The unprecedented nature of the pandemic has left many parents juggling home learning, working from home and other commitments. It can be a particularly stressful time as a foster carer when looking after a child and trying to support your child during school closures. Every foster parent wants to ensure that the child or children in their care excels during the time of home learning and it is therefore paramount that support is given to both parents and children alike. There are many ways that parents can support their children with their learning during school closures. Here are some top tips to enable you to best support your foster child:
Ensure you have access to adequate learning materials
The first step in supporting with your child’s learning is to ensure that you have access to adequate learning materials to help aid them with their studies. You may be given a learning pack from the school or you may have an online system which helps your child interact with their teachers for feedback and submit assignments and activities which have been set for them throughout the school week.
Helping your child with activities
Children in early years classes such as nursery or primary 1 can be best supported through interacting and engaging with your child, doing activities together, talking through activities and using drawing. You may also want to provide opportunities for independent and child led playtime at home and make a dedicated time for you to read a story together and talk about the words and pictures.
Children in older years may benefit from using resources such as National Numeracy, the National Literary Trust and Book Trust where you can get additional free resources to assist with your child’s learning. As anticipated , many of the older children will have independent learning but there may be times when they need your help and assistance to explain things. Try to be a supportive ear, be patient and do your best to support them with their assigned tasks.
Let your child have a level of responsibility with their work
Many parents have faced a situation where their children may not want to do the home learning tasks or are finding it difficult. Your child may want you to essentially do the tasks for them but this is not helpful to your child’s progression or learning and you have to ensure to explain to your child that they too have a level of responsibility to do their own work. You should be there to support their learning, listen to their concerns and help guide them if they are stuck but try not to give out the answers to activities.
We hope you enjoyed these tips and look out for more tips in our upcoming blogs!
