We want our kids to do well in school. So, we often focus on all the traditional metrics of academic success:
Is she completing her homework on time?
Is he studying diligently for his tests?
Is she behaving in class?
But these questions leave out the bigger picture, and forget about the overarching goal that should be part of our daily question to ourselves: is my child learning how to learn?
Our kids do well in school when they learn how to learn.
In other words, if a child understands their particular learning process, they will be able to replicate it and apply it anytime they are faced with a new task or challenge.
Here’s a way to start helping your kid reflect on their own authentic learning process:
The next time they build a fort at home or get to the next level in their video game or make themselves a snack, ask them how they got there.
- What did they do when things got hard?
- How many times did they have to try something new before they landed on the solution?
- How did they go from something feeling hard to it feeling simple?
The more you highlight the learning process for them, the easier it will be for them to describe its steps and then apply it to any situation, whether with schoolwork or when building a Lego castle.
They’ll be more likely to follow their curiosities and embrace learning challenges because they’ll know they’ve been successful once and can do it again, again, and again.
