Blackfriars Priory School Newsletter

From the Counselling Suite

How to support your child’s learning at home – incidental learning opportunities

 

Part of my role as the School Psychologist involves undertaking psychological assessments of students who may be having learning difficulties, or where more information is needed about a student’s strengths and needs.  Once I have completed my assessments, parents often ask me what they can do at home to support their child’s learning.  Many of the strategies I suggest would be beneficial for all children, not just those experiencing difficulties at school.  Here are some strategies and incidental learning opportunities that could easily be adopted in the home to support your child’s learning and to help to prepare them for school:

 

  • Try to stick to a consistent morning routine at home (ie. mornings may involve waking at a certain time, then eating breakfast, brushing teeth, getting dressed, packing bag).  A visual breakdown of routines and/or checklists of morning tasks may be helpful for younger children who are just starting school or for particularly forgetful children.  The more predictable the routine is at home before school, the more likely it is that the child will start the school day ready to learn.

 

  • Keep a calendar in your child’s room.  Assist your child to mark important dates on the calendar and to cross off the days.  Encourage your child to count down to important dates.  As well as helping to familiarise your child with the days of the week and months of the year, this will help to develop your child’s ‘number sense’ which is critical to maths achievement.
    • Keeping a calendar and/or term planner is also beneficial for older children as it will help them with their organisation and planning.  They should mark important due dates for assignments as well as other commitments on the calendar to help them to prioritise work and to divide their time between tasks.
  • Keep an analogue clock in the home to assist your child to develop their concept of time and number.
  • Ask your child to make small purchases from the shops and/or canteen, requiring them to count out money and to work out the correct change.  This will also help to develop social skills.
  • If using public transport, encourage your child to read or refer to the transport timetable, utilising their perceptual reasoning skills and increasing time awareness.
  • Your child may also be able to help with unpacking the shopping – this involves sorting and categorising of objects (ie. cold items vs room temperature items, fruits vs vegetables).  Sorting the laundry is another learning opportunity (ie. by different family members garments, matching socks etc).  These activities assist with perceptual reasoning skills and vocabulary development.

 

  • Encourage your child to time themselves (using a stopwatch) doing various simple tasks.  This not only improves time awareness and number sense, but it can lead to an increased processing speed, particularly if there is an incentive to improve the times.
  • Engage your child in tasks that involve measurement to help them to develop their number sense.  For example, ask your child to assist you with cooking or baking (ask them to measure out the ingredients using cups, measuring jugs and scales).
  • Gardening is another task that involves measurement and perceptual reasoning skills (i.e. measuring out the garden bed, distance between plants, soil requirements etc.).
  • Use varied language around your child.  While doing things, talk through what you are doing with them and introduce new vocabulary to them regularly.  This will help your child to develop their language skills.
  • Encourage your child to read menus when out in public and clarify any language they do not understand.  If capable, allow them to order their own meals which will also develop their confidence.
  • Play games like I-spy.  This will help children to develop their descriptive language as well as their ability to categorise objects and recognise similarities and differences between objects.  Take it in turns so that your child can learn different ways to ask questions to get more information and to assist their listening skills (as well as their ability to store information in their conscious awareness).  Games like this can also foster creativity and curiosity.

 

  • Play spot the difference games that train children to pay attention to visual details and involves working memory.
  • When in the car with your child, ask them to spot and count as many cars as they can that fit a certain description (i.e. that are yellow, that have a numberplate with the letter J in it).  This involves perceptual reasoning skills and working memory.
  • Ask your child to keep score in games to help them to develop their counting abilities and working memory.

 

Of course, there are plenty of things that I have missed but hopefully these give you some ideas about how you can support your child’s learning in the home.  Try to use naturally occurring opportunities and interactions with the environment to teach and/or develop skills (and you might end up getting some help with household tasks in the process!). 

 

Dr Lucinda Clifford

School Psychologist

 

The Counselling Team is available to advise and support all students and families and can be contacted by email on counselling@bps.sa.edu.au

 

Parents may also refer their son to the Counselling Team by using the Referral found on the Parent Portal. 

 

Ms Cathie Oswald

SCHOOL COUNSELLOR (Monday, Thursday and Friday)

 

Dr Lucinda Clifford

SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST  (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday)