Category: Education

After years of dedication and hard work, your teen has finally completed their homeschooling. Whether it’s from graduating from a certified K-12 school or you home-schooled them yourself, your teen is now ready to start planning for college. College is the true beginning to your child’s life, so you want to ensure everything goes swimmingly.

Here’s how you can prepare your home-schooled child for college.

Financial Prep

The first step in planning out your child’s college education is to figure out the best way to pay for it. How much you have to pay depends on two factors; the college itself and what degree your teen wants to pursue. While college is going to be an investment no matter what, some degrees are more expensive than others. Medical, law, biochemistry and technology are just to name a few.

Once your teen has settled on their educational path, you can then take the next step. If you find yourself in need of financial assistance, consider applying for a student loan from a private lender. A private lender can help your child finance their education by offering them reduced interest rates. If you want your child to solely focus on their education, you can consider taking out a private parent loan instead.

Choosing the Right College

Your teen is going to have their first taste of freedom by picking which college they want to attend. However, this can take a while because not every college may suit your child’s needs or standards. Some colleges may not even offer certain degrees. Sit down with your teen and help them research local colleges. Look at the reviews left to get an idea of their reputation.

Bear in mind that this is their choice, so they should always have the final say. Don’t set expectations or give them options only you would choose. Instead, give them sound advice by relaying your own experiences. Make it an unforgettable experience for the both of you.

Teach Them Valuable Life Skills

Whether they’re transitioning into a public college or decided to continue studying at home, you need to teach your child some new skills. Not only will they help them with their college work, these skills are essential for being a successful adult. Below is a list of the life skills you need to help your teen learn:

• Effective communication
• Practicing self-control
• Learning to think critically
• The importance of time management
• Embracing and overcoming challenges
• Using failure as a learning tool
• Teaching good money habits
• Appropriately asserting themselves in specific situations
• Showing empathy to others

Learning these kinds of skills is no different than taking on a habit. It’ll take a little practice and diligence, but your teen should pick up on these skills relatively quickly.

Prepare Their Transcripts

To maximize their chances of being accepted into their chosen college, make sure to have copies of their high school transcripts. These documents are what showcase your child’s grades in school, classes they’ve taken and extracurriculars they’ve been a part of. It also shows their GPA, which is actually a requirement for some colleges.

Independence and Responsibility

When you home-school your kids, you have a certain degree of control over their daily lives, this will change once they go off to college. Everything from internet accountability to folding their own laundry will now rest on their shoulders. It is best to baby step them towards these freedoms but loosening the reigns little by little as the even gets closer. This is not the time to practice the rip off the band aid strategy.

Give Them Some Pre-College Work

Perhaps the best way to truly get your teen into the swing of things, supply them with some college prep work. This is certainly ideal if your child is hoping to get involved with AP classes throughout their major. AP stands for advanced preparation and is harder than the standard version of a course.

But you don’t have to worry about paying for an external program. Your teen can participate in college prep work for free. There are plenty of online courses and platforms, like Khan Academy and Coursera, for your child to partake in until it’s time for the real deal. To give you both an example of this type of work, it involves lessons and tests for subjects, like history, geography and even calculus.

The pandemic has dramatically changed the education sphere. Schools have begun to teach remotely and use digital platforms. A lot of distance learning tools for kids have appeared as well. Distance learning when kids were sent home from schools hit parents unexpectedly.

In addition, this has become a real challenge not for parents and teachers only, but for older brothers, sisters, as well as the kids themselves who needed to learn to focus during online learning.

New technologies and tools for distance learning have made online education even more convenient and accessible. Of course, all services, tools, and platforms are recommended and provided by the teacher according to the educational program and lesson plan.

However, there are general-purpose tools for distance learning. They will always be handy for kids during the educational process and when doing homework. These tools are easy to use and will simplify remote learning.

In this article, we will not give tips for parents on how to help their kids while studying at a virtual school but will talk about the must-have tools for distance learning.

Google Classroom

Google Classroom is an online service for online education. The tool helps organize the learning process, conduct online classes, and control students’ knowledge.

Most likely, you have already worked with this application as part of Google Workspace, and your kid definitely knows how to deal with it. In any case, this is an extremely handy tool for distance learning. It has the necessary features for the easy learning process.

With the right approach, a teacher will create a convenient schedule, and your kid won’t forget to do all the homework. It will no longer be necessary to ask if your child has done the tasks and prepared this or that project. You can check all the relevant and necessary information yourself in the app.

Microsoft Teams

This communication tool is also actively used by virtual schools. The teacher uploads lesson materials to Teams in advance. Each student in the class can view these materials directly in the system or download them to their computer; complete tasks individually or work together with other students and the teacher; discuss the topic in a chat format.

The teacher can demonstrate a presentation or other lesson materials during the online lesson, as well as conduct fun activities for bored kids in real-time.

This service is especially convenient for kids. They can find all the files with educational materials, links to useful websites and resources, videos, and much more in one place.

Zoom

Zoom is a video calling service where online classes are organized at the proper level. Educators from all over the world use this tool for distance learning and prefer it to Discord to share their knowledge.

To participate in the online class, your kid can use any convenient gadget: computer, laptop, tablet, or phone. If you decide to move or are away from home, the application allows your child to attend the lesson from any place where the Internet is.

PDFChef

PDF files are widely used for a variety of tasks, but editing them isn’t a trivial task. Therefore, for a successful learning process in a virtual school, your child will need this PDF editor to do homework and work on various projects.

This tool for distance learning is a full-featured PDF editor for single pages and entire files. It has all the features to modify text and other elements in files without losing formatting. This service includes all the necessary functions for kids. Furthermore, parents can easily work with it as well.

PowerPoint

This program is still in the lead among similar services. Of course, there are many other presentation makers. However, PowerPoint takes the honorable first place among the free software.

The program is developed to work with slides and create presentations. The ability to work in such a program can be useful to your kid when preparing various projects and reports — it is often required to prepare bright visual materials with text, pictures, and tables. Mastering the creation of simple presentations using PowerPoint is easy. It’s enough to have an idea about the main features and the program options.

Canva is also often used to create simple and stylish presentations. This service attracts users with a huge number of templates and layouts.

WhatsApp

This app is a “tip for parents” as it’s the most popular way for virtual school teachers and parents to interact.

Almost every second owner of a modern gadget has this messenger installed. It is simple and easy to use, fast, and has everything you need for communication, including transferring photos, videos, and, in general, any files.

The service allows you to establish communication between participants in the educational process and maintain constant contact. You don’t need to call up and meet in person with the teachers. You can easily solve all the significant issues by chatting, even when it’s inconvenient for you to call.

Bandicam Screen Recorder

The next tool for remote learning on our list is this screen recorder. The software will be useful to your kid when preparing projects, presentations, videos. Moreover, using this software, children can record screens or take a screenshot of any fragment of homework or material and send it to the teacher to get an additional explanation.

Bandicam is absolutely easy to use and very user-friendly to anyone, even to a beginner who has never tested it before. Therefore, you and your kid will easily master this tool for remote learning. The program also records sound from a microphone, a computer, or a running application.

Conclusion

Distance learning was first introduced in 2020 as a necessary measure to combat coronavirus infection. Then the new format caused numerous disputes among all participants in the educational process. For some, it has been difficult to adapt to remote learning. Others enthusiastically supported this decision, noting distance learning as an effective alternative to the traditional format.

Modern technologies and tools for distance learning help organize the online education process efficiently and in the shortest possible time. Online and desktop software help to quickly complete the tasks assigned to the student.

Today learning platforms and virtual schools of all kinds allow your kid to gain knowledge even in a bed. We have listed the must-have tools for distance learning that will facilitate the process of getting an online education.

Stay safe and protect your children on the Internet!

Computer coding, especially if you’re young, can sound like an impossible challenge. You would think it’s too technical until you notice that it’s easy enough for even kids to do. Coding itself has so many benefits, even beyond the usual advantages it can give to a child’s future career.

Whether learning Python coding, Ruby, Java, or Scratch, coding for kids is a powerful way to optimize values formation, personal growth and relieve potential attention-deficit behaviors.

Here are 6 unknown benefits of coding for kids unrelated to coding itself.

Computer Programming Promotes Logical Thinking

Coding is a creative form of thinking and problem-solving. Children are often taught how to test, think critically, and solve problems in school. Computer science is a field that teaches kids how to code using logic and problem-solving. It’s also one of the many fun ways your kids can learn to code.

Every code follows a specific language and semantic where; if you want to get the best results, you need to follow through the logic of the code. Regardless of the coding language, solid logic skills can help you resolve many issues and potential semantic errors.

In real life, being logical leads to strong critical thinking skills. You would develop good common sense, question issues for evidence, and have a more scientific way of thinking. Logical thinking improves your problem-solving skills and cuts down on the time you need to resolve any issue.

Coding Helps Children Avoid Procrastination

School life can be difficult, and students tend to procrastinate. While coding isn’t a solution for procrastination, it can help you avoid it. Coding teaches children to solve problems, think logically, and be creative. This habit of being creative and avoiding procrastination can benefit their future.

When you learn to code, you learn how to structure thoughts, solve problems, and structure ideas. You learn how to break problems into steps and to get organized. This organized habit can come in handy for the student and work. It helps you develop good time management and work habits.

Procrastination is the bane of every parent. Children who learn to code can avoid this habit. It teaches them how to work smart, not hard. Whether you do online coding classes or learn from the class, it teaches children how to set aside ample time to plan their activities.

Coding Helps Children Develop Focus

Coding is an all-inclusive skill that, for example, also teaches children how to follow directions, explore unexpected outcomes, and fix problems. Coding requires a certain level of focus. When children start coding, they first need to learn the basics. They don’t have to know everything at once, which helps children develop their focus.

The code often resembles a puzzle, and the child has to follow directions. Skill development apps for kids can teach them how to focus on the task at hand and think outside of the box to solve a coding wall. It teaches them that they probably don’t know the proper solution if they don’t follow the directions.

In coding, you have to motivate yourself to work through the processes. You have to stay focused. You learn how to tie all the loose ends and structure your ideas. This habit of being organized is helpful to them in all aspects of their lives. They learn how to manage their thoughts and structure their ideas.

Coding Helps Children Develop Creativity

Coding for children teaches them to be creative since coding involves solving a problem. Object-oriented programming for beginners, for example, is a particular form of coding where children need to imagine a situation and develop a solution.

Creativity is more than just coming up with ideas. Creativity requires the ability to structure your thoughts and work within a task’s parameters. Coding teaches children how to structure their thoughts, think outside the box, and solve problems.

In coding, it’s considered bad practice to reinvent the wheel. You have to find existing solutions and use them. You have to learn to follow directions and structure your work. This creative habit can be a fantastic outlet for many other skills.

Coding Helps Children Develop Self Confidence

Coding for children teaches them self-confidence, too. Children learn that they can solve any problem if they spend enough time pondering solutions and acting on them. This helps build their self-confidence, knowing that they can rely on their skills.

When kids code, they learn to be independent, a precious skill. In life, children need to know how to protect themselves from peer pressure, make decisions, and present themselves. Coding teaches children to be independent.

Confidence in yourself is a huge advantage, as many people respect confidence and being comfortable under your skin. It can help you overcome many obstacles and achieve your goals. Coding helps children develop self-esteem because they use their own creativity to solve problems.

Coding Helps Children Manage Stress

Coding is one of many ways children can learn to relax. In school, children often have problems with stress management. Stress management is essential to help children manage their emotions.

In schools, teachers are trained to relieve stress. They teach children how to focus on the right tasks and manage their time. However, these strategies don’t always work. Children often struggle to manage their emotions and stress.

When you learn how to code, you develop ways how to manage stress. Children who learn to code in school learn how to work under pressure. Coding teaches you how to organize your thoughts and structure your ideas. You discover how to find solutions within the set parameters of the code. You learn to prioritize what needs to be done first to move the project forward.

The Bottom Line About Coding

Coding, especially for kids, is an invaluable skill that can help them later in life. There are many other benefits to learning coding, such as providing problem-solving and analytical skills.

Learning how to code for children gives them many advantages, such as helping them avoid procrastination, developing focus, developing self-confidence, and reducing stress.

Learning to code is fun, too. Children can learn to code from an app or in a class. They can learn coding from a parent or a teacher. They can learn to code online from an app or in a class. Learning coding can open so many doors for your child, and you shouldn’t miss this opportunity to help them succeed.

Parents get very concerned when it comes to making the perfect choice for their child’s education. And it is only natural because finding the right one among 100 different schools is a very challenging task. As a parent, you would want nothing but the best for your child.

This is in all aspects: education, extra-curricular activities, environment, and so on. All these factors contribute to helping your child develop the best qualities.

However, the task becomes more challenging when you are a parent living overseas in UAE. You may not be aware of the country’s standard and education system. So, allow us to make the choice easier by allowing us to walk you through what Reach British School has to offer for your child!

What Is Reach British School?

Launched in 2014, Reach British School is one of UAE’s leading ISP international schools and is also a part of the International Schools Partnership (or ISP). They cater to all students between the ages of 3 years to 18 years (Nursery/FS1 to Year 13/Pre-KG to Grade 12).

The course of the curriculum followed here is the National Curriculum for England, which is known to be a benchmarked course all over the world. The primary focus of this institution is academics. However, they also motivate the students to get involved in cultural rigor challenges.

This allows them to excel in both areas, including their academics and personal growth.

In addition to this, Reach British School is also one of the very few schools to aid their second-year students by offering stunning scholarships!

By enrolling your child here, you can be guaranteed that they will get extraordinary international learning connections, quality assurance, and excellent governance.

What Reach British School Has To Offer

Now that you have a basic idea of what Reach British School is let us take a look at what the school has to offer in detail.

World-Class British Curriculum

As mentioned earlier, Reach British School follows the National Curriculum for England. This curriculum is focused and centered around the students and also challenges them to achieve more.

Professionally Skilled Staff

Moreover, the teachers at Reach British School focus on the all-around development of every single student. Before they start a class, the teachers carefully plan out their lessons so that every student understands the lessons.

Other than catering to just academics, they also cater to the child’s emotional and social achievements.

The learning environment is one that is very social, stimulating, and organized. This way, the children get the best experiences in various challenges like teamwork, solving puzzles, project work, and so on.

All children are given awards when they overcome challenges which further helps by boosting their self-esteem and confidence levels.

Best Campus Experience

Give your child the best campus experience as they explore the heated 25m indoor swimming pool, spacious, well-ventilated classrooms, huge multi-purpose indoor sports hall, a superb astroturf football field, a multi-sports pitch meant for athletics, and a newly resurfaced central play area.

Additionally, they also have stocked up libraries, science labs, and ICT suites (also known as Information and Communication Technologies), interesting digital projects, and impressive school canteens!

High-Quality Health Services

At Reach British School, you can be guaranteed that your child’s safety will be the main priority. This school has joined hands with the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi (HAAD) to provide the best health care services for your child.

The nurses in the school are trained to teach children how to live healthy, thereby promoting safety.

Healthy House System

At Reach British School, every child is taught to aim for excellence by improving their sense of team spirit. And that is why children are sorted in different houses to inculcate the habit of teamwork and healthy competition.

To practice this, the school organizes various competitions that are designed to test the child’s physical, creative, and intellectual elements. Furthermore, this helps to promote creative thinking and collaboration among the children.

In order to do so, the school will give your child a house color right when they are enrolled. Not only will this make them feel like they belong with the community of the school, but they will also be able to win points for their house from day 1.

This way, they can bag a lot of appreciation and even stand a chance to get elected as the school’s Primary Head, Primary Deputies, and Primary Lead Prefect!

Excellent Online Learning System

Given the current global situation, we understand that your child’s health and well-being are a concern. And that’s why Reach British School has started an excellent online learning system!

In fact, this school’s online education system has received the highest rating by ADEK in all 13 areas! This is because even with online learning, Reach has maintained:

• A clear focus on learning
• Motivation for students to learn
• Attendance and engagement
• Sharing, connecting, and three-way communication
• Real-life learning connections
• Time management
• Feedback and other steps

However, this has all been made possible thanks to our talented team of staff and the constant support of the parents!

Affordable Fee Structure

The best part about Reach British School is that the fee structure is very affordable. They are also very flexible as they allow you to pay the fees as an annual payment or in three installments.

They are flexible with payment options as well and they support your payment in the form of cash, cheque, online banking, and credit card. Moreover, if you have two or more children, you can even avail yourself of discounts of 5-10%!

They also offer corporate discounts for the following companies:

• Etihad Airways
• SEHA
• Mubadala
• Esaad

Why Choose Reach British School?

If you are looking to enroll your child in an exciting school with guarantees to help lay a strong foundation for a successful future, your best option is Reach British School.

Moreover, the school also has passionate English-speaking teachers who will give your child the best in academics but also offers a wide range of fun extra-curricular activities. All these combined are guaranteed to give your child everything they need for a bright future.

Additionally, they provide one-of-a-kind opportunities specially curated for secondary students along with scholarships.

It is also interesting to note that Reach British School is one that has been certified by the British Schools Middle East (BSME) and is also an active member of this community. Furthermore, Reach is also a part of the International Schools Partnership, which provides quality education for children across the country.

Final Words

We understand that as a parent, investing in your child’s future is the most important thing. However, at Reach British School, the future of every single child, including yours, shines bright.

With world-class learning programs and skilled teachers, you can be sure that your child’s path to success is one that is paved clearly. This is because our school delivers the best of tried and tested educational programs, which leads the students to enter established universities.

So, come and join us on our journey to help create a brighter future!