Choice boards are highly graphic bingo-like boards filled with educational activities that target multiple intelligences. The purpose of a choice board at home is to keep your child academically engaged and to encourage educational parent-child interactions.
Yes, spring break is a week out of school, but we all know that kids benefit most when learning is ongoing.
Research evidence suggests that the home learning environment (HLE) is an important predictor of differences in children’s academic and social development (e.g.Rose, Lehrl, Ebert, & Weinert, 2018; Tamis-LeMonda, Luo, McFadden, Bandel, & Vallotton, 2019).
Studies go on to show that children’s participation in learning activities, the quality of parent-child interactions, and the availability of learning materials are three key features of the home learning environment that help to support children’s educational development (Bradley & Corwyn, 2002).
Parents play a vital role in their child’s education. So much so that how children view the importance of learning is determined by a parent’s level of engagement and or interest in educational factors.
This is why choice boards at home are highly beneficial. They provide learning activities, offer opportunities for parent-child interactions, give students choice, target multiple intelligences, and ensure skill practice regularly outside of school.
Let’s take a closer look at the 5 benefits of at home choice boards:
Choice Boards Give Students Choice
I figured I’d start with the most obvious and the main reason this option is effective. Instead of mandating math, reading, science or social studies, your child understands that all tasks are required, but they have the autonomy to choose how they go about completing the tasks.
This helps them with decision-making, planning, and responsibility as long as explicit and clear instructions and expectations are given.
Provide Learning Activities
Choice board learning activities give parents the ability to give their children an opportunity to apply their knowledge to real experiences.
This could be done by giving the task of making a snack grocery list of all the items they would want while out on spring break. This learning activity might include giving them a spending limit which would require them to set a budget and searching online ads for the best deal, etc.
This could also lead to shopping practices and money transactions.
The goal is to make sure that each learning activity is meaningful and that the activities build on prior knowledge and allow for students to develop their skills, knowledge, and interests in various ways.
Offer opportunities for parent-child interactions
Parent involvement is a major factor when talking about a child’s education. This is why schools spend a great deal of time and money planning and creating parent and family nights. Schools try to build partnerships with parents and the community in hope that they will see that we have a mutual responsibility when it comes to our kids’ education.
Through choice boards parents learn their children’s interests and are able to spend quality time together completing portions of the tasks/ activities.
Target multiple intelligences
Children learn in many different ways. There are said to be eight intelligences: Linguistic, Logical-mathematical, Bodily-kinesthetic, Musical, Spatial, Naturalist, Interpersonal, and Intrapersonal.
To identify your child’s learning style you must observe and engage with them often.
Because we know that children have multiple learning styles. This means that they can learn in many different ways, giving parents and educators opportunities to encourage strengths and creating opportunities to strengthen weaknesses.
Knowing a child’s learning style will give parents an idea of what types of activities to include on choice boards. Knowing will also influence the final products produced for certain tasks/ assignments.
Allow Learning To Continue Outside of School
School is school. There is a set curriculum, learning objectives, pacing calendars, and standardized tests.
Teachers are providing tier 1 instruction during whole group class time. This means that students are taught current grade-level content with rigor.
All of this works together in the school system to identify your child’s strengths and weaknesses, to group them and to grow them. But all kids don’t learn at the same rate.
All kids don’t enter a grade knowing all that they needed to have learned the previous year.
This is where parents come in.
Parents continuing their child’s learning outside of school will help them see educational needs and provide opportunities for those needs to be met.
This can be done one on one with a parent’s assistance or help a parent identify a tutoring program that will best fit their students needs.
Lastly, choice boards are a fun way to offer students different opportunities to both flex and strengthen their learning muscles. They are also a way for parents to engage their children in academic activities that interest them.
Here is an editable choice board template.
Happy Spring break!!
T.J.