Helpful Tips and Links for Parents
Activities & Tips for your preschool child
- Read to your child
- Teach your child the alphabet song
- Do activities to music - music makes it more fun
- Place alphabet or number magnets on your refrigerator or smooth surface. Ask your child to name letters or numbers he/she plays with.
- Encourage your child to spell words or put the letters/numbers in order.
- Praise your child
- Develop predictable routines
- Do not redo what your child has just done - let the child be proud of his/her work
- Resist doing for your child what he/she can do for themselves
- Assign a chore - let your child start learning about responsibility
Activities & Tips for your elementary age child
- Read to your child and have your child read to you or a younger sibling
- Ask questions about was read - Who, What, When, Where, & Why questions are excellent questions to ask about a story or passage
- Keep a journal of daily events
- Flashcards - use index cards, sticky notes, or any type of paper to write new vocabulary words or sight words, etc. to review with your child
- Split up long term projects into smaller chunks
- Practice telling time by using analog and digital clocks
- Count money
- Review addition or subtraction or multiplication or division facts daily
- Set aside a quiet place for your child to do homework - free of distractions
- Be positive about homework & compliment your child’s work
Internet Resources for Elementary School Parents
Preschool
Kindergarten - 5th grade
Helpful Tips for Middle School Parents
- Read - 25 books per year
- Make homework a priority before “fun” activities
- Maintain a consistent study time each day in a tech free environment
- Supervise your child’s work, but do not complete the work for your child
- Make sure your child gets plenty of sleep/rest
- Keep a daily routine and bed time
- Listen, listen, listen to your child & Be positive!
- Encourage & motivate your child, but try not to nag
- When taking a test, remind your child to read and listen to all directions carefully
- Review the importance of budgeting their time wisely
- On a test, have the child star or mark any question they missed so it will be easier to go back to that question later
- If your child does not know the answer, teach her/him to eliminate wrong answers first and then make an educated guess
- Read the questions associated with a long passage before reading the actual passage
- Read the entire question and all answer choices before answering
- Underline key words, phrases, & ideas
- When writing, use graphic organizers
- Use the margins of the test booklet to write down ideas
- Practice keyboarding
Internet Resources for Middle School Parents
Helpful Tips for High School Parents
- Set a schedule - studying should be part of the student’s daily routine
- Break up long study sessions - Be aware of your child’s attention span
- Eliminate distractions - cell phone, facebook, & TV can quickly interrupt a productive study session
- Help your teen become a master time manager by standing your ground and enforcing at home chores & family responsibilities
- Help your teen manage his/her money by creating a budget
- At this stage your teen will be getting a driver’s license and start driving to school. Take time to help your teen learn by taking him/her driving.
- Teach safe driving skills.
- Talk to your teen about future plans - listen, support & guide
- Encourage your teen to take ACT practice tests
- Remember financial aid & college application deadlines
- Ask questions at Parent-Teacher Conferences about curriculum, learning objectives, college applications, financial aid & follow up!
Internet Resources for High School Parents