As a parent, you are your child’s first and most important teacher. When families are involved in their children’s learning, children have better feelings about going to school and do better. There are many ways that parents can support their children’s learning at home and throughout the school year. Here are some ideas to get you started!
Linda Campbell
School Counsellor, School District 57
lcampbell@sd57.bc.ca
Making Time Count
Put specific times on your calendar each week when you will spend time with your children. During that time, focus your love and attention on your child.
Use car time to talk with your children. There is no phone or TV to interfere. No one can get up and leave. And kids know they really have your ear.
Look for things to do together as a family. Get everyone involved in choosing how to spend your time together.
Reading to Your Child
Try relaxing your family’s bedtime rules once a week on the weekend. Let your child know that he can stay up as late as he wants as long as he ís reading in bed.
Help your child start their own library, paperback books are fine. Encourage your child to swap books with friends. Check used bookstores. Give books as gifts.
Want your children to be good readers? Let them see you read. More students than ever have reported that their homes contained few or no reading materials.
Try holding D-E-A-R times at your house. DEAR stands for Drop Everything And Read. During DEAR time, everyone in the family sits down for some uninterrupted reading time.
With young children,try reading aloud at bath time.
Use the Rule of Thumb to see if a book is on your child’s reading level: Have your child read a page of the book aloud. Have her hold up one finger for each word she does not know. If she holds up four fingers and a thumb before the end of the page, the book is probably too hard for her to read alone. But it might be a great book to read aloud.
Building Self-Esteem
Have your child make a book about themselves, with their own illustrations and wording. A Book About Me is a great way to help your child see herself as somebody.
Help your child discover their roots by talking with family members during holidays and other visits.
Constantly look for ways to tell your children what you like about them, that you love them.
Try giving your child the responsibility of growing a small garden even in just a flowerpot. The positive and negative results of carrying out your responsibilities are very clear.
How keep children moving in the morning: After her daughter wakes up, Mom begins to play her favorite CD or music from her Ipod. Her daughter has until the end of the fifth song to get herself dressed for school.
Reinforcing Learning
Encourage kids to collect things. Whether they collect rocks, shells, leaves, or bugs is not important. But by collecting, children are learning new ways to make sense out of their world.
Estimating is an important math skill. We estimate how much our groceries will cost. We estimate how much time we’ll need to complete a project at work. You can help your child learn to estimate at home. Here’s one idea: As you’re driving, estimate the distance to your destination. Then estimate how much time it will take to get there. Use the odometer or a map to check your work.
Talk about geography in terms children can understand: Go through your house and talk about where things came from. A calculator may have come from Taiwan. A box of cereal may Regina, Saskatchewan. Talk about where the wheat for your bread came from. Where was the cotton for your blue jeans grown? Tell your children where your ancestors came from. Find the places on a map.
Show your child that writing is useful. Have them help you write a thankyou letter or ordering something, asking a question, etc. Then show them the results of your letter.
Homework
Try playing Beat the Clock with your child during homework time. Look over the assignment and figure out about how long it should take to complete it. Allow a little extra time and set a timer for that many minutes. No prizes are needed. There is great satisfaction in getting the work done on time.
Teach your child to use the formula SQ3RR when doing any homework assignment. The letters stand for a proven five- step process that makes study time more efficient and effective: Survey, Question, Read, Restate, Review.
Here are five tips to make homework time easier for you and your child: 1. Have a regular place for your child to do homework. Use a desk or table in a quiet room. Be sure there is plenty of light. 2. Find a regular time for homework. You may want to make a rule, No television or computer/cell phone until homework is finished. 3. During homework time, turn off the TV and radio. 4. Help your child plan how she’ll use her time. 5. Set a good example. While your child is doing homework, spend some time reading or working yourself. Then when homework is done, you can both talk about how much you’ve accomplished.
Nitty gritty homework tips: Do the most difficult homework first. Save easy subjects for when you’re tired. Do the most important assignments first. If time runs short, the priorities will be finished. Do what ís required first. Finish the optional assignments later even if they’re more fun.
Look over your child’s homework everyday. Start at an early age and keep it up as long as you can. Praise good work. Your interest will encourage good work.
Try having your child teach you the homework. The teacher always learns more than the student.
…from the Parent Institute Or visit this Web site: www.parent-institute.com
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