Ways to help your child at home
When children are learning, they are expected to make mistakes. Compliment them on correct work, help them see mistakes as an opportunity to learn, and express confidence in their ability to improve. Children who are afraid of making mistakes become afraid to try and will attempt to avoid doing their work.
If you see your child having difficulty with any assignments or homework, please contact me directly or send me a note. By working together, we can give your child the tools they need to succeed. Thank you for your cooperation and support.
Homework Tips
- Plan a daily homework time.
- Make sure your child has everything they will need to complete their assignments (textbooks, homework packet, pencil, eraser, etc.)
- Choose a quiet study place.
- Encourage your child to read and follow all directions.
- All work should be done neatly and carefully.
- Provide guidance and help if needed, but make sure the work is your child’s.
- Help keep all homework in a special place.
- Make sure homework is turned in on time.
Reading Tips
Strong reading skills will help contribute to academic success in school. Our hope is that each student can become an independent reader and develop a love of reading. Below are some ideas to increase your child’s reading ability.
- Read aloud to your child for 15 minutes everyday. Stop at different times in the story and ask your child what he/she thinks will happen next.
- Take your child to the library at least once a month. Your child will love their personal library card and will be able to check books out they are interested in.
- Establish a family reading time where everyone (including Mom and Dad) spends 20 minutes reading a favorite book.
- Have your child read aloud to you while you are cooking, cleaning, driving or relaxing.
- While driving in the car, have your child read signs, billboards and other words around them. You can play word games that include rhyming and spelling.
- Subscribe to a children’s magazine such as Highlights. There are many articles that will be interesting and fun for your child.
- Have a book swapping party with other children from school or the neighborhood. Each guest will arrive with a book they have already read and leave with a new one.
Math Tips
Math is a critical skill that we use everyday. Whether we are setting our alarm clock, keeping score at a soccer game, buying groceries, mixing a baby’s formula or measuring the flour for a cake, we use some type of math to help us.
We should encourage our children to think of themselves as mathematicians who can reason and solve problems. Although calculators are readily available for our students, we must help our kids understand that a calculator can only compute numbers — but it cannot think.
Below are some helpful tips of what parents can do to help their child learn math:
- When it comes to learning basic math (adding, subtracting, and multiplication), there is nothing like repetition, repetition, repetition. Provide your child with 10 quick problems a day to help reinforce these skills.
- Help your child do mental math problems with small numbers. For example, ask questions like, “If I have 4 balls and I buy 8 more, how many would I have?” Have the questions become progressively harder if your child is able to quickly provide the correct answer.
- Encourage your child to estimate the answer. When estimating, try to use numbers that make it easy to solve the problems quickly in their head. For example, when figuring 19 plus 27, an easy way to get a “close” answer is to add 20 + 30 = 50.
- Ask “Is your answer reasonable” to encourage critical thinking. For example, is it reasonable that I added 16 and 41 and got 407? Why or why not?
- Play family games that use math. Card games like Go Fish, War, and Dominoes teach children to count, sort, and use different strategies. Games such as Monopoly Jr. use “play money” which teach how to count and make change.
- For birthdays and rewards, purchase computer games that reinforce math (and other subject area skills) that make learning fun and entertaining at the same time.
- Be positive and encourage children to solve problems. Even if they come up with the wrong answer, learning how to find the correct answer is a lifetime skill. Many times, there is more than one way to solve a problem.
Writing Tips
Good writing is a skill that must be learned and developed over time.
- Encourage your child to write. The best way to become a good writer is to write, write, write. Ask your child to write a special note or letter to family members and friends. You can even ask your child to help write your grocery list or reminder notices for the refrigerator.
- Read aloud to your child as often as possible. After each story, ask questions like “what did the author do to make it enjoyable or how did they describe the character?”
- Write to your child. Put notes in their books, lunches, or backpacks. They can be humorous, inspirational, loving or reminders of things to do. Encourage your child to do the same with other family members.
- Create a portfolio. Save a sample of your child’s writing each month. Sit together and review their writing styles and how they are progressing. This can become a wonderful keepsake for your child to have.