Help Your Child
A Guide for Parents to help their children to succeed in school
YOU ARE YOUR CHILD’S FIRST TEACHER.
PARENT INVOLVEMENT - The more involved you are in your child’s education, the more likely your child is to succeed in school.
- Research shows that parent support is more important to school success tha a student’s IQ, economic status, or school setting.
WHEN PARENTS ARE INVOLVED - Children get higher grades and test scores
- Children have better attitudes and behavior.
- Children complete more homework.
- Children are more likely to complete high school and enroll in post-high school education.
PARENT INVOLVEMENT BEGINS AT HOME
- Spend time with your child
- Ask your child about his or her day.
- Use car time to talk with, and listen to, your child.
- Take walks or ride bikes together.
- Look for things to do as a family.
- Eat dinner together and sue this time to talk about the day’s events.
Help your child develop routines
- Have regular homework or reading time.
- Make sure your child has a regular bedtime that allows for plenty of rest.
- Give your child age-appropriate chores.
- Make sure your child has a nutritious breakfast every morning.
Teach your child to love to read
- Read to your child from an early age.
- Let your child see you read.
- Listen to your child read.
- Take your child to the library to check out books of interest.
- Provide your child with books and magazines written at his or her reading level.
Create a study environment in your home
- Do not allow the TV to be on while your child is doing homework.
- Make a study area that has paper, pencils, pens, erasers, a dictionary, and other materials your child uses to do schoolwork.
- Check your child’s homework when it is finished.
TURN DAILY ACTIVITIES INTO LEARNING
- Cook together. Your child can read the recipe and measure ingredients.
- Do laundry. Your child can sort laundry by color, read washing instructions, measure laundry soap, and time wash cycles.
- Go grocery shopping. Your child can write the shopping list, compare prices, and identify and classify food items.
- Organize the house. Your child can sort and arrange items in the junk drawer.
HELP YOUR CHILD FEEL GOOD ABOUT EDUCATION
Find reasons to praise your child every day.
- Help your child focus on his or her strengths
- Let your child know that he or she is a valuable, capable person and that you know he or she can succeed.
- Have high expectations for learning and behavior, at home and at school.
- When you expect the best, your child will rise to those expectations.
- Be a good role model for getting work done before play.
IN HIGH SCHOOL
Reinforce the importance of school.
- Speak positively about your child’s teachers and counselors.
- Make sure your child gets to school on time and completes homework.
- Talk to your child about the benefits of education.
- Attend open houses and parent-teacher conferences.
Support Your Teen
- Keep the lines of communication open.
- Set fair and consistent rules, with your teen’s input.
- Set a good example through your own involvement in the school and community.
- Continue to make time for family activities.
- Limit the time your child spends watching TV, playing video games, and surfing the internet.
Help Your Child Choose Classes - In high school, your child should choose challenging classes that will prepare him or her for post-secondary education coursework – even if he or she does not plan to go to college.
- Help your child choose classes that will meet college entrance requirements, and that may support his or her interests.
- Encourage your child to get involved in school activities that complement his or her interests.
|
