10 Best Ways to Help Your Child Succeed In School:
Read aloud to your child every day
Encourage your child to read
HYPERLINK “https://www.scholastic.com/schoolage/kindergarten/homework/10bestways.htm” \l “responsibility” Encourage responsibility and independence
HYPERLINK “https://www.scholastic.com/schoolage/kindergarten/homework/10bestways.htm” \l “ask” Ask your child about school every day
HYPERLINK “https://www.scholastic.com/schoolage/kindergarten/homework/10bestways.htm” \l “ready” Make sure your child is ready for school
HYPERLINK “https://www.scholastic.com/schoolage/kindergarten/homework/10bestways.htm” \l “math” Make math part of her everyday life
HYPERLINK “https://www.scholastic.com/schoolage/kindergarten/homework/10bestways.htm” \l “listen” Teach your child how to listen
Develop a homework routine.
HYPERLINK “https://www.scholastic.com/schoolage/kindergarten/homework/10bestways.htm” \l “rules” Support your child’s teacher and the school rules
Focus on your child’s social life
How Parents and Families Can Help Their Children Do Better in School
Read together
Children who read at home with their parents perform better in school. Show your kids how much you value reading by keeping good books, magazine, and newspapers in the house. Let them see you read. Take them on trips to the library and encourage them to get library cards. Let children read to you, and talk about the books. What was the book about? Why did a character act that way? What will he or she do next? Look for other ways to teach children the magic of language, words, and stories. Tell stories to your children about their families and their culture. Point out words to children wherever you go — to the grocery, to the pharmacy, to the gas station. Encourage your children to write notes to grandparents and other relatives.
Use TV wisely
Academic achievement drops sharply for children who watch more than 10 hours of television a week, or an average of more than two hours a day. Parents can limit the amount of viewing and help children select educational programs. Parents can also watch and discuss shows with their kids. This will help children understand how stories are structured.
Establish a daily family routine with scheduled homework time
Studies show that successful students have parents who create and maintain family routines. Make sure your child goes to school every day. Establish a regular time for homework each afternoon or evening, set aside a quiet, well lit place, and encourage children to study. Routines generally include time performing chores, eating meals together, and going to bed at an established time.
Talk to your children and listen to them, too
Talk directly to your children and the values you want them to have. Listen to what your child have to say.
Keep in touch with the school
Parents cannot afford to wait for schools to tell them how children are doing. Families who stay informed about their children’s progress at school have higher-achieving children. To keep informed, parents can visit the school or talk with teacher on the telephone. Get to know the names of your children’s teachers, principals, and staff.
Parents can also work with schools to develop new ways to get more involved. Families can volunteer on school planning and decision-making committees help create family resource centers.
Use community resource
Activities sponsored by community and religious organizations provide opportunities for children and other family members to engage in positive social and learning experiences. Families can reinforce their children’s learning by going to libraries, museums, free concerts, and cultural fairs together. When parents and families get personally involved in education, their children do better in school and grow up to be more successful in life.
What parents can do to help at home:
For a younger reader, help your child learn the letters and sounds of the alphabet. Occasionally point to letters and ask your child to name them.
Help your child make connections between what he or she might see on a sign or in the newspaper and the letter and sound work he or she is doing in school.
Encourage your child to write and spell notes, e-mails, and letters using what he knows about sounds and letters.
Consider using computer software that focuses on developing phonics and emergent literacy skills. Some software programs are designed to support children in their writing efforts. For example, some programs encourage kids to construct sentences and then cartoon characters will act out the completed sentence. Other software programs provide practice with long and short vowel sounds and creating compound words