Helping Your Kids Succeed in School

What can I do to help my kids do well in school? Ho do I know they are learning what they should be learning? These are common questions from parents of school aged children. It's a competitive  world and doing well in school gives your child a decided edge. The good news is that your child's educational experience can be improved without spending a lot of money.

1. Start Early

Start teaching your children as soon as possible. When a toddler asks you what a word says, tell them what it says but also show them how to sound it out. Show them how to put the letter sounds together. They may not retain it next time, but eventually, the repetition will sink in.

Read to your child. Point to the words as you read them. The child will start to remember what the words are. Talk about the story. Before turning the page, ask things like, "What do you think will happen?" or "Why did (the character) say that?" or even "What would you do if you were (the character)?" Change up the questions, come up with new ones. The idea is to get your child thinking about what the book is saying. This will help your child develop the ability to comprehend and remember what is being read and will help him/her to take more away from a book.

2. Lead By Example

Let your child see you reading. Children really do mimic what they see.  Read newspapers, books, magazines, novels, non-fiction, it doesn't really matter what you read, just read. Your child wants to do what you do. They will also see reading as a normal thing to do, not something that only "nerds" do.

Watch educational T.V. It doesn't have to be the only thing you watch but watch an educational show once in a while. There are a number of cable channels available that have very interesting topics. It is good if you can get your children to watch with you. They may discover something they are interested in and want to learn more. Even if they don't watch, they will still benefit. The will see that learning is important to you and something that can be done outside the school as well. If they know that learning is important to you, it will probably be important to them too.