Equip your children to become Leaders: The four best home Investments
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The pandemic has taught us a few lessons, but one of the most important realisations that most parents have made during the lockdown is that homeschooling is difficult. Many of us took teachers for granted during the months of isolation, but on the positive side, as parents, we’ve also learnt some new skills (check out some of them here) and what’s really important in terms of education. So, even though your children are now back at their schools, you can help boost their learning by investing in the right products and lessons at home, ones that are proven to help create happy, well-adjusted children that can go on to lead and be positive role models.
Here’s another of the most significant pandemic lessons: homeschooling is not just about learning multiplication tables or grammar rules but also about learning ‘soft’ skills and emphasising mental and emotional maturity. While this is crucial for young children, the same outlook should be applied across all the junior age groups. One of the most essential focuses is building empathy, but that’s just the start!
The question is: so how do you tackle all the kinds of growth – emotional, mental and physical – to best equip your children for their futures? We’ve got some good news; we’ve outlined four steps that will help you grow happy little leaders at home.
Here’s another of the most significant pandemic lessons: homeschooling is not just about learning multiplication tables or grammar rules but also about learning ‘soft’ skills and emphasising mental and emotional maturity. While this is crucial for young children, the same outlook should be applied across all the junior age groups. One of the most essential focuses is building empathy, but that’s just the start!
The question is: so how do you tackle all the kinds of growth – emotional, mental and physical – to best equip your children for their futures? We’ve got some good news; we’ve outlined four steps that will help you grow happy little leaders at home.
1. Create a special time and space for reading
Reading is still the gold standard for home education, and even though this probably sounds like an absolute no-brainer, there might be a few reasons to invest in the traditional paper-based wisdom that you don’t know. The most crucial motivations are learning how to read, increasing their vocabulary, expanding their minds, and stoking their imagination (they are all super important). However, reading also offers one vital benefit and skill that most parents don’t focus on: concentration.
With the rise of tablets and smartphones and video on demand, children’s attention spans are shorter, and many struggle to focus their attention on one task for an extended period. This attention span is incredibly important, as research shows the longer a child can concentrate on a task, the more successful they will be in completing the task and learning from it. Reading is not the only way to improve attention span; here are a few other ways to improve it, but it is a great way to spend some quality time with your children away from digital screens.
For best results, start collecting books for bedtime reading sessions and any free time during the weekend or holidays. And for bonus points, you can even upgrade the space in their rooms with educational shelving for reading and their books. We love the Tree of Knowledge, the Wall-Mounted Trees, and the Rocket Bookcases for smarter storage which adds a little fun. You can even invest in a Reading Pod that provides a comfy spot for your children to read in their own time.
With the rise of tablets and smartphones and video on demand, children’s attention spans are shorter, and many struggle to focus their attention on one task for an extended period. This attention span is incredibly important, as research shows the longer a child can concentrate on a task, the more successful they will be in completing the task and learning from it. Reading is not the only way to improve attention span; here are a few other ways to improve it, but it is a great way to spend some quality time with your children away from digital screens.
For best results, start collecting books for bedtime reading sessions and any free time during the weekend or holidays. And for bonus points, you can even upgrade the space in their rooms with educational shelving for reading and their books. We love the Tree of Knowledge, the Wall-Mounted Trees, and the Rocket Bookcases for smarter storage which adds a little fun. You can even invest in a Reading Pod that provides a comfy spot for your children to read in their own time.
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2. Reinforce positive behaviour with a reward system at home
If you really want your children to learn positive habits, it’s much better to use a reward system rather than relying only on punishment. Research shows that positive reinforcement can unlock much better motivation and results. Your ultimate goal: you want to help create more emotionally and mentally mature children who take an active responsibility for their learning. They should cultivate a new mindset that defines the rest of their lives.
One note here: while rewards can be very effective, positive attention from you as parents is still the best reward. Here are five ways to reinforce positive behaviour.
Your first step: invest in these reward charts and teacher’s stickers, and then sit down and define the behaviours you want your children to achieve. Along with these charts, you can also outline your children’s daily and weekly schedules, including their chores. This will help them learn about time management and how to prioritise some activities over others. It can also help to learn organisational skills, and how to clean up after themselves.
One note here: while rewards can be very effective, positive attention from you as parents is still the best reward. Here are five ways to reinforce positive behaviour.
Your first step: invest in these reward charts and teacher’s stickers, and then sit down and define the behaviours you want your children to achieve. Along with these charts, you can also outline your children’s daily and weekly schedules, including their chores. This will help them learn about time management and how to prioritise some activities over others. It can also help to learn organisational skills, and how to clean up after themselves.
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1. Create creative playtime with arts and crafts
As you can imagine, we’re pretty big fans of arts and crafts here at Office National. We love all the products (and we think people of all ages should be doing arts and crafts), but we’re even more in love with what these sessions can do for your children. We wrote about all the benefits here.
Here are some of our favourite benefits: it can boost your children’s mood, self-esteem, and confidence and lower their anxiety. It improves cognitive performance, and crucially, it exercises the parts of your brain responsible for problem-solving, concentration (this is vital as described in point one) and creativity. It’s a powerful teaching tool that can improve a variety of your children’s skills, and it can help families communicate and express themselves.
So, where should you start? Head to this section, set aside some time in your children’s routine, and turn your home into a creative studio during homework.
Here are some of our favourite benefits: it can boost your children’s mood, self-esteem, and confidence and lower their anxiety. It improves cognitive performance, and crucially, it exercises the parts of your brain responsible for problem-solving, concentration (this is vital as described in point one) and creativity. It’s a powerful teaching tool that can improve a variety of your children’s skills, and it can help families communicate and express themselves.
So, where should you start? Head to this section, set aside some time in your children’s routine, and turn your home into a creative studio during homework.
2. Bring out the board games
You probably didn’t expect this one, but research shows that board games offer children a massive range of benefits. You’ve got a wide selection of different options to choose from here, and it can even be something that’s decided on as a family. The main benefits are quality family time, but there are also additional learning opportunities for children. Choosing the right board games can help teach your children leadership skills like learning how to handle failure (and, more importantly, how to grow from it), working in a team, negotiating, and making decisions under pressure, and more. The good news is that even if you don’t have any board games, there are some activities you can do as a family that offer leadership lessons. This interaction time with you is hugely beneficial, and it’s where they’ll get to learn a huge amount from you.