What did you learn today?
Many children will answer this question with the
frustrating response - "Nothing!"
In order to get a better idea of how your child is doing at school and
how they find school life in general, try asking questions that encourage your
child to discuss their learning with you.
Ask your child to tell you about their favourite part of the day or
what they found easy or hard during the school day. Follow their answers through with these
questions; "Why do you think that? Can you tell me more? What else would you like to know about …?" All of these questions can lead to you and
your child making predictions, recognizing similarities and differences, as
well as making links to real life events and people. In turn, this may lead to you and your child
visiting the local library, researching a subject together on the internet or
sharing their learning with a family member possibly using a webcam app.
Another approach to use when encouraging your
child to discuss the day's learning is to ask them to complete activities. For
example:
Tell me three facts that you learnt today.
Give me 5 keywords from your lessons.
Draw a picture or build a 3D model about your
learning.
Ask your child to quiz you on a topic they are
learning about.
Play 'Just a Minute' where your child tells you
everything they can remember about a lesson in a minute. You can join in by telling them everything
you know about the subject.
Sometimes your child may tell you about things
that happened at play time. Although this is not strictly about their academic learning
it can still be significant to your child.
Playing, forming friendships, sharing, collaborating and socialising
with their peers are important parts of learning and developing life skills for
every child.
It's ok not to know
but
it is not ok not to try!
Perhaps the most important things about sharing
learning with your child is to let them know that it is normal to find things
difficult and to make mistakes; this is part of the process of learning.
