Making Your Home a Great Learning Environment
Whether you choose to homeschool your child or send them to school, a home environment conducive to learning is essential. Children are constantly learning, and their education doesn’t stop beyond the classroom. If you want to make your home the best it can be for your little learner, follow the "3 B’s" to a nurturing home learning environment: Books, Breakfast, and Bedtime.
Books
You may choose to incorporate reading books into your child’s nightly routine or be more lax if you have a bookworm who constantly reads. Studies show that children who read often have a larger vocabulary and are better writers than children who do not read frequently. Even reading a book to your child produces beneficial results. Whatever the case may be, making time for reading is critical to a child’s vocabulary growth and grammar apprehension. Don’t be surprised if you find your child using words you have to look up in the dictionary!
Breakfast
Breakfast is more than part of a routine; it prepares your body and mind for the day ahead. If your child goes to school without breakfast, they will go half the school day without food. Assuming they eat lunch in the middle of the day, that’s half of their learning that they are not fully taking in because their body is not getting enough energy in the morning. It is easy to forget that food plays a big role in mental faculties. Your child will be more focused and attentive in class if they start the school day with a healthy meal. Breakfast time can also be an opportunity to teach your child about healthy food choices and nutrition.
Bedtime
Children thrive in organized environments. Being able to have a dependable bedtime is important in establishing healthy routines. Just like having breakfast in the morning, getting enough sleep is essential in productive brain function. Sleep is perhaps the most important part of the "3 B’s", because a child cannot learn anything if they are sleeping at their desks during class. As many hours that parents feel they need for all the hard work they do, children actually require more sleep than adults. Experts recommend that school-aged children get between 9 and 12 hours of sleep per night.
Finding Time to Learn
You don’t have to turn your home into a makeshift school in order for your child to experience a home learning environment. You can take opportunities in your everyday life to teach and encourage your children. For example, you may use bath time as a way to teach time management by giving a certain amount of time for an activity like hair washing vs. washing their face. Or, you may choose to turn chore time into a math lesson if you reward with money. However you choose to make time for learning in your home, your child will benefit from the effort you put in to make time for their growth and development.
Having a welcoming home in a great community is important. For more information about homes perfect for families, visit https://www.brittonhomestexas.com/about/meet-britton-homes