Written By: Paige Neely
How many of you can honestly admit that your child that is 8 or younger has their own tablet, phone or knows how to confidently use technology with ease.
How many of you can admit that you didn't have those privileges at their age and wonder why you're allowing your kiddo to have those privileges...
According to recent studies, "Many contend that screen time is contributing to childhood obesity, depression, anxiety, and anti-social and unfocused behavior. They say that screen use is robbing this generation of kids of their full potential—and their childhoods."(Dana Foundation).
What steps can you take to help limit or eliminate screen time and bring back the good ol' pen to paper, and book-in-hand ways to your students?
At Tutoring & Beyond, we strongly believe in the traditional ways of learning as we can never fully rely on technology to be there when we need it. For example, what can you do with a tablet that has not battery life vs what can we do with a piece of paper and pen? We encourage students to write in cursive, use dictionaries and to annotate stories.
As a mother, I've noticed the instant gravitation of little ones eyes to a screen. They are instantly amazed and overstimulated by the bright colors and movements which makes it difficult for books to compete in comparison. However, teaching kids to gravitate towards the old ways of teaching is much simpler than some may think.
Here are some ways we start their journey:
1) Find Their Topic of Interest
Ask your student what they like the most when it comes to school subjects, sports, shows, animals, anything. Then find books that surround that topic (for their grade level) and read with them.
2) Active Learning
Go on a family field trip. Get excited to escape the house for a bit. Pinterest has many great ideas for this. And if the weather is too hot, get crafty with teaching. Again, Pinterest supplies great science experiments, English and math activities along with arts and crafts.
3) Talk With Our Team
If you are needing some help, our team is here to help our. Our team will do a full evaluation for your student to find the perfect outlet into a new way of learning.
Contact us today to find out more ways to bring your student away from the screens and into the books.
Tutoring & Beyond