8 Love Lessons to Help Ensure a Great Education for Your Child
Daily intimate time devoted to talking about school to become personally involved and invested in your child’s education. As both an educator, and a parent, I know firsthand how important it is to show interest in your child’s education. This can be done by devoting time to discussing school with your child, their day, curriculum, classwork, homework, what they are excited about and beyond. This time should not be interrupted with phones, electronics, or any other distractions. All emphasis should be on having sincere discussions about school and its significance. This time will also help you to identify what your child enjoys about school, learn their academic strengths, as well as if your child is struggling with anything or falling behind on their coursework. Use this time to reiterate the significance of education and how proud you’re of your child. When parents participate in their children’s schooling it makes a world of difference. During this time, be sure to remind your children to communicate their needs. This is a practice that children can learn early and it’ll help them throughout their academic journey.
Create an environment for learning. A dedicated home learning environment is instrumental to a child’s success. Does your child have a desk at home? Do you have a dedicated place for homework? Have a dedicated place where your children can sit and learn at home away from distractions.
Read together. Read books together about starting the school year off right including books with characters that your children can relate to help to boost their confidence about the year ahead. This allows an opportunity to discuss how your child feels about returning to school. It’s always wonderful to assess how your children’s feeling and what they're thinking about. Be sure to show them that their feelings and thoughts are also your concern. Children should often be reminded of how much their parents care about them. Reading together is a great way to start important and relevant conversations.
Stick to a schedule & a good bedtime. Routines are paramount to academic success. Setting a time and place for homework surrounded by all necessary supplies is pivotal to success. Receiving proper sleep is instrumental to be fueled for academic success. The power of sleep! As we all know, getting enough sleep supports your child in feeling their best as it prepares them for a full day of learning. Also, getting to school on time also makes a difference in student success – stay on schedule. The earlier children learn the significance of time management the better.
Words of affirmation, encouragement and reinforcement. Affirm your child’s success when they wake up each day by reminding them that you believe in them, telling them they’ll do well, that they should take pride in their work and reminding them how important learning is and that they should enjoy themselves at school. Remind your children that you believe in them, in their intelligence and their multifaceted capabilities. Praise your children when they do well and when they try their best. You can also use this time to gauge your child’s interests and encourage them to pursue a passion project this year.
Set intentions with your child for the school year ahead. Just like adults make intentions for the new year, students can do the same for the new academic school year or term. Ask your children what they want from the upcoming term and affirm their success, encourage them to knock it out the park and remind them that you’ll be there supporting them in any way possible in a team effort.
Set goals together for the school year then celebrate and reward your children. I am all in favor of rewarding your children by providing them with their favorite foods for top behavior, taking them out for a well-deserved movie night. When they deserve it, give children prizes and celebrate their success as a family. Display their work on the refrigerator and on boards around the house. Praise their effort and let them know that you appreciate them trying their best! You can ask them what they want their reward to be after you agree upon an academic or school term goal. You can even make a plan to reward accordingly based on your agreement. Always acknowledge a job well done. Just as we do in the workplace, we personally want to be praised for our work, promoted, receive recognition and raises, and the same goes for our children.
Healthy relationship building. Emotional intelligence and social-emotional learning is a very popular topic nowadays and devoting time to talking to your children about their feelings about school, friends, teachers and new activities is very important. Be sure to talk to your child about their feelings about school, friends, teachers, and new activities.