Teach Your Kid At Home

     If your young child is in school, they're likely experiencing the "summer slide" when school is out. This is when your child appears to forget academic skills they learned over the summer break. They "slide" backwards, and by the beginning of the next school year, they can't remember some of the skills they had previously mastered!  Don't panic if you've seen this in your child. It happens to many (if not, most) students over the summer. It is considered normal. Although, parents and teachers will agree that it is not ideal. So, why does it happen? You can probably prevent, or at least improve, the summer slide if you know what causes it. Here are some things to watch out for and how to help:

It's important to keep learning at home interesting. Learning feels easy when you're having fun! Does this mean you need to bribe your kids with candy or their favorite screen time so they'll do the work? Do you need to spend hours preparing learning activities that feature their favorite movie characters? Should you try to make each and every experience silly and game-like? Probably not. Keeping your child interested when learning at home might be easier than you think. Kids will find fun in their learning all on their own when they have these needs met:

  As an elementary school teacher, I frequently get remarks about how patient I am with children. Parents and other adults say things like, "I don't know how you do it! I'm just not that patient," or, "I'm not a very patient person." If you agree with these statements, I hope this will change your mind. Patience is not a talent. It's a skill . Your ability to be patient in any situation, including with your young child's learning, is not something you are born with or without. It is a skill. Just like any other skill you have (driving, cooking, reading, etc.), you had to learn it. If you feel like you "just don't have the patience" to help your young child learn, know that you have the ability to change that. After all, doesn't your child deserve to be treated with patience while they learn?

Rescuing vs. Risk-Taking     It is hard to watch someone struggle with a task that seems easy to us. It is hard to be patient while your young child takes a long time to complete a task which we would finish in less than a minute. It is hard to stay silent when your child provides an incorrect answer to a problem that they should understand. Wouldn't it be easier, faster, and better to just do it for them? While it would be faster and probably easier on the adult, doing these things for your young child stops them from learning.  The person who  does   the work is the  only   one who learns. - Harry Wong

Sometimes, kids just don't want to do the work! Try not to take it personally. It's more about what's happening within your child and less about deliberate disrespect. Here are some reasons your child might be avoiding or resisting learning at home. It's too hard:    Kids who are avoiding a learning task often feel intimidated by it. They don't understand the concept, directions, or strategies to complete the task. They might lack the skills needed to succeed. Sometimes, the skills are brand new to them and they lack the confidence to try them out. What they need:   Respond with real empathy. Let them focus on only one thing at a time (a concept, skill, or strategy). Reteach it in a different way using visuals, simplified language, and examples. Model it, do it together, then have them try it independently. If they are completely overwhelmed, frustrated, or in tears, they are not ready for this task. Give them some time to recover. Later, move backwards to the conc...