Clever Ways of Making Learning Fun

Growing up, maths was never my strong-point, I found it ever so boring. I preferred to daydream in my lessons rather than try and rack my brain for the correct answer. I remember in year 3 when I was struggling to learn my times tables. Once a week each child had to stand up in front of the class and recite their timetables. I remember dreading those days. My teacher was pretty concerned and mentioned this during the parents evening to my mum. My struggle with learning the times tables was the main topic of conversation. All I heard was, ‘She’s really enthusiastic, but needs to learn her time tables.’ I remember feeling really annoyed and thinking if only there was a way to make it interesting, I could do better.

A few days later when I came back from school my mum told me that she had bought a cassette tape about the times table. She then put it into the stereo and I started to listen: it was a range of songs which really helped me master my times tables. Almost every day after school, I would listen to the times tables songs and was able to learn it that way. I was finally able to stand up in front of my class and recite my timetables from memory. It was so much easier for me to understand it after I’d listened to the tape. To this very day when I walk down the street I still hum the melody of the time table songs.

Visual learning tactics

maths counting games

Have you noticed your child is struggling with a particular subject area at school? Are they getting some low numbers on their report card? Some children learn better with visual aids and that’s why Barney videos were ever so popular (and still is). There are hundreds of retailers that sell educational games, so  that children having difficulties learning a particular subject can stop worrying about those difficulties but have fun instead. This will help them understand the subject better and  may help them to begin to show enjoyment in their learning.

For instance, buying counting games for your child earlier on in their development stage could help them develop a fondness for subjects like maths.

With games like the flash card counting game or coloured counters you can teach your child that counting can be fun. You’ll also be able to add a little twist to make it more interesting for you and your child. For instance, you can pretend that the coloured counters are coins when you’re doing the grocery shopping. Teach them how to add up and calculate the amount of change they will receive for making a purchase.

Nature and Science

Teaching your kids about nature and science from a young age will help them understand much more about the world we live in and their local surroundings. Here are some of the ways you can really put that into action.

Visit the local Pond

Take your kids to the local park where there is a pond. Show them the difference between tadpoles and frogs. Something about those little creatures really excites a lot of the kids and speaking from experience, the tadpoles and frogs swimming around with glum expressions can open an exciting conversation with lots of questions.

Take them to the Farm

I remember my first trip to the farm, it was a school trip and that’s when I knew that pigs are very messy creatures. It was a very educating trip and I learned a lot about the farmyard animals. School trips to the farm are very educational and fun at the same time.

Go Camping

Taking your kids to spend week in the woods with somewhere in a rented caravan or even a tent is another way of teaching them about nature. Living life in the countryside is so much more different to living in the city. Apart from the amazing fresh air,they also get to have free space to just explore the outdoors;  an essential part of life that city born and bred children are missing out on.

Take a leaf out of your childhood and think about the things you enjoyed the most about learning. Did you like visiting the local farm? Did it help you learn more about the world? Make your kids enjoy learning by bringing in a bit of fun and games.