Family Involvement in Learning

Give your child some space. Let them practice what they are learning.

Your child’s confidence will increase as he or she learns new things. Self-esteem will help your child do better in school. Help a child feel good about his/herself by looking for the positive in your child and telling them about it. Set them up for success by encouraging self-help and personal hygiene skills.

See your child by his/her own merit, rather than comparing to other children.

Listen to your child. Pay attention to what they say. Communication is a two way street…. guaranteed to make a lasting difference in the relationship you have with your child.

How to pay attention | Before speaking, make sure he or she is looking at you, and get down to eye level with your child.

Language skills | Introduce your child to new words and read to your child.

The ability to carry on a conversation with other children and adults | Talk to your child and let your child talk to you. It is equally important for a child to be able to talk to adults as children. Improve a child’s listening skills by making him/her listen. If you are constantly repeating yourself, your child gets out of the habit of listening

Knowledge of time | Give your child a task to complete and a time limit. Use a timer. Talk in terms of time with your child.

Getting along well with children of his or her own age | Give children the opportunity to play with others their own age. Children learn how to act by watching you.

Understand and use numbers | Count – Count – Count- Read signs, speed limits, prices, clocks, etc.

Parents always like to have lists of what to work on with their child. Here are a few basic concepts for children to learn. You know how your child learns and to what degree they are ready to learn something. You are the primary teacher of your child, so it stands to reason you are the best person to help your child learn the following concepts:

“top, around, most, different, alike, zero, third, over, behind, beginning, through, right, farthest, equal, corner, as many, always, pair, nearest, half, away from, separated., inside, between, below, after, above, least, midwest, row, next to, other, forward, in order, several, side, skip, few, second, center, middle, not first or last, medium-sizes, matches, left, some, not many, whole, almost, never, every“

When helping your child learn to print his/her name remember to use a capital letter at the start of a name and small or lower case letters for the rest. The habit of writing a name in all capital letters can be a hard one to break.

Prepare for the weather | Dress your child in simple, safe, sturdy, not too tight, clean clothes. Have a change of clothes available if possible. Listening to the weather forecast will assure choosing the appropriate outdoor clothing. Label those hats, coats, and mittens. There are often several of the same color and style. Labeling saves time, effort and misunderstanding among parents.

If your child is sick, keep your child home | Look for sore throats, colds, nausea, diarrhea, chills, fever, rashes, inflamed eye, discharge from the ear, enlarged glands, earache, flushed face, and paleness. Call the school if your child is going to be absent. It is a gesture of courtesy and a nice contact with your child’s school. Let the school know where you can be reached if your child gets sick at school – especially if it is a different number than the school already has.

Sending anything to school with your child? | Label it clearly. Lunchboxes, book bags, blankets, show and tell materials, etc., should all be labeled. Sending money for lunches or other activities? Put it in an envelope with your child’s name on the outside. Put the envelope in a safe pocket.

Safety First

Before you send your child off on that first day of school, it is important that your child knows and can tell or find (in her lunchbox, coat pocket, or book bag) their first and last name, street address, parents’ names and phone numbers.

Walk along the route to and from the school or bus stop. Help your child understand traffic lights and cross walks. Explain that driveways can be dangerous and to be alert for backing cars.

Look for “safe” houses or block homes between the school and home. Explain to your child what “safe” houses are.

Be sure your child knows neighbors’ or family members’ phone numbers so they can call if for some reason they get home from school early. Leave a note or message so your child will know where you can be reached. It’s very scary for children not to know where you are when their schedule is already changed.

First-Day Worries

Your child has heard from big brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors about school…and now it’s their turn. School, while it is exciting, offers some challenges as well. For example:

• • It’s their first separation from home and family, so there may be separation anxiety.

• • Their opportunity to try their own wings.

• • New feelings. New friends. New experiences.