Taking responsibility is an important quality for school success. Make it clear to your children that they must take responsibility for what they do, both at home and at school. For example, don’t automatically defend your child if the teacher tells you he or she is often late to class or is disruptive. Ask for your child’s side of the story. If a charge is true, let your child take the consequences.
Make the most of parent-teacher conferences. This is your opportunity to ask questions and voice any concerns you have about your child. Before you go, think of two or three issues that you want to discuss with the teacher. Take a notepad so you can jot down important information the teacher gives you about your child’s test scores, homework, class participation and attitude, social adjustment, and curriculum. Ask the teacher how you can help your child achieve the goals for your child’s grade level. Be sure to remember the positive things the teacher says about your child to report to him or her when you get home!
Report cards and interim reports are an indication of how well your child is doing in school, but you also need to know how things are going between report cards. Contact the teacher as soon as you suspect that your child has a problem with schoolwork. If your child is in middle or high school, use Edline to check on assignments and grades. (Call the school if you need help accessing Edline.)
Have a quiet time for family members to read on their own. Both you and your child should pick out something to read. Relax and enjoy while you each read your own selections. A family reading time shows that you like to read. Because you value reading, your children will, too.
Communicating with teachers is important in helping your child with homework. Talk with each of your child’s teachers early in the school year and let them know you want to be kept informed about what goes on at school. Contact teachers as soon as you suspect your child has a homework problem, and let teachers know whether your child finds the assignments too hard or too easy.
Setting a regular time for homework helps children finish assignments. You’ll need to work with a young child to develop a schedule. Give your older child the responsibility for making up a schedule independently—although you’ll want to make sure that it’s one that is workable. Write out the schedule and put it in a place—such as on the refrigerator—where you’ll see it often.
You can do things at home to show your children that you value education. Set a regular time and place for homework, remove distractions, provide supplies, and identify resources. Let your children know that you are interested in what they are learning.
Get acquainted with your child’s teacher at the beginning of the school year and show your interest. Tell teachers what they need to know about your child, including any special needs. If you notice a big change in your child’s behavior, school performance or attitude during the school year, contact the teacher.
Your involvement in school and in monitoring your child’s progress is key to success in school. Involvement in school programs can take many forms, from attending PTA meetings to volunteering in school activities. Through your actions, you demonstrate to your child that school is important.
Helping your children find out about libraries will set them on the road to being independent learners. Introduce your children to the library as early as possible. See that your children get a library card so they can check out their own books. Let your children know they must follow the library’s rules of behavior.
Summer is a great time to earn student service learning (SSL) hours, which are required to graduate. More information is on the web at www.mcpsssl.org.
Writing helps your child become a better reader. Encourage your child to keep a journal of summer adventures and experiences. Send postcards if you travel, write letters to relatives and friends, or write a family newsletter on the computer.
Encourage your child to read regularly over the summer. MCPS and Montgomery County Public Libraries have compiled a recommended summer reading list for students in kindergarten through grade 6. Visit the summer reading website for books your child will love. Required reading lists from many middle schools and high schools also are on the website. Call your school if it’s not listed.
Make sure your home has lots of reading materials that are appropriate for your child. Keep books, magazines and newspapers in the house. You can often find good books and magazines for your child at yard or library sales. Encourage relatives or friends to consider giving your child books and magazine subscriptions on special occasions. Set aside time for family reading.
To help your child prepare in advance for tests, you can meet with teachers and ask for test preparation activities that you and your child can do at home. Make sure your child attends school regularly, has a quiet place for studying at home and is well rested on the day of a test.
Provide a quiet, comfortable place for studying at home, and make sure your child is well rested on school days and especially on the day of a test. Children who are tired are less able to pay attention in class or to handle the demands of a test.
You can help reduce test anxiety by encouraging your child to plan ahead and start studying for the test well in advance. Encourage your child to get a good night’s sleep before the test day, read all directions carefully and look quickly at the entire test to see what types of questions are on it. Skip difficult questions and if there’s time at the end of the test, return to them and try again.
Teachers want your child to succeed as much as you do! If you need to discuss problems with a teacher, approach the teacher with a cooperative spirit. Believe that the teacher wants to help you and your child, even if you disagree about something. Give the teacher a chance to work out the problem with you and your child before going to the principal.
As you read a book with your child, pause occasionally to talk about what’s happening in the book. Help your child relate the events in the book to events in his or her life. Ask your child to tell in his or her own words what the book was about. Help your child figure out what new words mean.
Reading is one of the most important things you can do to help your child succeed in school. It’s never too early to begin reading to your child. Encourage your child to read every day. Make sure there are a lot of reading materials in the house—and be a role model for your child by reading yourself.
Remember it's your children's homework, not yours. Create a specific homework space that's clutter-free and quiet. Encourage editing and double-checking work, but allow your kids to make mistakes, as it's the only way teachers can gauge if they understand the material. It's also how children learn responsibility for the quality of their work.
Include calm, peaceful times in your children's afternoons and evenings. Maintain a schedule that allows them to go to school rested, and if they are sick, have a system in place so they are able to stay home.
Fill your child's lunchbox with healthy snacks and lunches. Have dinner at a reasonable hour and a healthy breakfast. A well-balanced diet maximizes your child's learning potential.
Prepare for a happy landing at the end of the day when you reconvene. Create a predictable ritual such as 10–20 minutes listening to your child talk about his day—before you check phone messages, read the mail, or begin dinner. That way you are fully present to listen, and your child has a touchstone he can count on between school and home.
Create a smooth takeoff each day. Give your child a hug before she ventures out the door and you head to work. Look her in the eye, and tell her how proud you are of her. Your child's self-confidence and security will help her do well both in school and in life.
Help your kids learn how to make healthy food choices. When watching television together or listening to the radio in the car, ask your children about the products in the ads and how the ads are persuading the audience to buy that particular item. When at the grocery store, take a look at packaging and the placement of different items and discuss how this may make you notice some brands over others.
Look for opportunities for your kids to practice math and critical thinking skills as they prepare for going back to school. Create a school supply shopping list and have the kids use ads to compare the cost of shopping at one store versus another. Have them estimate how much lunch money they’ll need until winter break.
When your child is fearful or frustrated by a challenge, don’t deny or dismiss your child’s feelings. When negative feelings are identified and accepted, your child feels encouraged to continue to strive.
During family mealtime conversation, ask open-ended questions such as “If you could invite a character from a book to dinner, who would you invite and why?” or “What one thing would you do to make world more peaceful?” This helps kids practice communicating their ideas. Remember, there is no wrong answer; listen, don’t judge.
Looking for a fun way to practice math skills and get a little exercise too? Try bowling! If you have some plastic bottles and a small ball, you can create your own bowling alley at home. Have the kids use a ruler or yardstick to measure out a bowling lane. They can take turns scoring to practice those addition skills.
This summer, set aside a quiet hour for the whole family every week. Turn off the TV and maybe have fun together with a board game. Kids get to take turns, socialize, verbalize and sometimes use their math skills. Or, you may wish to start a new family tradition and have a family reading hour when you read to yourselves or each other.
Make sure your children see you reading for pleasure at times other than just at read-aloud time. Share with them your enthusiasm for whatever you are reading, and they will start to see what fun reading really is.
Remember that even the best test is just a snapshot of your child at one particular point in time. It´s not the whole picture. Success in life is dependent on many qualities that can´t be tested, including creativity, determination, and ambition
All kids, big and small, crave and need praise from their parents. When is the last time you sat down, looked your children in the eye, and told them why you’re proud of them? Don’t just assume they know. Tell them specific things you are proud of and tell them often. Start the encouragement talk tonight at dinner.
Understanding your child’s fitness personality will help you to encourage your child's interests without pushing too hard.
To learn how your child is really doing in school, and her true feelings, be sure to converse with your child and do not interrogate. Instead of asking, "How was your day?", ask questions that require a detailed answer, such as "What was the best part of your day today?". Then be there to listen!
Establish a homework routine including a regular time and place for your child to complete his homework. While your child is working, check in periodically to monitor progress. Help your child organize big homework assignments into smaller, easy-to-manage steps.
If your child is in middle school or high school, use Edline to check on assignments and grades. If you need help accessing Edline, contact your child's school.
Talk with your child daily about what goes on in school. Make sure he or she knows that you think school and learning are important. Research studies show that children who regularly engage in conversation with their parents about school perform better.
Focus on your child’s strengths and celebrate all gains, not just the high marks. Acknowledging successes could be a high five for an improved grade in math, verbal praise for completing and turning in homework, or an ice cream sundae for finishing a major project.