by Mariel Uyquiengco
Many families engage the services of a tutor to assist in their children’s schooling. This is especially true for those who work long hours and feel physically and mentally drained by the time they get home.
A lot of moms, however, readily take on the responsibility of being their children’s own tutor. More than the money that they are bound to save, being tutor-mommy gives them the opportunity to shape their children’s study habits and train them to eventually learn on their own.
Proud tutor moms Patricia Cuyugan, Janice Lim and Trina Ortega share some great tips for helping kids with their studies.
1. Begin with the end in mind
From the beginning, Janice and Trina knew that they wanted their kids to be independent learners. According to Trina, the benefits of being tutor-mommy far outweigh the “huge investment in time and patience.” She doubts that a hired tutor will have the same long-term goal, much less the commitment to pursue such a goal.
Similarly, Janice set the goal for her kids to study without much intervention from her. She just made sure that she was there to check their work and to help them think through any mistakes they have made.
This goal setting paid off for both moms, as their pre-teen and teenaged kids are now independent learners who require minimal or no supervision at all.
2. Set up a suitable learning environment
Kids get easily distracted, especially when facing homework after a long day in school. If you can, find a space for studying in a quiet place in your home.
It doesn’t have to be a separate room dedicated to just studying. It should be, however, a place where the door can be closed so you will be free of household distractions such as a slamming door, a ringing telephone, or a barking dog.
Mommy Patricia turns off the TV and makes sure that no one else is in the room with her and her 7-year-old while they are studying. There’s really nothing like a television commercial to break one’s thinking momentum!
3. Establish a routine
Children thrive in routine, as it helps them organize their day. Knowing what is expected of them keeps them calm and focused.
So, set a specific time for doing homework. For Janice’s two daughters, homework is done in the evening after an early dinner and when they are already showered and dressed for bed. They go to sleep right after they’re done with schoolwork, because they are already wearing their jammies!
Trina advises that if you can’t follow a specific study time because of a different dismissal schedule each day, then an expected sequence of events should be established instead.
Preferably, let your child rest a bit before tackling what needs to be done. A shower and a snack do the trick for Patricia’s son.
4. Create a “review theme” for the day
Other than the daily homework, it is also important to work on your child’s specific academic skills. After all, we want our kids not to just comply with school requirements but to really learn as well.
Patricia does this by having a “review theme” for the day, which she and her child spend time on after homework is done. She assigns Monday for reading, Tuesday for spelling, Wednesday for math, Thursday for penmanship, and Friday for Filipino.
This ingenious way of tutoring your child will go a long way in preparing for the all-important exams at the end of each quarter. Instead of cramming, your child will have already chalked up a significant amount of reviewing and really understand the subject matter. Exam time will then be a breeze.
5. Be fun and creative
School lectures and assignments can be quite boring and uninspiring, especially if your child is quite unlucky to have a boring and uninspiring teacher.
Inject some fun and creativity into your child’s learning experience to spark his interest. If he refuses to answer his take-home worksheet, maybe it’s time to introduce a game that will get his attention and at the same time teach him what he has to learn.
Turn to every tutor-mommy’s best friend, Google, and search for games and activities that will deliver the message with some punch. If possible, stay away from worksheets -- your child has enough of those in school!
6. Take breaks
Teaching and studying are taxing, and teacher and student can both get frustrated. When this happens, Patricia advises to take a 5-minute break and “walk away from it” to prevent whining, crying, and eventually fighting.
It is a good idea, therefore, to do as Janice does and ask your kids to finish all their homework every Friday. This way, they can have the whole weekend for personal pursuits. Letting them do their homework on a Sunday is like asking them to start their school week one day early!
We should teach our kids this healthy habit of taking breaks or having some quiet time to process their thoughts. This gives them (and you) the opportunity to recharge and to refocus.
However, break time still depends on a child’s ability to focus. Trina’s older son had a short attention span when he was younger, and therefore needed a lot of breaks. On the other hand, her younger son had more focus and needed to be reminded to take a break.
7. Relate school lessons to real life
Schoolteachers tend to stay within what is written in the textbook, making learning so academic and somewhat disconnected from the real world.
It is the parents’ job, therefore, to help their children see the connection between what is being studied in school and real life. It can be as simple as pointing out fractions while eating pizza as a family or going out at night to look at the moon when the homework is about the phases of the moon.
Trina vividly remembers that when her son started studying about the different regions of the Philippines, he asked her why they didn’t go to those places. This prompted her and her husband to become local tourists. She says that those trips “provide more experiences for them to draw from when studying something new in school.”
Learn how to tutor your child in a way that will encourage him to learn on his own instead of relying on outside help. Sometimes, despite our best intentions, too much hovering and micro managing may do more harm than good and render a child helpless.
Taking on the responsibility of helping your child with his schoolwork takes commitment, organization, patience, and creativity. Remember to aim for your student to not only get good grades in school, bu more importantly, to develop excellent study habits and to eventually be a self-learner.
Many families engage the services of a tutor to assist in their children’s schooling. This is especially true for those who work long hours and feel physically and mentally drained by the time they get home.
A lot of moms, however, readily take on the responsibility of being their children’s own tutor. More than the money that they are bound to save, being tutor-mommy gives them the opportunity to shape their children’s study habits and train them to eventually learn on their own.
Proud tutor moms Patricia Cuyugan, Janice Lim and Trina Ortega share some great tips for helping kids with their studies.
1. Begin with the end in mind
From the beginning, Janice and Trina knew that they wanted their kids to be independent learners. According to Trina, the benefits of being tutor-mommy far outweigh the “huge investment in time and patience.” She doubts that a hired tutor will have the same long-term goal, much less the commitment to pursue such a goal.
Similarly, Janice set the goal for her kids to study without much intervention from her. She just made sure that she was there to check their work and to help them think through any mistakes they have made.
This goal setting paid off for both moms, as their pre-teen and teenaged kids are now independent learners who require minimal or no supervision at all.
2. Set up a suitable learning environment
Kids get easily distracted, especially when facing homework after a long day in school. If you can, find a space for studying in a quiet place in your home.
It doesn’t have to be a separate room dedicated to just studying. It should be, however, a place where the door can be closed so you will be free of household distractions such as a slamming door, a ringing telephone, or a barking dog.
Mommy Patricia turns off the TV and makes sure that no one else is in the room with her and her 7-year-old while they are studying. There’s really nothing like a television commercial to break one’s thinking momentum!
3. Establish a routine
Children thrive in routine, as it helps them organize their day. Knowing what is expected of them keeps them calm and focused.
So, set a specific time for doing homework. For Janice’s two daughters, homework is done in the evening after an early dinner and when they are already showered and dressed for bed. They go to sleep right after they’re done with schoolwork, because they are already wearing their jammies!
Trina advises that if you can’t follow a specific study time because of a different dismissal schedule each day, then an expected sequence of events should be established instead.
Preferably, let your child rest a bit before tackling what needs to be done. A shower and a snack do the trick for Patricia’s son.
4. Create a “review theme” for the day
Other than the daily homework, it is also important to work on your child’s specific academic skills. After all, we want our kids not to just comply with school requirements but to really learn as well.
Patricia does this by having a “review theme” for the day, which she and her child spend time on after homework is done. She assigns Monday for reading, Tuesday for spelling, Wednesday for math, Thursday for penmanship, and Friday for Filipino.
This ingenious way of tutoring your child will go a long way in preparing for the all-important exams at the end of each quarter. Instead of cramming, your child will have already chalked up a significant amount of reviewing and really understand the subject matter. Exam time will then be a breeze.
5. Be fun and creative
School lectures and assignments can be quite boring and uninspiring, especially if your child is quite unlucky to have a boring and uninspiring teacher.
Inject some fun and creativity into your child’s learning experience to spark his interest. If he refuses to answer his take-home worksheet, maybe it’s time to introduce a game that will get his attention and at the same time teach him what he has to learn.
Turn to every tutor-mommy’s best friend, Google, and search for games and activities that will deliver the message with some punch. If possible, stay away from worksheets -- your child has enough of those in school!
6. Take breaks
Teaching and studying are taxing, and teacher and student can both get frustrated. When this happens, Patricia advises to take a 5-minute break and “walk away from it” to prevent whining, crying, and eventually fighting.
It is a good idea, therefore, to do as Janice does and ask your kids to finish all their homework every Friday. This way, they can have the whole weekend for personal pursuits. Letting them do their homework on a Sunday is like asking them to start their school week one day early!
We should teach our kids this healthy habit of taking breaks or having some quiet time to process their thoughts. This gives them (and you) the opportunity to recharge and to refocus.
However, break time still depends on a child’s ability to focus. Trina’s older son had a short attention span when he was younger, and therefore needed a lot of breaks. On the other hand, her younger son had more focus and needed to be reminded to take a break.
7. Relate school lessons to real life
Schoolteachers tend to stay within what is written in the textbook, making learning so academic and somewhat disconnected from the real world.
It is the parents’ job, therefore, to help their children see the connection between what is being studied in school and real life. It can be as simple as pointing out fractions while eating pizza as a family or going out at night to look at the moon when the homework is about the phases of the moon.
Trina vividly remembers that when her son started studying about the different regions of the Philippines, he asked her why they didn’t go to those places. This prompted her and her husband to become local tourists. She says that those trips “provide more experiences for them to draw from when studying something new in school.”
Learn how to tutor your child in a way that will encourage him to learn on his own instead of relying on outside help. Sometimes, despite our best intentions, too much hovering and micro managing may do more harm than good and render a child helpless.
Taking on the responsibility of helping your child with his schoolwork takes commitment, organization, patience, and creativity. Remember to aim for your student to not only get good grades in school, bu more importantly, to develop excellent study habits and to eventually be a self-learner.
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