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How to support your childs education: Five Educational Websites

As a paren t wh o may be con stan tly movin g or on e wh o is movin g in to an expat situation for th e first time, your kids education becomes a differen t issue th an it would be if you were livin g in your h ome coun try.
Image via Wikipedia Your ch oice of sch ool is importan t an d th e support an d tran sition your ch ild receives is critical in th e total education al developmen t of your ch ild. You will n eed to take an active in terest an d participate in th e process.

Many will ask: What can I do? Edexpat is brin g in g a n umber of ideas an d education al solution s th at will h elp you, as a paren t, prepare your ch ild for a competitive education al process an d provide fun activities an d mean in g to your learn in g support from h ome. We don t in ten d to rein ven t th is material; much of it is already out th ere, freely available, on th e In tern et. Th is first Support Your Ch ild article will con cen trate on an excellen t website from th e BBC. Wh eth er you are from Ch icag o, Lon don , Sydn ey, Aucklan d, Edmon ton or an y En g lish Lan g uag e Cen tre, th e BBCs education al sites are quite amazin g . Th ey are fun , in formative an d a g reat resource to ch eck levels an d stan dards in core curriculum an d learn in g ach ievemen t for youn g sters to teen s. Man y teach ers in th e UK an d abroad h ave foun d th at learn in g th roug h BBC sites is very positive an d th e levels of ach ievemen t are similar in both US an d UK sch ools.

1. Pre-school : CBeebies
We will beg in with th e youn g est ag e g roups Th e Cbeebies website is a compan ion to th e BBCs Cbeebies TV ch an n el. Targ eted at presch oolers, it is full of in teractive lin ked learn in g an d g ames. Play aroun d with th e site wh en th e kids are n ot aroun d! Th e production stan dards beh in d th e con ten t are very h ig h an d th e g ames are en g ag in g an d fun for kids just learn in g th eir way aroun d a computer. Th e BBC are also in troducin g specialized con trols for kids with special n eeds. Every pag e h as button s lin kin g to g uides for paren ts describin g th e ben efits an d learn in g th at can be g ain ed from th e activity.

2. Key Stage 1 : KS1 Bitesize : Kindergarten Early Primary

KS1 bitesize caters for early years, con tain in g lots of very importan t core n umeracy an d literacy learn in g materials, presen ted in an en tertain in g an d log ical format.

3. Key Stage 2 : KS2 Bitesize : Primary Aged children

Th e site is aimed at ch ildren in primary education but it is suitable for some addition al g roups, for example: Studen ts wh ose En g lish lan g uag e skills are in n eed of support or wh o h ave lost some g roun d in core lan g uag e an d n umeracy can use th e KS2 site for man y aspects of revision an d core learn in g support an d catch up. Special Needs Dyslexic, ADHD kids wh o n eed to rein force learn in g at th eir own pace in th eir own time, with your support. Try Question aut learn in g can be lots of fun .

4. Key Stage 3 : KS3 Bitesize : later years Primary and early Secondary
Th e KS3 site is a more soph isticated offerin g for ch ildren in th e later years of Primary Sch ool or early Secon dary (Middle Sch ool in some areas). On ce ag ain , th e production values are h ig h an d th e material is en tertain in g , en g ag in g th e kids as th ey revise an d learn . Th e scope of subjects is also in creased to reflect th e broader curriculum th at kids in th is ag e g roup are studyin g at sch ool.

5. GCSE Bitesize : Secondary Years, early teens.

With th e GCSE Bitesize site we h ave a site th at is primarily desig n ed for th e UK sch ool system h owever th e core curriculum con ten t is compatible with th e core learn in g requiremen ts of most education platforms so th ere are still man y ben efits th at teen ag ers can g ain from th is site.

How to Use the BBC Sites Effectively

Wh en workin g with older studen ts it is importan t th at you work tog eth er to make sure you kn ow wh at th ey are doin g , h ow lon g th ey are workin g an d recordin g wh at th ey h ave don e in order to assess areas th at n eed revision an d review. Th is process can beg in with 9-10 year olds. Th ere is n o n eed to force th is process, make it excitin g an d in terestin g by sh arin g th is with your ch ild. Always en courag e your ch ild to keep a log of th e material th at th ey h ave covered. Th ere are man y available option s from free apps like Evern ote th at automatically syn ch ron ise with an on lin e accoun t to Microsofts On eNote an d Powerpoin t, part of th e Office suite. Start with your preferred software an d en courag e your ch ild to record everyth in g th ey do on th e BBC sites, it is a g ood h abit to g et in to to keep track of all education al access an d exploration on th e in tern et.

Process
1. Create a n ew documen t in your ch osen application an d save it. Th is is an importan t step because man y do n ot save th e documen t as a first step. En courag e th is action with all documen ts. 2. Decide th e level for your ch ild ch ose th e subject area. 3. Set some parameters on use with your ch ild: 1 h our a week, 40 min utes a week, lin k it to a reward system. (Th is will be a topic in an oth er article.)

4. Wh en your ch ild beg in s each session : take a screen sh ot of th e pag e, sh ow th em th e key to use. Th is differs between platforms so ch eck your computer documen tation . On Win dows PrtSc will copy a screen sh ot to th e clipboard. 5. Paste th e screen sh ot in to your log an d write th e date. 6. Repeat th is process for every n ew exercise or activity. 7. Tests: Th ere are some g reat spot tests th at are g ood to test basic skills in each main curriculum area. Th ere are th ree areas of most un its: INFORMATION, ACTIVITY an d TEST. Make sure you h ave a look at th e site an d explain th e fun ction of each part. Wh en th e test is completed, it is marked immediately. Take a screen prin t of th e result. Th e Screen Prin t will n ot sh ow th e wh ole test, so en courag e your ch ild to follow th is formula: a. If h e/sh e makes more th an 2 mistakes on th e test, move th e screen to be able to capture a couple of screen sh ots so th at you will h ave a record of th e mistakes or un kn own s. b. Review th ose areas before movin g on . c. Take th e test ag ain compare th e results. Th is is a g ood exercise to sh ow th at a little bit of revision does make a differen ce. 8. Wh en completin g th e session , take a fin al Screen Sh ot You will see th e time on th e bottom rig h t h an d side of th e Screen Prin t, th is g ives you a g reat record of time, tasks an d ach ievemen t. Most h omework an d study is n ot recorded in th is way an d as such mean s very little to th e in dividual. With th is record, you can sh are in th e ach ievemen t, discuss improvemen ts an d plan th e n ext activity. Because BBC Bitesize is very well plan n ed th e core curriculum is covered well an d n o matter wh ere you are in th e world you can g et an idea of your ch ilds n eeds an d stren g th s from th is on e site, recorded carefully an d stored. (Some studen ts like to prin t it out an d see it as a book.)

Overall Benefits
You can h ave a min i sch ool support system in your h ome th at is fun as well as useful. If you are old fash ion ed an d still like th e th eory of th e 3 Rs, th is site h as th is solid core structure of Literacy, Numeracy an d Scien ce, with a modern elemen t of excitemen t wh ich will both h old atten tion an d reward th e structured user with more satisfyin g results an d en h an ced in quiry an d kn owledg e base. Th e Kn owledg e Base is very wide an d th is site h elps with th e acquisition of th e kn owledg e, storin g an d recall. (Th e subject of an oth er article to come.) Please remember: Your ch ild h as been at sch ool all day an d does g et tired: do n ot make th em do too much in on e sittin g . If you structure th e tasks with th em an d reward th eir effort as well as th eir ach ievemen t you will fin d th ey will spen d more time on th is developmen tal education al site th an you imag in ed. Learn in g h as to be mean in g ful an d fun . Ch allen g e your kid to a test ch allen g e. For th e dad or mum wh o h as to travel a lot, you can receive th e log file in your

email, makin g sure you are sh arin g , commun icatin g an d seein g wh at n eeds to be improved an d h ow to improve, providin g positive feedback immediately.