learning

A Future Culture-Vulture: Use Your Travels to Inspire Your Kids

October 30, 2017 by Painter Mommy Leave a Comment

Developing a love of culture often starts at an early age and if you expose your children to works of art and arrange a variety of cultural experiences, there is a good chance that their interest could develop into a passion.

A vacation is often the perfect opportunity to soak up some cultural highlights and give your kids an education while having some fun. Here are some pointers on how you can use travel to inspire your children to appreciate the arts and history.

A chance to inspire and educate

If you arrange a stay at somewhere like a Marriott New Jersey hotel you will often find yourself in an area that offers access to a range of free attractions like museums and art galleries.

There’s a lot to like about a museum when you are on a family trip and you don’t have to pay an entrance fee, but there are more valid reasons to go inside than the obvious attraction that you don’t have to reach for your wallet.

Museums offer a great opportunity to expose your children to some new experiences and broaden their understanding in a positive educational environment.

This exposure to learning and the chance to satisfy their curiosity will often prove to be the foundation for a greater connection to the world around them and the history that has shaped where we are today.

The power of art

Art has the ability to shape our feelings and perception of things like very little else can and many people have been inspired by a certain work of art that ended up having a profound effect on them.

Letting your child view some great works of art and allowing them to form their own opinion on what they are looking at and what it says to them can really help their creativity and critical thinking.

It’s a win-win situation as you can enjoy soaking up the culture too while knowing that your children are enjoying the experience in their own way at the same time.

Sign up for the tour

Many of the major museums and galleries and plenty of the smaller ones too offer a free guided tour of their works.

It can be a good way to enrich your learning experience and work your way around the exhibition in the most efficient way possible. Getting the inside track on the works from a knowledgeable tour guide is only going to help improve your enjoyment of the visit.

Follow the rules

You want to encourage your children to explore and appreciate the displays but it is also a good idea to set some ground rules if they are young and haven’t been exposed to this sort of environment before.

Fill them in on the usual protocol for visiting a museum or gallery, which includes no running and no touching, unless it’s interactive for the kids, which will be highlighted anyway if that’s the case.

It would also be a good idea to ensure that they have comfortable clothes and shoes for the trip so that your kids don’t start to flag after a couple of hours of walking around.

Take advantage of the chance to expose your children to some culture when you are on vacation or whenever you get the chance and enjoy seeing how it broadens their horizons.

4 Ways to Help Your Kids Get Better Grades on Their Homework

May 16, 2017 by Painter Mommy Leave a Comment

Your children’s educational journey doesn’t begin and end at school. It’s a lifelong adventure that comes home with them and persists through evenings, weekends, and even summer vacations. Make sure you’re supporting your children’s learning and helping them excel at their homework with these smart strategies.

Develop a Routine

Image via Flickr by dgoomany

Consistent study habits are essential if you want your children to excel in school. Choose a regular block of time when they’ll study and do homework each night. Determine your child’s learning style and incorporate strategies that cater to these preferences. Your child may understand math better with manipulatives, thrive with flashcards, or prefer a math program on the computer. Include at least 20 minutes of reading for elementary-age children.

Give kids some time to unwind after school, but don’t push the homework routine so close to bedtime that the kids go to sleep late if the study session runs over. A late-afternoon block is best.

Create a Functional Study Space

Children learn best if they have a dedicated space set aside for studying. Even a tiny desk set in the corner is sufficient. Use task lighting so your kids don’t have to squint over their papers. Keep all the essentials handy, including paper, pencils, and reference materials. You don’t want to interrupt your routine hunting for an eraser or ruler. Make sure it’s all handy in a drawer or supply tote.

Consider including a blackboard, whiteboard, or bulletin board in your study space. You can write up the week’s spelling words, leave encouraging notes, or work out math problems on a larger scale with these tools.

Set and Reward Goals

Set homework and study goals for your children, and track their progress so they can see their growth and achievements. You might track passing grades, demonstrated math fluency, or the number of books read each week. Stickers on a chart are easily visible and provide a visual incentive. Set a reward system with perks like a pizza night, screen time, or freedom from a particular chore if children meet their goals.

Keep Kids Healthy

Healthy kids will have an easier time with all their activities, including school. Make sure your children are eating a well-balanced diet that’s low in sugar and processed foods and high in whole foods like fresh fruits and vegetables. Children between the ages of 5 and 17 should get at least an hour of moderate to vigorous activity each day.

Make sure your home is a healthy space by keeping it clean. Proper humidity levels will help keep asthma and allergies under control. High humidity creates a breeding ground for mold, mildew, and dust mites, yet excessively dry air encourages these irritants to dry out and become airborne. Keep your humidity level between 30 and 50 percent for the healthiest environment.

With the right home environment and routine, your children can thrive in all their activities, from learning a musical instrument to mastering math facts. Work closely with your children’s teachers to set appropriate goals and make sure they’re working on the right activities during their homework time.

Guides for Helping Your Children in School Activities

September 24, 2012 by Painter Mommy Leave a Comment

Parents are the ones those responsible for children educational, health and other development activities. Parents play an important role in the success of children educational activities. Those involved directly in day to day school activities of children get better results, and get their children more educated to prepare them for the future challenges and societal roles. However, there are few quick guides for parents to get their children involved in school activities and helping them throughout their school life.

Help by Establishing a Relationship with School Teacher

Parents’ first responsibility is to get a direct contact with their children school teacher. By establishing relationships with school teacher will help parents to know what exactly children are doing at school and which steps they should take to improve something more in learning and development. It helped parents to let teacher know what are the capabilities, difficulties and interest of their children. Getting direct face- to-face meeting with school teacher will let parents to aware of what is going on inside the school and will get accurate report on children education and other school activities.

Helping Children with School Homework

Parents can help children academically in their day to day school homework activities and helping them to accomplish all homework tasks efficiently and accurately. Encouraging children to accomplish all homework task on their time without any delay. Parents can help by providing pleasant environment inside home and a separate room for study to their children. Help by monitoring all homework from time to time and reviewing the all the tasks done by the children within a day and under certain time. Parents can guide children on how to finish all work quickly and providing them all the necessary materials required for finishing tasks on time. Guiding their children to do their work by themselves and giving advice to not get it done by someone else.

Helping Children with Routine Academicals Tests

Tests are the part of student’s educational life and often arranged by the school teachers to judge their educational level by giving grades. Tests let students to revise all educational materials before appearing in final exams. Parents must know academicals tests dates in advance and prepare their children accordingly. Parents can establish learning habits in children before tests which help them to get good grades in routine academicals tests.

Helping Children Preparing for Final Exams

Final exams are conducted by the schools in orders to give students final grades and promoting them to the next level. It is bit more complicated than routine academicals tests and required much effort from students. Parents need to prepare their children for their final exam by encouraging and letting them know its importance. Parents with good education can help themselves for exam preparations or hiring a good teacher which help their children in doing well in final exams. Parent’s instructions and information are the most beneficial for children learning motivations which will encourage them to do well in final exams.

Helping Children in Other Learning Activities

Apart from school academicals activities, parents can help children in other learning activities. Parents can encourage children to read educational books frequently by visiting libraries. Parents can guide and encourage children to participate in sports activities at school. Parents can provide necessary in learning latest technologies and helping them to use internet properly. Can guide to watch news and play educational games which help them to grasp more knowledge and also help them to do something better in overall school activities.

Parents may feel like they won’t be able to have a very big impact on their children school success, but with some preparation and a little guidance, they can.

Rachel Cool writes for ScholarshipScouts.org, an online resource that includes everything a prospective student needs to know about college student scholarships and the how-to’s of applying for them.