Parent engagement in learning

learning
Written By Manisha Snoyer (co-founder of Modulo)

Perhaps no other tool has shown to improve student learning outcomes then a parent’s involvement in their child’s education. Your child’s best teacher…drumroll…is you! Children learn by emulating you and by having conversations with you about what they are learning and the world around them. You understand your child’s learning style better than anyone else and are ideally suited to be the most passionate advocate for them to develop as a learner. Parent engagement in education doesn’t mean you have to study with your children 24 hours a day. There are so many ways you can play an active role in your child’s education, from asking them questions about their day to studying topics that are of interest to both of you. You don’t have to be a trained teacher to teach your child. You are naturally suited to this important role of mentor, guide and teacher.

“The most accurate predictors of a student’s academic success is not family income or social status, but the extent to which the family creates a home environment that encourages learning and becomes involved in the child’s education”

Featured
Raising Self-Directed Learning in any School Environment from Unruffled
Raising Self-Directed Learning in any School Environment from Unruffled

“In this episode: Janet continues her conversation with Laura Grace Weldon, author of Free Range Learning, about how parents can facilitate their children’s natural instincts to discover and learn in a conventional school system. Laura and Janet share their personal experiences as parents and discuss what they’ve learned while parenting their own children through a variety of school choices.” -from the podcast, Unruffled

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Time Magazine: Why Parenting is more important than Schools, by Annie Murphy Paul
Time Magazine: Why Parenting is more important than Schools, by Annie Murphy Paul

“Given all the roiling debates about how America’s children should be taught, it may come as a surprise to learn that students spend less than 15% of their time in school. While there’s no doubt that school is important, a clutch of recent studies reminds us that parents are even more so. A study published earlier this month by researchers at North Carolina State University, Brigham Young University and the University of California-Irvine, for example, finds that parental involvement — checking homework, attending school meetings and events, discussing school activities at home — has a more powerful influence on students’ academic performance than anything about the school the students attend.”

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Practical Guide to the Montessori Method at Home
Practical Guide to the Montessori Method at Home

“The Practical Guide to the Montessori Method is aimed at parents who want to integrate Montessori activities at home with their children, easily and on a budget. It includes: A basic introduction to the principles of the Montessori philosophy, numerous illustrated examples of how to apply it at home, classified by subject and age, and explained clearly and concisely, a list of Montessori materials which are worth buying. The Guide is written in a pleasant and accessible tone, and has been structured so that it is easy and quick to use, created especially for parents who lack free time. Simple to implement, with activities classified by age, which include illustrations and pictures of the materials. Affordable to execute, with cheap and simple materials. Julia Palmarola is an educational writer specialized in integrating the Montessori Method at home on a budget. Her books are written for parents who want to learn more about Montessori and apply it at home with their children.”

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Let's Play Math: How Families Can Learn Math Together
Let's Play Math: How Families Can Learn Math Together

“Even if you struggled with mathematics in school, you can help your children enjoy learning and prepare them for academic success. Filled with stories and illustrations, Let's Play Math offers a practical, activity-filled exploration of what it means to learn math as a family. Drawing on more than thirty years' teaching experience, Gaskins provides helpful tips for parents with kids from preschool to high school, whether your children learn at home or attend a traditional classroom.”

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Are you qualified to teach?
Are you qualified to teach?

“Parents often tell me, "I'd love to homeschool my kids, but I don't think I'm qualified." Other parents are intrigued by homeschooling, but couldn't possibly imagine themselves as both parent and teacher. Is it possible for average parents to take on the enormous job of educating their children? Aren't years of specialized training required to become a good teacher? The answer to both of these questions is "yes." How is that possible? Because learning at home is very different from learning in a classroom” - by FamilyEducation staff

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The Brave Learner by Denise Gaskins
The Brave Learner by Denise Gaskins

“Parents who are deeply invested in their children's education can be hard on themselves and their kids. When exhausted parents are living the day-to-day grind, it can seem impossible to muster enough energy to make learning fun or interesting. How do parents nurture a love of learning amid childhood chaos, parental self-doubt, the flu, and state academic standards?” -The Brave Learner

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Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann

“Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons is a complete, step-by-step program that shows parents simply and clearly how to teach their children to read. Twenty minutes a day is all you need, and within 100 teaching days your child will be reading on a solid second-grade reading level.” -from the publisher

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Manisha Snoyer (co-founder of Modulo)

For the last 20 years, I’ve taught over 2000 children in 3 countries (of all socio-economic backgrounds). I pioneered an English language program in a conflict region in the Middle East. I’ve worked as a bilingual public school teacher at some of the highest and lowest performing public schools and in all five boroughs of NYC. I’ve tutored 18 subjects in three languages to some of the wealthiest families in NYC, San Francisco and Paris to make up for shortcomings in private schools they were paying up to $60,000 a year to attend.

Since 2015, I’ve helped hundreds of parents start microschools (way before this was a household buzzword). I founded CottageClass, the first marketplace for microschools and learning pods that was part of the Techstars 2018 class. In 2019, I created a virtual learning program to help families through the pandemic, a free online math tutoring program (masteryhour.org), and schoolclosures.org, a hotline developed in collaboration with Twilio and 80 other partners including Khan Academy, Revolution Foods and the Crisis Text Line, that served 100,000 families impacted by school closures.

I’ve climbed trees with children in forest schools in San Francisco, and tested new digital apps with kids in seven countries.

I’ve also coached dozens of families at different stages in their homeschooling journey. Most recently, I founded Modulo with homeschooling dad, best-selling author and tech entrepreneur Eric Ries, to help families curate their children’s education, social and childcare experiences drawing from a diverse array of in-person and online resources.


During the last three years, I’ve devoted much of my time to reviewing and testing secular homeschooling curriculum and other resource. I’ve spent the last three years talking to thousands of secular homeschooling families, and poring over tens of thousands of secular curriculum reviews and testing physical curriculum and digital apps for with hundreds of students to find the highest quality, most engaging, personalized learning materials for every type of learner.

I’ve spoken about homeschooling and modular learning at multiple venues including SXSW EDU, NY Tech Meetup, and on the LiberatedEd podcast.

In 2022, Modulo was one of 8 organizations who were awarded the Bridge Grant from the Vela Education Fund to expand access to homeschooling and modular learning to under-resourced communities.

My experience in education and homeschooling has led me to believe that there is no perfect education for every child, but families have an extraordinary amount of wisdom they can apply to building the perfect education for their individual child.

My goal with Modulo is to make it possible for any family to easily build a customized education that their child will love, and that will empower the whole family to thrive, taking into account, social, emotional and academic needs.

I love to answer questions from parents and receive feedback on how we can improve Modulo, so feel free to reach out anytime! I personally answer all the questions and comments readers leave on my blogs.

In my free time, I like hiking, traveling the world, tasting ceremonial grade matcha, enjoying dark chocolate.

I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Brandeis University with highest honors, with a double degree in French Literature and American Studies and minors in Environmental Studies and Peace & Conflict Studies.

And I love to learn!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/manisha-snoyer-5042298/
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