5 Strategies to Empower Your Learner
Is your child consistently ahead of the class and yearning for a more engaging learning experience? Here are five strategies to help you bring the spark of curiosity back into your child’s learning.
1. Grit and a Growth Mindset
Bright kids tend to be right a lot of the time. They hate being wrong and they tend to stop taking risks. Teach your child about the value of effort and how making mistakes is the most efficient path to learning. Intelligence can grow through hard work, so encourage grit and a growth mindset. One of my favorite stories is from SPANX founder Sara Blakely whose father always asked her, “What did you fail at today?” Celebrate their failures as opportunities and help them to reframe their mindset.
2. Partner with the School
Advocate for your child at school. You know your child’s learning style and strengths best, so share your insights. Forge a positive partnership with teachers and the school to explore ways to tailor the curriculum to your child's needs and interests. Ask about opportunities for personalized learning or helping other students. Teaching others helps students solidify their own learning as they explain their thinking process out loud. It can also help them build empathy.
3. Promote Agency
Encourage your child to take charge of their own learning and teach them how to advocate for themselves.
4. Find Learning Everywhere
Nurture your child’s interests outside of school and make learning fun! Stock up on books, art supplies, microscopes, or whatever fuels their passion. Read together, listen to audio books, play board games or computer games, and get your kid to help with making the shopping list and cooking. Sign them up for classes and help them form social connections with kids who share their interests so they can nerd out together.
5. Seek Out an Innovative School that Makes Learning Fun
If traditional school just isn't cutting it, consider a more progressive and innovative education that focuses on engaging students rather than asking them to conform to an average classroom. Some kids thrive in environments that allow them to learn at their right pace and dive deeply into subjects that compel their curiosity.