Tips for keeping students engaged and focused

As an educator and mother of two, I learned that children have their own unique learning styles whether they are visual learners, auditory learners, kinesthetic learners, or tactile learners. My oldest son, DJ has an auditory/kinesthetic learning style where he responds better by listening to books, follows directions well, and enjoys moving around to learn. As for my preschooler, Khiree, he has a visual/kinesthetic learning style. He enjoys picture and rhyming books, watching videos, and dancing to engage with his peers. All children respond differently to the subjects taught in their classrooms. From my previous experience working with different children when tutoring and even working in the classroom, there are many ways to keep them engaged with the teacher and their peers. I personally like getting to know the child first by just asking about the things they find interest in whether it is videogames, cartoons, tv shows, drawing, etc. As an educator, we are able to use what our student's interests are, and incorporate them into our lessons. While our goal is to ensure that the children learn, they can also have fun while doing so.

My goal is to show my students that I genuinely care and advocate for their academic achievements. I don't want to give the impression that I'm the "boring teacher/tutor". Therefore, I play music (via KidzBop) while they work independently; assign group activities where they are collaborating with their peers, I also ask questions and give polls for them to choose what we do next. As for the activities, I would recommend that they are relevant to the lesson but make it a fun experience. Outdoor activities are a plus because children love nature and learning about it. Create activities where children can make real-life connections from their personal experiences.