Oh No, It’s Report Card Time

You have gotten your child’s report card and he/she is not doing as well as you had hoped in some subjects. How do you help your child succeed in the remainder of the school year?

Here are six tips to help your child:

1. Read every single day-You should be reading to and with your young child daily, including Saturdays and Sundays. Your child can do the reading, you can do the reading, or you can read together. Be sure you pre-read (predict what the book will be about), ask questions during reading (about the characters, setting, problem, events, and solution), and ask questions after reading (summarize or retell).
2. Practice math facts every single day-Your child must know his or her math facts to make learning math concepts easier. Daily, your child should be playing a game with facts or working on flash cards for 3-5 minutes.
3. Write something every single day-Your child should be writing daily. This could be writing a thank you note, a list for the store, a creative story, or about a book.
4. Monitor homework-Depending on your child’s age, you should be sitting with your child while he/she is doing homework so you can help or you should let your child know where you will be if homework help is needed. Your child should be doing his/her homework alone, but you are there for guidance and support.
5. Hire a tutor-If your child is struggling with a concept that you don’t understand, hire a professional tutor to help. If your child’s teacher suggests that tutoring might benefit your child, hire a tutor. Tutors can help your child feel more confident in learning as well as help with specific concepts and skills.
6. Communicate with the teacher-Email or talk to your child’s teacher more than once a quarter at conferences. Ask your child’s teacher for specifics on what you can work on with your child. Ask the teacher for a progress report every couple of weeks so that you can stay on top of your child’s success.

 

Following these tips, will help you help your child succeed!