With the students at home for the holidays, parents find it hard to keep them busy. One way to keep learners engaged is through learning. Most of them tend to put their books aside during this time and stay glued to the television and mobile screen. However, this doesn’t mean they should spend all their time in books. They should also be given time to mingle with friends, play games, and do other fun activities. So how do you create a balance between leisure and studying?

Create a plan

Parents need to prepare in advance what they want their child to do. It is vital to involve the child in planning for the day. Listen to their suggestions and create a schedule together. This way, the child will be willing to follow through with it without pressure.

The schedule should be balanced, in a way that it incorporates studying and other household activities, such as cleaning. It teaches them a sense of responsibility and discipline.

Once a plan is created, inform all the other family members in the household so that they can know your expectations. Also, they have to create a conducive environment, especially during study time by minimizing disruptions.

Design a study place

Provide all the materials they need to ensure maximum concentration and comfort. A simple comfortable chair and table will work.

Allow flexibility

It is important to understand that the schedule will not go as planned on some days. Make room for such unexpected events by being understanding, not scolding them.

Encourage breaks.

The schedule should not be so rigid that it doesn’t allow breaks. Breaks must be there to allow relaxation and refreshment.

Prepare learning materials

Learning requires close supervision. In a home setup, teaching can be done by a tutor, older sibling, responsible adult, or the parents themselves. The responsible party should avail all the reading materials that will be used by the learner at home. The content can be digital or hard copy.

With the technological advancements in education, learning at home is more effective. However, for digital learning to work at home, parents must be open and be knowledgeable about online trends. According to a study done by “Responsible Digital Parenting” in conjunction with Toluna research agency 2019-2020: 48% of children watch video blogs, including those dedicated to games and toys (69%), music (53%), movies (49%) and computer games (43%). Also, 54% of Kenyan children own a smartphone or tablet. Kids have high exposure to technology.

Therefore, including technology in learning will spark the interests of the children by making them eager to study and reducing boredom. There is a wide range of online materials to use, such as videos, revision apps, and written content. Learning digital devices allow tutors to record lessons that learners can use for future reference. Also, the tutor can set online quizzes that learners can fill using digital devices.

At Infoney Solutions Ltd, we have found a way to merge all these aspects under two applications. We have Klickit 8.4.4 Revision App and Klickit CBC app that incorporates videos, written content, online questions for all classes, and automated marking and grading.

Klickit 8.4.4 Revision App has revision questions for classes 5 to 8 plus the answers. The question tests every topic in those classes. They are timed, which means the tutor can examine the learner’s speed, which is vital in subjects like maths.

 

 

 

Klicit CBC App is well aligned to the new Competency-Based curriculum. It has content and questions for the CBC students (PP1, PP2, Grade 1 to 4).

These two applications are designed to make learning easy for all learners, teachers, and tutors.

 

Reward performance

Rewarding performance plays a huge role in boosting a learner’s confidence. Parents should carefully create a healthy reward system that will mold the learner’s behavior and thoughts in the right way. There are various ways to reward good performance, such as verbal acknowledgment, more screen time, a storybook gift, a board game, and many others.

Constructive criticism

Parents have a role in helping children learn from their mistakes. When they do something wrong, a parent should offer thoughtful and positive suggestions. Avoid harsh words and yelling. This way, they will learn from it and it will not affect the child’s self-esteem.

As we strive to make ends meet in this life, we should try to give our children the best and care about their well-being. I hope this article helps parents engage children in meaningful activities.