Learning at home

Research suggests that "the most accurate predictor of a student's achievement in school is not income or social status but the extent to which that student's family is able to:
1. Create a home environment that encourages learning
2. Express high (but not unrealistic) expectations for their children's achievement and future careers
3. Become involved in their children's education at school and in the community”.

If you want to include more learning from home either by doing assigned homework tasks, or if your child is isolating or is too unwell for school there are some things to bear in mind.

It is important to set short timeframes and include breaks for exercise and social interaction.
Ensure your child understands how to complete the task and what success looks like. If they are unsure, then they should ask the teacher for more information.

Literacy is learned at home as well as school in the interactions you have as a family and through viewing, reading and discussion. Reading with and to your child is important, as is encouraging your child to read to you. Talk about what the passage is about, think about the characters - ask questions such as "Who would you be in this book?", "What would you do differently if it were you?", "What other ending would be interesting?". Non-fiction reading such as articles from the newspaper, recipes and even the TV listings is also worth including.

There are several links below if you would like you child to engage in online learning.

If you prefer rich offline learning opportunities think about some of these ideas:

Cooking: make the family dinner, think about recipe quantities, modifications if there are ingredients missing, experiment with adapting a recipe several times such as morning tea muffins or dumplings - what happens when you change ingredients, note which versions are successful, which less so - record what you learn. Get feedback from the family and write up the best recipe for use again and again or to send to someone else.

Gardening: plant some vegetable seedlings and care for them while at home. Take a photo every few days and record their growth. Find out the best way of feeding and watering them, plus protecting them from the hungry birds.

Sewing/knitting: dig out the knitting needles and start a scarf or make a simple skirt or headband out of fabric scraps. Record each step and send to another classmate to have a go themselves.

Building: use lego, blocks, cardboard or an old shoe box to get creative: build a scene from a book you are reading, create an imaginary planet or invent some new type of transport device or household tool

Jigsaws and board games: learn how to win and lose; build spatial awareness with a large family jigsaw, adding dice,