Parents Page!
Guidelines for Helping with Homework
So YOU don't work harder than your student!
- Set aside a time each day for family learning.
- Set aside at least 30 minutes devoted to family brain cell development.
- During this time, there should be no TV, video games, computer games, etc.
- Model your own excitement for learning by reading a book, writing letters, etc.
- Help only when your child truly wants it.
- Some parents make the mistake of forcing help upon their kids. This only creates frustration, anger and kids who believe they can't learn without their parents' help.
- Help only when there is an absence of anger or frustration.
- When either you or your child gets frustrated or angry, learning becomes associated with frustration and anger.
- Help when your child can describe what the teacher said.
- This ensures that your child continues to believe that it's important to pay attention to teachers.
- Unfortunately, some kids learn that it's best to "tune out" at school and let their parents do all of the teaching at home.
- Move away from your child before s/he "gets it."
- Some children believe they can only learn something, or "get it," when an adult is in the same room or is guiding them every inch of the way.
- To prevent this dependency, avoid falling into the habit of sitting at the table as your child does their homework, especially when they are on the brink of learning something new.
The Young Reader (Grades K-2)
Here are a few things that you can do to help build your child's literacy skills:
- Let your child gradually share some of the reading aloud. You read a sentence, paragraph, or page, then it’s your child’s turn. Take over if your beginner seems tired or discouraged to ensure that reading is always fun, not just hard work ...
- If your child can’t sound out a word, suggest skipping it, reading the rest of the sentence, and deciding what word would make sense.
- Leave notes on the refrigerator or in a lunch bag for your child to discover and read.
- Take your new reader to the library to sign up for his or her own library card.
- Read-aloud books with plots to follow and challenging vocabulary
- Easy-to-read books your child can read alone
- Books in a variety of genres, including nonfiction and poetry
The Developing Reader (Grades 2-3)
Here are a few things that you can do to help build your child's literacy skills:
- When your children read aloud, help them catch and correct their own mistakes by asking guiding questions. For example, you might ask, “Does that word really make sense here? What letter does it start with? What do you think the word could be?”
- Talk about the books you read together and about the books your children are reading on their own.
- Don’t stop reading aloud! Developing readers can read simple chapter books alone, but they still need you to help read the kinds of books that will challenge their thinking and build their vocabulary.
- Suggest that your child read to a younger brother, sister, or neighbor. It will be good practice, a chance to show off skills, and an inspiration for the younger listener.
- Novels for “middle readers” that you can read aloud together
- Information books for young readers
- Books in a variety of genres, including biographies, humorous stories, and poetry
Newsletters
In the coming school year, I will place links to our classroom newsletter in this area! Just click on the picture! They will begin to be there in mid-September! Please come back then!