While you expect to find a stimulating learning environment in your child's classroom, it's also important to create one at home. This doesn't mean you have to engage your youngster in educational activities every waking hour, but you can create a space conducive to reading and studying. You may also incorporate learning into your family's everyday routine.
Study Center
Designate an area for your child to do homework, says Math and Reading Help, a website that teams with the American Library Association to encourage learning. Some kids work better in a quiet spot such as a bedroom, but others prefer to be closer to the family. In either case, find a space where your youngster can keep--and organize--his school supplies. Working on a dining room table isn't optimal because you have to clear it off for meals. A good study spot has a desk, comfortable chair, lamp, and shelves or drawers to store materials.
Neat and Clean
Your child should be comfortable when she reads and studies, but she should also respect learning materials. Math and Reading Help suggests making some rules about eating and drinking during study sessions and handling items such as textbooks. Follow those rules yourself so you're a role model for your child. Don't leave drinking glasses on books, and pile magazines neatly rather than leaving them here and there. Also, keep your own workspace neat.
Plenty of Books
Have books in the house and make them part of your everyday life. Family members should read, look things up, and discuss articles they find in newspapers and magazines. Keep a variety of reading material on hand for your child, says Reading Is Fundamental, a children's literacy organization. He can look at picture books when he's young and read about his favorite sports, for example, when he gets older. Your home library should also contain reference books such as a world atlas designed for kids. If you're discussing a current event or have a visitor from abroad, you can easily locate the pertinent state or country.
Everyday Education
Incorporate learning into your daily routine, recommends the British government's Department for Children, Schools and Families. When your child is young, recite nursery rhymes, sing songs, read to her and let her play with letters and numbers. When she gets older, combine math and reading in sewing and cooking projects. Expand her knowledge of the world in entertaining ways, for instance, cook a dinner of Mexican, Thai or French cuisine and watch a movie that takes place in the same part of the world.
