40 Ways

Parents Can Help Their Children

Be The Best Students They Can Be!

Many things that you do at home on a daily basis will help your children the most.

The activities described below benefit all children.

Read more about school curriculum and materials by downloading the files located at the bottom of the page.

1. Set aside a special reading time.  Tell your child you look forward to enjoying your reading time together.  Children who are read to ------READ.
2. Listen to your child.  Oral language experience is also a foundation for literacy.
3. Talk to your child! Conversation gives children the opportunity to apply expressive and receptive vocabulary skills!
4. Make time to have fun with your child. We all can use a break! What better way than to spend free time with your child and allow them to play make-believe!  
5. Solve daily life problems with your child. There's no substitute for modeling what to do in a situation.
6. Learn more about the programs used in school so you can repeat and use the same terminology and processes.
7. Write stories out as your child dictates them.  Children love to see their ideas on print. This allows them to practice creativity without having writing hinder their thoughts.
8. Praise your child whenever possible. He/she works so hard through the day and sometimes it is the smallest feats that take the most time and energy for them.
9. Talk with your child about current events using appropriate terminology.
10. Supervise homework.  Provide your child with a quiet place to work, and check that assignments are completed.
11. Encourage exercise and good nutrition. Health bodies = healthy minds!
12. Encourage your child to write. Let him/her develop a love for writing by free-writing on topics of his/her choice.
13. Broaden your child’s horizons by taking him or her to parks, museums, libraries, zoos, and historical sites.  All these places offer fun learning experiences. Believe it or not, your child's reading comprehension can improve if they have past experiences ("schema") to relate to what he/she is reading.
14. Tell your child education is important, and encourage him or her to do well in school.
15. Children do not know intuitively how to behave; kindly demonstrate and teach your child.
16. Help your child get a library card from the public library.  Take your child to the library as often as possible.
17. Help your child pick out interesting books to read (young children tend to choose books with the exciting covers!).
18. Talk to your child about subjects that interest him or her.
19. Give your child his or her own place to keep books.
20. Write notes to your child.  Leave them to be found in special places----under pillows, in lunches, or in favorite books.
21. Encourage your child to keep a scrapbook about a subject that interests him or her (example: stamps, dogs, birds, trucks, photos).
22. Limit your child’s television watching.  Turn the television on for a specific show, and turn it off immediately after the show is over.
23. Read and discuss school work and tests with your child. Help them understand their errors and learn from them.
24. Provide materials for creative projects.
25. Call that weatherperson a "meteorologist" or the dot at the end of a sentence a "period." When speaking to children, use proper terms even if you think he/she might not know what that word means. You'll expand his/her vocabulary while creating more continuity in their speech and understanding.
26. Give your child a calendar to write down special events and mark off each day. Try to ask calendar related questions (i.e. What day of the week is October 30? How many days are in November? What days do you have off from school this month? etc...)  
27. Help your child make a telephone directory with the names and telephone numbers of his or her friends.
28. Make internet usage and emailing purposeful as well as supervised.
29. Give your child specific duties at home to perform on a regular basis.
30. Invite your child to help you prepare a meal in which a recipe is used and specific directions need to be followed. Not only will reading and math be applied, but your child will have firsthand practice with listening comprehension!
31. Subscribe to a children’s magazine in your child’s name (i.e. National Geographic Kids, Sports Illustrated Kids, Highlights, etc...).
32. Bring books on tape for your child to read/listen to in the car. This is great practice for beginning readers so they can hear and see the word at the same time. It also trains them to finger track the words as they read.
33. Look up words with your child in the dictionary or events in an encyclopedia. It's too easy to turn to the computer for all the answers these days! Show your child how valuable a dictionary and an encyclopedia can be!
34. Encourage your child to show his or her school work to your friends or relatives.
35. When traveling, read signs with your child.  Discuss what the signs mean and/or how he/she knew what the signs say. Often, children can read signs like the "golden arches" for McDonald's before they can speak in complete sentences. In young children, this ability is one predictor of later reading success.
36. Let your child help with construction and household projects! Show your child how to use a yardstick, ruler, or tape measure to measure. What a great way to practice mental math and linear measurement!
37. Turn everyday tasks into math lessons (i.e. The dress you want to buy is 25% off today. How much money do you need to bring with you to buy it?)
38. Show your child how to tell time. Start off easy with digital time so they can feel successful and proud before moving onto the more challenging analog style clocks!
39. Let your child see you reading each day. Whether it is a letter in the mail, a magazine, newspaper, Kindles, or favorite paperback books, you are the best and first model your child has! You'll see him/her trying to emulate you and the strategies/skills/habits/routines you use during reading.
40. HUG and KISS your child daily! There is no substitute for love!!