Tutoring your child at home provides a personal approach to learning. This teaching method can also lay a great foundation for your child’s writing, speaking, and reading skills, given that you, as a parent, is giving a great value of learning for your child. In fact, tutoring can also be a way to bond with your kid as well! If you want to learn more tutoring tips to make your sessions at home more fun and fruitful, make sure to read further!
Preparing yourself before a tutoring session
Teaching is not a walk in the park, and children learn the best differently. Some perform better with a class, while others do best with a more hands-on approach. However, what stays true is that inculcating lessons to your child requires practice, structure, and repetition so they can retain information more effectively.
If you are thinking of tutoring your child, even if you are much aware of your jam-packed schedule, you need to prepare time, patience, and resources. You should schedule your tutoring sessions without affecting your household chores, work, and other errands. Make sure you can commit to tutoring, and possess the knowledge and discipline to do it. Refresh your knowledge about the subject—after all, most parents have not attended a classroom session for over a decade, so a refresher would be helpful. Prepare your child’s resources, and don’t hesitate to communicate with your child’s teacher for additional resources.
Sticking to a routine
Children learn better when there is order and structure. Therefore, transitioning from learning at school to home can be a challenge for your children to stay focused. To shake things off, create a schedule at home. It doesn’t have to be same everyday, since our work and home demands vary daily, but the important rule is stick to what was planned. That way, you and your kid would learn how to respect each other’s times.
Designing a study plan
You cannot just venture into a tutoring session on a whim, especially if your child is following a syllabus for a certain subject. Communicate with the teacher and plan your lesson plan around it.
Preparing the reward system
It’s important to choose the reward system that keeps your kid motivated and excited during tutoring sessions. A few exciting yet effective rewards include an increase in allowance or a week free of chores. Positive reinforcement also works. Instead of decreasing your child’s TV, internet, or iPad hours, let your child earn time through good performance.
Focusing on the concepts
When teaching your child about complex subjects, especially mathematical and scientific principles, try as much to simplify these concepts so your kid can have an easier grasp of it. Various visual or verbal tools can help your child. Provide opportunities wherein your kid gets to go out and be active that can facilitate his intellectual progress.
Sharing the burden
Working 8 hours a day can be hard to make time for tutoring sessions. Not to add the household chores to be done everyday! Nevertheless, you can ask your partner or older children to lend a hand and share the responsibility. Maybe assign a subject per family member! This way, you can transform tutoring sessions into a fun, collaborative, and healthy way to foster your family’s closeness.
Taking in consideration your child’s interests
To engage your child during tutoring sessions, try incorporating his/her interests during the session. Incorporating fun activities and methods help retain interest and concentration. For instance, if your kid fancies cars, you can use car toys to teach addition, subtraction.
Staying positive
Never ever discourage your child when teaching him/her. Be a motivator—shower your child with positive affirmations. Take tutoring sessions easy by enjoying every second of it. Consider showing a movie that is linked to the subject your child is trying to learn.
Staying composed and patient
Sometimes, your patience gets tested depending on how your child absorbs or reacts toward your tutoring sessions. The pressure is much higher especially when your child is younger, since younger children tend to have limited attention span.
Should you feel that your patience is running thin, take a break and stay away from your child’s view while you regain your composure.