Help your child excel in school
Children development and education:How to help your child excel at school, give them help with homework, and keep communication lines open with teachers.
With the competitive world we live in today, children’s performance in school has become more and more important. Better grades lead to better opportunities for college and eventually for their careers. School standards are also constantly being raised. What may have been required of you in second grade may be what is expected of your child in first grade. There are ways you can help your child make the most of their schooling experience, and to help them get ahead.
Be Involved Be involved with your children’s homework. This doesn’t mean do it for them, but show them how to find the answers to questions and problems. Review their homework before they turn it in. Go over papers with them that they bring home from school. Talk about the questions they got right as well as the ones they got wrong. See if they can find their mistakes. Make sure there is open communication between you, your child and the teacher. Assure the teacher you want to know about any problems your child is having as well as the progress he or she is making. Find out just what is expected from your child. Contact the principal for a copy of the school’s academic standards. This will help you understand what it is your child will be learning at what grade, and give you ideas on how you can supplement their education at home. To help with the communication flow between teacher and student, let your child’s teacher get to know him or her. Create a “resume” for your child for the first day of school or even mail it to their teacher ahead of time. Let the teacher know about your child – favorite subject, how does your child learn best – watching or doing? Are there any specific learning problems your child has? Has there been a crisis at home that may affect your child’s performance? Some of this information may be in your child’s school records, but you never know if a teacher actually goes through those records, and this may you can make sure the teacher is aware. This also shows the teacher your interest in your child’s schooling.
Getting Ahead Giving your child extra “homework” in areas he or she needs help in, or just to get ahead, is a great way to help your child excel in school. They should have many resources for additional help with a variety of subjects. Visit a bookstore and look for books on education, or educational software. There are many educational software programs available that make learning fun.
The Basics In order to give your child a good start each day, there are a few simple things you can do to make sure they start off right. First of all, make sure they get plenty of sleep. Set a regular bedtime and stick to it. Have children lay out there clothes the night before so they aren’t running around frantic in the morning trying to figure out what to wear. Keep their minds in a relaxed stable mode before school. Make sure they eat a healthy breakfast; this will give them the energy they need to pay attention in morning classes.
Written by Kerrilyn Bachler