How can I help my child with their learning?

It's a common question and one that many parents have asked me over the last few weeks.

The short answer is 'talk to them'.

It may sound like a glib response, but it isn't designed that way. So much of our children's understanding of the world comes directly from the important adults in their lives talking to them about what they experience. Your grasp of how bus timetables work or why certain buildings look different to others may seem trivial to you, but could unlock an important piece of understanding for them. Ask questions. Encourage discussion. Visit museums, parks and historical sites. Follow their interests and help them to find out more about them. Play games and talk through how you keep score. Help them to build a strategy of listening and deduction in Cluedo. Get them to play as the banker in Monopoly.

What most parents mean by the question 'How can I help my child with their learning?' is 'What resources can I use to help my child to understand and excel in their learning?' This is clearly an important question too.

Below, I have posted some of the resources that I use in the classroom. Children should be familiar with these and comfortable in using them to solve problems. Please feel free to print them out to use at home.

I have also included links to two websites that are designed to increase the retrieval time for multiplication facts, as well as embed the knowledge of those facts by putting the children under some pressure.

In addition to our usual homework, here are a few more websites that you may find useful:

BBC Bitesize

The School Run

Every School

As always, please make sure that your children are supervised when online. The websites linked do make money by running advertisement banners. This is another learning opportunity; teach your children how to recognise what is a useful part of the website and which parts should be avoided due to being advert links.

Explore the websites. Direct your children to the games or activities that are designed to develop the skills that you would like them to build. Remember, these aren't mandatory tasks, but supplementary. They should be used to support, not as a rigorous chore.

Finally, as always, if you have any questions then please feel free to come and speak to me at the end of the school day.