crayons, markers, scissors, tape, rulers, protractors, at least one good dictionary and thesaurus, daily newspapers, even current event magazines (not junk or fluff) encyclopedias or other reference books may be helpful based on their current studies. Not everything they do should be on the Internet - it's not great for their eyes to be staring at computer screens for hours on end and there is something to be said for good old fashioned study with books. Academics at home includes teaching our daughters how to manage their study time helps them learn how to manage their time so that they are able to accomplish and retain their lessons and still have time to relax or play or both. Balance Activity. Academics at home are clearly important but balance is equally important. That's where interjecting fun becomes integral in developing our daughter(s) desire to learn. Our children are born curious and prepared to learn. We hold the key as their moms to keep that curiosity and intellectual absorption high. Below are several links to great on-line resources for fun academic learning for all ages - even us moms! :)
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