Helping your child learn

So, your child has a place at the school of their choice, but now the hard part starts. How do you as a parent help them fulfil their potential? Most teachers if asked, would say that the parents’ role is the most important one in a child’s learning, and figures show how the difference between well off and poorer children is accelerated during holiday times, rather than at school.
If you’re reading this then you are probably already an interested parent. Yet it can be hard to know what to do to encourage your child during their primary school education, and how to find the time to fit it in. All schools try to encourage their pupils to read at home, and you can do this not just by a book at bedtime, but by reading all sorts of things to and with your child. Newspapers, recipes, comics or even signposts are all good things to read.

Parents tend to stop reading to their children once they reach secondary school, but my experience has been that reading a book together can be a really useful way not just to encourage reading, but to create rare family moments. Useful books at this stage might include fun adventure books like Treasure Island, a book you remember from your childhood, like Little House on the Prairie, or for older children a classic like Great Expectations.
Talking to your child can help reinforce learning at school, particularly if you know what topics they are covering that term. If for example they are learning about Victorians, you can talk about all the things around you that are Victorian, perhaps how you might have lived then, or what wasn’t invented then. It doesn’t have to take up much time, and could be just a quick chat whilst you’re doing other things. Children often ask fascinating questions, so be interested in them, and try and follow them up. Last week my son asked me how many wheels a bus had. Of course I didn’t know, but it opened a whole interest in transport, and every time we go out we look at the wheels on vehicles and discuss them, which is probably more interesting than it sounds.
Taking your children to theatre, museums, concerts and galleries is an important education in itself, and experiencing these visits one-to-one with a parent can be more enjoyable for a child than a visit with school. They can often be expensive, but free events can be found if you look hard, especially if you live in a big city. At the South Bank Centre in London for example, there are free foyer concerts every weekend, and major museums and galleries are often free to enter.