Study Aids Help Children

Now that online education has been developed, albeit less than satisfactorily, there is a danger of schools reverting to online presentations to solve days of severe weather interrupting education.  This is one example, but others exist.  It is too easy to simply send out a message that a school will be online for one or even more days.

After students have been online getting back to the level where they should be requires some refreshing.  But not all students need the same amount of catching up. 

An involved parent will certainly probe understanding of skill levels that should have been attained.  This can be done by using posters and flip books that are grade appropriate.   A parent can use these tools to probe a student’s understanding of a topic.  Students can then study using these tools to get up to their needed level if it is determined that there is a need to do so. 

The same tools can be used when a school temporarily goes online, or if the student is absent due to an illness.  Schools can now go online for weather.  Severe weather days off may be a thing of the past for some schools.

While this looks good as first glance, we must ask whether the substituted classes are of the same value as regular classes.

For children being homeschooled, the home is the classroom.  Set aside an area where educational aids can be stored, accessed when needed, and utilized in the learning process. 

Flip books are multiple page books that set on a triangular stand.  The base of the triangle is the support while the book opens over the top edge of the stand.  Pages can be flipped, revealing more material.  Often the pages are printed on both sides, so turning the stand around is necessary.

Flip books can be used for longer topics, or for related topics.  It is common to find flip books for material from a given grade level.  So, it is possible to review all math ideas necessary for, say third grade, mastery.

These can be higher in price than a poster but sharing with others in a small group can make the cost manageable.

Posters can address a single topic, or they can be grouped to address multiple topics.  Purchasing a group of posters is more economical than purchasing many single posters. 

One thing to keep in mind is that there might be a need for a set of posters for mathematics topics and a need for a different set of posters for English.  Whatever the subject, the group of posters will often be subject specific.

Fortunately, material often is repeated at lower grade levels, so a poster set might serve several years of needs.

As with flip books, sharing with others is an economic option.

Poster sets can mimic flip books if an easel is used.

Practice is important, especially in mathematics.  If you can find topical practice problems in a book it is wise to augment your presentation tools with it.  Otherwise create your own problem set. 

Choose carefully.  There must be answers.  Practicing without being able to check answers is counter-productive.

Create added problems if necessary.  Use a good calculator to solve the problems that you create.  This will reduce careless errors.  Do so out of sight of the student, for the techniques of solving problems is itself a needed skill.  If the student sees you using a calculator an apathetic attitude might develop.

There are so many study aids, even if limited to these types, that cost of obtaining all of them is prohibitive.  Worse, if a student is pushed into using too much time to studying the student may shut down.  Be reasonable.

Resources are most abundant in arithmetic and in English, but some exist for other areas of study.  S.T.E.M. resources can be found more than resources for many other fields.  But do not hesitate to look for other fields to be represented with quality resources, albeit fewer in number.

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The introduction image is a my own.