Grand Parenting and Helping With School Homework
Not long ago, I was speaking to a grandma type at Starbucks, we were talking about volunteering.
You see, I've always been a community volunteer, mostly because my mother was involved in such things, but also I know it is the right thing to do.
I smiled so wide, my mouth was sore as she explained how she volunteered to help in the local schools.
The story is amazing, so let me try to give it justice.
When she first started helping in the schools she didn't really know what to do, she was assigned as a teacher's aide, and she soon found that during at least some of the subject matter she was learning along with the kids, and she was in no position to teach them.
Sometimes she would ask the children question - eventually they would try to explain it to her.
Other children would come over and also try to explain it, and listen to the other children who were explaining things, and suddenly everyone was learning in a group situation.
Eventually, she figured out that the kids learn more when they were teaching her what they were learning.
Therefore, she started asking them more questions, even when she knew the answer.
It worked so well that she was invited back to volunteer even more, in many classrooms.
Later, she taught this strategy to other senior volunteers in the school, and it turns out that the "grandma program" is working extremely well.
Now then, if you have a grandchild and you are assigned to watch over them while they do their homework, you might try this same technique at home.
Kids love to explain how to do things to their grandma, and it makes them feel smart, and makes them learn quicker.
By asking questions you can help your grandchild discover the information so they can explain it to you.
This is something that they inherently want to do, and it makes learning more fun.
The reason I'm sharing this with you is because I think it's one of the coolest things I have ever heard, and best of all it works extremely well.
Whether you are going to volunteer in the schools as a senior grandma volunteer, or if you're working with your own grandchildren at home, I hope you will please remember these new methods of teaching, and use them to help our kids learn faster while their minds become stronger.
Be sure to think on this and consider it all.
You see, I've always been a community volunteer, mostly because my mother was involved in such things, but also I know it is the right thing to do.
I smiled so wide, my mouth was sore as she explained how she volunteered to help in the local schools.
The story is amazing, so let me try to give it justice.
When she first started helping in the schools she didn't really know what to do, she was assigned as a teacher's aide, and she soon found that during at least some of the subject matter she was learning along with the kids, and she was in no position to teach them.
Sometimes she would ask the children question - eventually they would try to explain it to her.
Other children would come over and also try to explain it, and listen to the other children who were explaining things, and suddenly everyone was learning in a group situation.
Eventually, she figured out that the kids learn more when they were teaching her what they were learning.
Therefore, she started asking them more questions, even when she knew the answer.
It worked so well that she was invited back to volunteer even more, in many classrooms.
Later, she taught this strategy to other senior volunteers in the school, and it turns out that the "grandma program" is working extremely well.
Now then, if you have a grandchild and you are assigned to watch over them while they do their homework, you might try this same technique at home.
Kids love to explain how to do things to their grandma, and it makes them feel smart, and makes them learn quicker.
By asking questions you can help your grandchild discover the information so they can explain it to you.
This is something that they inherently want to do, and it makes learning more fun.
The reason I'm sharing this with you is because I think it's one of the coolest things I have ever heard, and best of all it works extremely well.
Whether you are going to volunteer in the schools as a senior grandma volunteer, or if you're working with your own grandchildren at home, I hope you will please remember these new methods of teaching, and use them to help our kids learn faster while their minds become stronger.
Be sure to think on this and consider it all.