Inculcating the habit of learning every day in children is essential for their cognitive and intellectual development. It not only comprises of learning and revising the concepts taught at school daily but also includes enhancing their existing knowledge by reading newspapers, other books, researching on the Internet, referring encyclopedias etc.
Further, learning the subject-related concepts daily enhances the academic performance of the children and makes them stress-free at the time of exams as they tend to remain in constant touch with the concepts taught in school. Therefore, children should be encouraged to develop a systematic schedule of learning.
Here are some useful tips that will help parents.
Tell your child about the importance of learning: Sit with your child and discuss the need to inculcate the habit of learning daily. Tell your child that apart from textbooks, it is important to read other books, newspaper etc as this will contribute to her psychological and cognitive development and also help her in achieving success.
Show your excitement for learning: Demonstrate a positive attitude and show your curiosity towards learning new things, as your child will look up to you and adopt your attitude. For instance, read newspaper daily in your ward’s presence and while doing so, explain the joy of reading newspaper and its importance — to gain knowledge about the world outside.
Provide a positive learning environment at home: Designate a separate place for your child where he can spend productive time by learning new things and revising the already learnt concepts. For this, earmark an area of your home, where you can create learning space. Ensure that the area is well-ventilated and sufficiently illuminated, with ample natural light.
Inspire your child to follow a learning routine: Encourage your child to create learning routine with enough time for study and play, which she can follow easily. Ask her to set a particular time for study, like one hour in the morning after breakfast for reading newspaper and other books; half-an hour after naptime for surfing the Internet; an hour for studying and completing the homework in the evening and 15 minutes for revising the concepts before going to bed. Also, encourage her to incorporate ‘free-periods’ in between the study time, during which she can indulge in fun educational games like scrabble, jigsaw puzzle, board etc.
Provide your child with a variety of reading material: Encourage your child to read different materials like road signs, game instructions, movie time schedules, restaurant menus, newspapers and every other practical information that she sees in her everyday life. Motivate your child to discuss with you about what he reads. This will not only reinforce the reading habit in her, but also make her enthusiastic to acquire knowledge and learn at every step of her life.
In the end, tell your child that learning new things and revising the already learnt things daily will help her to gain knowledge, which in turn will serve as the foundation for life. Also, tell the child that learning is a life-long habit which he must develop and nurture at home as well as in school.
By doing so, your child will grow up to become an enthusiastic and a self-reliant learner, which will ultimately add to her knowledge & wisdom and also help her emerge as a winner in life.
(The writer is Meenal Arora, executive director Shemrock Preschools & founder-director, Shemford Futuristic Schools)