Free guide · For parents
Learning tips for parents.
First, let's be clear about what learning isn't. Learning isn't a collection of memorized facts, or a passive process of reading and rereading information.
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Sleep
Think of sleep as the time your child's brain moves what they have learned from a temporary “inbox” into long-term storage. We are naturally wired to forget roughly 70% of new information within a single day, and fragmented or insufficient sleep makes this even worse. Sufficient, high-quality sleep helps clear the mind and strengthen the neural pathways essential for learning. Sleep is non-negotiable.
When children don't sleep well, knowledge simply doesn't stick, focus cannot be directed, and everything just feels harder than it should.
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Figure out what to learn
Help your child figure out exactly what the learning goal is. Focus on why it matters and what achieving that goal looks like. If the goal isn't crystal clear and achievable with effort, a young learner will not be motivated to even try.
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Don’t try to learn what you don’t yet understand
If your child doesn't understand what they're reading, or the question they're being asked, encourage them to pause and get curious. Often, this means they're missing a key definition, fact, or foundational model. These act as anchors for new ideas to latch onto.
Don't memorize “blindly.” It produces knowledge of negligible value. Instead, prioritize memorizing why things happen.
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Keep it simple
Encourage your child to make flashcards and break complex ideas into their simplest questions and answers. That could mean fill-in-the-blank questions, labeling the parts of a diagram, or rewording concepts in their own words. All are powerful ways to simplify. Simple ideas stick together to build a foundation of understanding, which then makes up more complex systems.
Understanding emerges from repeated exposure to simple concepts from different angles. Sometimes this means doing many, many practice problems until the idea eventually ‘clicks.’
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Practicing flashcards
Create three piles, then review the flashcards and sort them into those piles.
Pile 1
I know this
Pile 2
Sort of know it
Pile 3
Don’t know
If they don't know a card, put a small mark on it. This helps keep track of the cards that actually matter. If a card is repeatedly answered incorrectly, toss it. Try rewording and rewriting the question and answer.
A more advanced version is the Leitner system. We write about the idea behind it in spaced repetition.
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Reflection
Tasks that require deep focus should be followed by quiet self-reflection. Questions like:
- Why do I keep getting this wrong?
- These two flashcards have the same answer but the questions are different. Do I know why?
- This flashcard has so much information on it. Maybe I can make it into three or four different cards.
- Am I just memorizing flashcards, or do all these ideas connect to each other?
- Why am I learning this stuff?
Final thoughts
Cheer them on, and ask the questions.
The habit of reviewing flashcards alone can be extremely difficult. As a parent, you can help by cheering on the effort and playing short, 10-minute games to review what your child has learned. Just ask for the flashcards they wrote and, in a playful yet deliberate manner, ask the questions.
Pay careful attention to how they respond. Are they excited, tired, worried, or frustrated? How a student reacts matters. These are cues for you to think about. If they are frustrated, it's a sign to simplify the concept further or take a break. If they are excited, celebrate that “click” of understanding.
Ultimately, your goal isn't just to help them memorize facts, but to show them that they are capable of mastering difficult things. By focusing on the strategic learning process rather than just the grade, you are helping them build a foundation for a lifetime of confident learning.
Grades 4–8 · New York City
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