Gone are the days of slate boards, chalk and learning things by rote. (Hoorah!) Today’s children, experience a far broader educational experience with ‘interaction’ considered a fundamental key to their success.  Children, it seems, learn more eagerly and effectively when lessons are engaging and fun.  (I know, who would have thunk it, eh?)

Earlier this year, my eldest son and I took our first tentative steps together through the school gates and into the world of education.  Whilst my son approached this new chapter in his development with excitement and enthusiasm, I can well remember standing in the classroom in shock as an invisible brick of overwhelm hit me square between the eyes.  How on earth was my energetic little boy going to cope in this new environment?  How did they expect him to learn to read?  They’ll be lucky if they can get him to sit still for three consecutive minutes!  Let’s just say, that ‘attention’ is not a strong point for the males in my household (huh hmmm…no offence hubby!)

In a manner befitting a mother, it is possibly fair to say that, I was worrying over nothing.  Whilst my son does undeniably suffer from poor concentration levels and a moderate speech disorder he has settled in well, and shows a willingness to learn.  I for my part, am very keen to build upon anything he learns in the classroom to help to increase his confidence in his own abilities and ensure that he continues to enjoy his schooling career.

So, when I was recently offered the chance to review the ‘Skwirk’ website with my son, I jumped at it.

What does Skwirk mean to parents?

Skwirk is an education portal featuring syllabus specific content for Australian school students in every state and territory.

Skwirk covers the core subjects studied in Australian primary and secondary schools including Maths, Science, Technology, English, History, Geography, Commerce, SOSE and HSIE.

What does Skwirk mean to kids?

‘Skwirk ‘ – that’s ‘school work’ said REALLY fast!  Cool, huh?

It’s a website choc-a-block full of awesome animations, videos, activity sheets and fun games that you can do on the computer to make you really brainy!  Everyone loves working on the computer, right?  Learn stuff whilst having fun – awesome!

My own experience using this resource has been nothing but positive, with my son actively requesting to use the computer to do his ‘skwirk’ when he comes home from school…and even on weekends.

The variety of resources that are available to choose from makes it an entertaining and rewarding experience, and levels are age appropriately, so that if for instance, I am busy cooking the dinner, by clicking a button to have the words read to him, he is able to continue independently  with little or no assistance.  (Although, I must admit, given a choice between running the vacuum around and sitting at the computer desk with my son and the Skwirk program, Skwirk wins hands down!  Obvious housework-loathing issues aside, I have felt empowered by ‘Skwirk’ as a parent.  It has given me confidence to help my son on his educational journey.  I have been able to identify not only his weaknesses, but also his strengths and have witnessed an incredible leap in his knowledge and abilities.  As a parent, it doesn’t get much more awesome than that!

For me, this education portal, for less than $2 a week, is a no-brainer.  It’s like signing in to your own personal tutor!  I absolutely love it!

For more information, or to get sign up for a FREE TRIAL go to http://www.skwirk.com.au/

You’ll be glad you did!