Teachers and parents often face the challenge of making learning fun for students and their children. If traditional methods don't appeal to your child, now is the time to try something new. Get children's attention with individual, creative and technology-based learning methods.
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Method 1 of 3: Making Learning Activities Personal
Step 1. Engage the child's specific interests
If you are interested in your child's interests, it will be easier for you to get him to pay attention to the lesson and be interested in the concepts.
- As a teacher, ask students about their hobbies and interests. If possible, find ways to include those interests in the lesson plan. Also, allow the student to suggest topics and/or bring material, such as books, games, or apps, that he or she likes and would like to share with classmates.
- As a parent, look for ways to fuse your child's interests with educational content. If your child likes trucks, look for educational books and games about trucks. If your child likes music, use music paper to learn fractions.
Step 2. Arrange students' study time according to their needs
The assumption that all children learn in the same way and at the same rate is irresponsible thinking. As a parent and teacher, you must evaluate each child's specific needs. Determine if he has difficulty sitting still. Evaluate the best way to learn for your child, is he an audio type, a visual type, or a physical type? Use this knowledge to develop lesson plans and home studies.
- If your child has difficulty sitting still, give him frequent breaks to move around.
- If the child is a visual type, include lots of pictures in the lesson.
Step 3. Provide opportunities for students to teach each other with their friends
When children are given the responsibility to learn or teach other children, they are encouraged to learn the material as well as possible.
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As a teacher, provide opportunities for students to teach each other with their friends.
- Give each student one topic and ask them to prepare a lesson on that topic. Now they are responsible for understanding the topic inside and out. When they are ready, ask them to present the material in small groups or in front of the class.
- Have students study in pairs or in small groups. Encourage them to depend on each other when solving problems or issues at hand, not by asking you questions.
- Pair students who have difficulty understanding a topic with students who master the topic. Ideally, students who have difficulty will ask their partner.
- As a parent, give your child the opportunity to teach you what he or she is learning. If your child is having trouble getting something done, don't tell him the answer. Instead, ask specific questions about the content of the lesson, such as, “How did you know _?” or “How should you solve _?”
Step 4. Get involved in student or child learning activities
If your student or child is studying or taking part in educational activities, join. If you are an active participant in his or her education, you will model study habits, problem-solving skills, and the joy of learning something new. If you feel like you don't like a certain activity or content, your child will assume that the activity or content doesn't need attention.
- Spend time with children. Most children enjoy receiving individual attention because it makes them feel important. When you give your child the recognition he wants, he's likely to be more receptive to lessons.
- If your child sits down to read, take the opportunity to read your book too.
Method 2 of 3: Making Lessons Easy and Relevant
Step 1. Create opportunities for practical learning
Children remember information better when their hands and brains are both busy or engaged. This can be achieved by structuring lessons and activities that require children to talk, listen, and move. These types of lessons and activities are useful for active, audio, and visual learners.
- Include more arts and crafts projects in the lesson.
- Have students move to different study areas.
- Group students by interests or strengths. Provide activities that allow them to explore the topic in a way that engages them.
Step 2. Take students on an excursion
Field trips provide opportunities for students to connect the abstract concepts they learn in the classroom with the real world.
- As a teacher, choose a field trip that supports practical learning. For example, if they are studying state government, take them on excursions to government buildings if possible.
- As a parent, you have the discretion to use your time and resources a little more creatively. Take your kids to an out-of-town art museum to see their favorite paintings or to a distant historical site to get an in-person experience of history. Enroll your child in tech activities or let him or her accompany one of your friends at work.
Step 3. Allow students to use their imagination
Instead of limiting or checking students' imaginations, let their creativity flow freely. Cultivate their creativity by designing lessons that encourage the use of arts and crafts, role-playing, or similar activities.
- When you teach about the justice system, ask them to practice trial.
- When you teach about historical figures, have students dress as the historical figures they chose for formal presentations.
- Give children the freedom to express themselves through various forms. Older children may enjoy writing poetry, telling stories, composing plays, or making collages. Younger children tend to enjoy drawing and coloring.
Step 4. Play educational games
After teaching something to students or studying a concept with a child, let them play an educational game that will test their knowledge.
- Look for relevant educational games by searching the internet or downloading the app on your tablet.
- Write reviews based on popular games or take quizzes.
- Encourage students or children to play a board or card game.
Step 5. Make the abstract concept relevant
During school age, students are introduced to many abstract concepts that seem irrelevant to their lives. When teaching a new lesson, you must explain how the concept is used by humans in everyday life.
- To explore mathematical and business principles, have your child build a shop or booth. Encourage them to set prices, keep an eye on supplies, and count money.
- Have students look for the latest news articles or TV clips that relate to what they learned at school.
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Have children role-play:
- Hold a trial.
- Hold an exhibition and ask each student to come as one of the important historical figures.
- Relive the famous war.
- Hold a mini UN session.
Method 3 of 3: Involving Games and Technology in Lessons
Step 1. Assign a digital project
Today's children are born in the digital age. They love technology and are very adept at using it. Facilitate their desire to use technology by involving them in tasks.
- Instead of keeping a diary, let your child document their experiences with a digital camera.
- Allow students to use computers and tablets to do research.
- Have students create websites, videos, or podcasts.
- Allow the child to listen to the reading.
Step 2. Use technology in your teaching
As a teacher and parent, you can make learning more fun by facilitating your child's love for all things digital.
- In addition to explanations in front of the class, use digital presentation tools to present lessons.
- If you are a teacher, include a short educational video in the lesson. If you're a parent, use short educational videos to explain concepts that are difficult for your child to understand.
- Instead of a foreign language, let your child learn to code a computer program.
Step 3. Watch or listen to an educational program
As teachers and parents, consider supplementing teacher explanations and reading assignments by adding videos, podcasts, and educational plays. Children who may seem disinterested in the teacher's or parents' explanations may find themselves enthralled by the audio-visual material.
- Show or listen to material that is relevant to what the child is learning.
- As a reward for completing a literary assignment, invite students or children to watch the theatrical adaptation.
Step 4. Allow children to play electronic games and educational apps
Educational apps and electronic games have an important role to play in teaching children basic skills and concepts. When used as a complement to traditional learning methods, educational tools can improve children's learning achievement in class. Other benefits and advantages are:
- Increase knowledge about technology
- Easy to carry and always available
- Exposure to alternative learning methods
- Take advantage of free time
