Are you paying attention to what your child is doing and school? With work and a busy family life, it’s easy to assume that teachers will take care of anything school related. In addition, once your child makes it through the first few grades, their homework becomes increasingly complicated, and may go past what you remember from your school days.
As a parent you can and should be there for your children when it comes to school and home work. One of the easiest and most effective ways to help is to show an interest. Make it a habit to ask your child about her day.
When you find out that your child had a pre-test on Monday for their final spelling test on Friday, make sure that on Monday night you start going over the spelling list. Don’t wait until later in the week to practice with your child.
Be involved with homework. Don’t just accept a response of “I don’t have any” or “It’s all done.” Ask to see all homework. Offer suggestions or praise as applicable.
If your child comes to you with homework and it looks all Greek to you, don’t panic. Look in the work book. It may help. If you still have no idea how to help your child, the Internet can be a wonderful aide.
The purpose is not to teach your child to look up answers to homework on the Internet; however it may be helpful for you to gain a better understanding of the assignment. Type in the exact problem or phrase into a search engine and sometimes the answer will return in the completed search.
If you do know the answer to the problem, don’t just tell your child the answer. That is not helping him to learn. That is helping him take the easy road. Take the time and give her hints or probing questions but do not give the answer.
The same applies for larger projects. Get involved. Go to the craft store together to get poster board or Styrofoam for the science project. Brainstorm details of the project. Work on it together.
Getting involved with your child, his day and his school work will speak volumes to your child. Remember, ask questions about homework, and then ask to see the work. Then provide encouragement.
