As a parent of elementary-aged kids, I’m often inundated with drifts of papers and notes from school each day. While the kids love sharing their stuff with me, it’s sometimes a little overwhelming. We aren’t especially consistent with reviewing them, but we’re trying.
Getting The Big Picture Of What Your Kids Learn
Something I feel is more important is pointing out the fruits of their labor in a more long-term way. In addition to school work, my girls have been in music and dance classes, and they’re doing 4-H projects this summer. That’s a lot of learning to keep track of – no surprise I feel overwhelmed! Too many details for me – I am much more of a big picture person.
I’ve been trying more to help them see progress when they’ve had a struggle or challenge. Help them see their process from beginning to end, help them develop a sense of appreciation for where they have come from: What differences are you noticing with your ballet after doing the practice DVD this week? You’ve been working on this math speed goal for a month, and now you are only a few answers away from getting to the next level – what makes that easier for you now? So you want to write a story about horses and you have the beginning and end – what are your ideas for how the story goes in the middle?
Finding Your Own Way To Track Learning Progress
These are a few real-life excerpts from my kid’s activities and school work. I really wish I were better at seeing every single paper every day, but I think the volume of it just turns off my brain and I put up a wall. Anyone else out there feel that way?
My solution is to focus on the big picture as often as I can.
Parents, how do you track your kids’ progress and learning process with them? Are you better at going over the details or do you work better with the big picture?
photo credit: HikingArtist.com
From Psych Central's website:
PsychCentral (June 23, 2010)
Last reviewed: 23 Jun 2010
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