From my very first day of teaching (way back when) I understood and valued the parents as being the first educators of their child. From the moment they are born, children become little sponges, soaking up voices, sounds, people's faces, emotions, and that sense of safety and security within their home. As they grow and develop, they then learn to adapt to and fit in with (or sometimes create their own) family routine. They begin to speak their first language, pick up on tones and attitudes and really develop their own personality.
Children mimic, copy and transfer adult actions and mannerisms to memory quickly. It is at this stage that parents and caregivers need to foster and model good habits as they will hopefully become natural, everyday actions that will lay a great foundation for future planning and organisational skills.
When children begin school, learning should be a partnership between the classroom and home. Between you and me, I've never been a fan of 'homework'. In my opinion it takes away from quality family time which is limited anyway. It can cause anxiety and hostility between the child and parent as everyone is often tired and not in the mood for battling homework at the end of a long day. That said, READING is something I believe should be something to make time for. Whether it is the child reading to themselves before bed, a bedtime story read to them, a story that is listened to on a device, a sibling reading to them or vice versa.
Sometimes children need consolidation in a certain area and it is vital that while concepts are taught at school, some children need to practise and consolidate tasks at home. That is why at Tightrope Learning, children are invited to TAKE HOME PACKS. Not only do these fun and engaging activities consolidate particular skills, they allow parents and caregivers the skills and knowledge to also learn how their child learns. It promotes time together to really benefit from authentic tasks which are actually purposeful. The children are first exposed to these activities and so love going home and being the 'teacher' of their parents. I've had fantastic feedback since starting sending these packs home. I'm so proud of them.
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