By Charles Dundley

By Dinaabc at Wikimedia Commons

It might be time to turn your home into a learning zone. As some educators have discovered, an effective way to sharpen student academic performance is to keep learning going. Because your child may spend more time at home than at any other single location, second to a classroom teacher, there may be no one with as much influence on your child’s academic success than you.

Historically traditional school schedules might stall learning

You are the one who could keep your child from going months without reading, writing or sharpening their artistic skills. One of your greatest aids in this pursuit is your home. Additionally, you might not be alone in your work.


Schools in Western and Southern states have started to require students to attend classes year round. Instead of the previously three month summer vacation, students receive two to three week reprieves from school. Shorter breaks from the classroom could enhance student learning.

After all, the longer children go without challenging themselves academically, the more children might forget what they learned during the final months of school. This unfortunate back step is what pushes teachers to spend the first one to two months of the new school year reviewing old lesson material.

Eliminate long learning breaks at home

Steps that you could take to close this learning gap are relatively inexpensive. If you’re a book lover, it might be free to implement some of these steps:

• Add one to two bookcases to your child’s bedroom. Fill the bookcases with empowering, entertaining and education books.
• Other places to stock bookcases with great books at home are your finished basement, family room and den.
• Visit the library with your child. Get your children a library card. Letting them check out and return books by scheduled due dates could not only help your children to learn, it could also teach your children how to be responsible.
• At least two or more times a month, stop by a local bookstore. Smaller bookstores might offer classes that teach children art skills. Other bookstores might bring in children’s book authors.
• Read to your children before they go to bed at night. Enrich your voice with inflection and enthusiasm. Strong readings could inspire a lifelong passion for books and reading in your children.
• Perform science and arts projects with your kids during summer months and other times when your child has a two week or longer school break.
• Let older children grocery shop, so they can put their math skills to practical use.

Turning your home into a smart learning zone could produce lasting results
Ensuring that your children finish their homework isn’t the only action that you could take to support your child’s academic journey. You could positively influence your child’s academic success by turning your home into a smart learning zone.

A good way to strengthen the influence that upgraded home designs have on your child’s learning is to pursue ongoing learning for yourself. Let your child see you reading. Take your child with you on visits to museums, libraries, bookstores and science and arts centers.


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