Do you work together with siblings

Do you do group lessons with siblings?

tutoring
August 05, 2024•2 min read

We’re often asked if we can work with siblings together. Sometimes this works. Sometimes it’s a nightmare and it becomes a battle of trying to prove their skills against the other.

It is very unlikely that you will work with siblings who have exactly the same ability, so often one is left feeling undermined by the other one’s knowledge/ ability.

Personally, I’d rather work individually for half the time and focus directly on each child’s needs rather than offer something that sort of suits both, regardless of the rivalry between them.

I look at myself and my brother, we are completely different in our abilities and learning styles. Likewise with my 3 children, they are all completely different to each other: their abilities, goals, preferences.

One time (going back several years) to not long after Clara James Tutoring was founded, I worked with twins. Apart from their age they had nothing in common and clearly didn’t get on. Within a couple of weeks, they ended up shouting and crying because the rivalry between them was so rife!

 That was the last time we worked as a three…

Obviously, it’s not normally as bad as this. Siblings often get competitive but not to that degree. I worked with 2 sisters just before the first lockdown. They were different ages, but similar abilities. They worked really well together. Their personalities complimented each other. They were, however, the general exception to the rule.

How you broach this is obviously at your discretion but be aware if you are working on confidence as well as knowledge, siblings working together can be detrimental for one of them as there will normally be one who is more capable, more confident in their abilities than the other.

If you are looking for a tutor and would like to have a chat, do get in touch and we will always do our best to help. [email protected]

 

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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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