10 Simple Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in School
1. Model a Love for Learning
Show that you believe that education is important by reading, looking for opportunities to learn new things and going to your child's school activities i.e. open house, family conferences and parent meetings.
2. Build Good Relationships
Initiate a positive relationship with your child's teacher and principal before conflicts occur. It's better to take one day off work to create a good relationship than two days off repairing damage from a bad one.
3. Know What He/She Likes About School
Identify your child's favorite subject and find a way to use that subject to encourage his/her interest in the other subjects.
4. Give the Teacher Information
Share information about your child's favorite subject and special interest with his/her teacher.
5. Encourage Participation
Find out if your child is asking questions in class or getting behind before problems occur. Some students can be more easily distracted or distract other students when they are under or over challenged.
6. Listen To the Lesson
Encourage your child to discuss school lessons with you everyday and ask questions that encourage him or her to think. Children are encouraged to learn when they believe that their parents are interested in what they know. If they don't think you're interested in what they learn in school they may not be either.
7. Make It Fun
Help your child associate learning with rewards and fun. Think of fun ways to help him/her see the value of getting a good education.
8. Create a Learning Environment
Identify the type of environment your child performs best in (lighting, location, time of day, etc.) and create a spot in your home that supports his/her preferred environment during homework time.
9. Promote Great Expectations
Give your child access to academically challenging information and supervised learning experiences. Increase the number of books available to your child and encourage your child to read daily. Research shows that the number of books and words a child has exposure to can directly influence and improve test scores.
10. Affirm & Support
Remind your child that they do not have to be great at everything and encourage and praise them when they do their best.