How can I know how well my child is doing?

What's the best way to track my child's progress through the program?

CJA FAQs
November 12, 2024•2 min read

What’s the best way to track my child’s progress through the programme?

One of the key things we are often told is how much a child's confidence has increased since starting to work with us. Traditional worksheets and the academic approach supported by many schools hadn't worked for their child. They had gone from learning through play in the early years, then suddenly at the beginning of year 1 it had stopped and it had left their child floundering and feeling unable to keep up. To see their child ask questions, show less resistance, to enjoy learning once again, is probably the best way to track a child's progress.

On a practical level, there are two more things I would do to track your child’s progress. May be the most beneficial is by keeping a notebook/ journal of what you have been working on and how well they understood it. Perhaps today you were studying the 12x tables and they got it. But when you look back at your notes from 6 months ago you realise you were struggling with the 10’s and although they aren’t very far apart in chronological order, in the concept of difficulty they are worlds apart. You can look at how far you have come and what you have achieved between you, and you can be so proud of what you have done together.

Another thing you can do is from time to time ‘find’ a resource that you had worked on a short while ago and suggest that you play it again today as a change.

How did they get on?

The thing with games is that providing you keep them fun and enjoyable you can come back to them time and time again and they will never loose their enjoyment.

By going over the games you can reassure yourself that they still remember the ‘rules’ of the methods involved and at the same time, like revision you are reinforcing the information in their brains.

Often if you or they are particularly tired or having a bad day, this is a good time to do this as it removes the pressure of learning something new.

Or maybe just take that time to sit and reflect together on how far you have come. But always remember there is no rush, as they say: slow and steady wins the race. It is better to get the foundations secure and move on from there rather than racing through everything on a superficial level but never really taking the time to grasp and truly understand what you are doing.

Learning is meant to be an enjoyable experience, an opportunity for you to build positive memories and quality time together, celebrate that as well as the progress.

 

 

Track your child's progressrecognising achievementprimary educationhome educationhome learningparenting
For the past 20+ years I have been a firm believer that learning should be an enjoyable experience. I appreciate that traditionally education has revolved around worksheets, textbooks, listening to teachers. But a grounding in early years and working with children who had a variety of learning styles from I learned that it is an individual activity that is personal to all of us. We don’t all learn in the same way. Our influences, our experiences, our capabilities all influence how we retain information. But through it all, I believe that if we can make it enjoyable and engaging, they will want to participate. With participation comes practice which in turn boosts skill and confidence. With an increase in skill and confidence comes a willingness to have a go. This in turn leads to more practice which leads to a positive spiral of success. The moral, we need to make learning fun, engaging, use a range of techniques.

Dawn Strachan

For the past 20+ years I have been a firm believer that learning should be an enjoyable experience. I appreciate that traditionally education has revolved around worksheets, textbooks, listening to teachers. But a grounding in early years and working with children who had a variety of learning styles from I learned that it is an individual activity that is personal to all of us. We don’t all learn in the same way. Our influences, our experiences, our capabilities all influence how we retain information. But through it all, I believe that if we can make it enjoyable and engaging, they will want to participate. With participation comes practice which in turn boosts skill and confidence. With an increase in skill and confidence comes a willingness to have a go. This in turn leads to more practice which leads to a positive spiral of success. The moral, we need to make learning fun, engaging, use a range of techniques.

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