How Can I Help My Child?
Many things that you do at home on a daily basis will help your children the most. The activities described below benefit all children.
- Set aside a special reading time. Tell your child you look forward to and enjoy your reading time together. Try reading chapter books with older children.
- Let your child see you reading. Read the newspaper, magazines, and books in front of your child.
- Listen to your child. Oral language experiences strengthen children's reading.
- Talk with your child.
- Make time to play with and enjoy your child - regardless of his or her age.
- Begin to solve problems with your child, not for him or her.
- Invite your child to complete household chores and projects with you. Discuss how and why you do certain things, and explain all the details to your child.
- Encourage your child to write letters to relatives and friends.
- Praise your child whenever possible.
- Supervise homework. Give your child a place to work, and check that assignments are completed.
- Talk with your child about school and everyday events.
- Encourage exercise and good nutrition.
- Broaden your child's horizons by taking him or her to parks, museums, libraries, zoos, historical sites, and sporting events.
- Tell your child that education is important, and encourage him or her to do well at school.
- Children will know intuitively how to behave; teach your child kindly, but firmly.
- Help your child get a library card from the public library. Take your child to the library as often as possible.
- Help your child pick out interesting books to read.
- Talk to your child about subjects that are interesting to him or her.
- Write notes to your child. Leave them to be found in special places - under pillows, in lunches, or in favourite books.
- Give your child a place to keep his or her own books.
- Encourage your child to keep a scrapbook about a subject that interests him or her (e.g., stamps, dogs, birds, trucks, hockey, photos of the family doing activities together).
- Limit your child's television watching. Turn on the television for a specific show and turn it off immediately after the show is over.
- Read and discuss your child's schoolwork together.
- Provide materials for creative projects (e.g., crayons, pencils, paper, paint, scissors).
- Help your child write down special events on a calendar and mark off each day.
- Help your child make a telephone directory with the names and telephone numbers of friends and relatives.
- Encourage your child to play outside and get plenty of fresh air.
- Invite your child to help you prepare dinner or bake a special treat.
- Subscribe to a children's magazine in your child's name.
- Bring books in the car for your child to read.
- Look up words in the dictionary with your child.
- Encourage your child to show his or her schoolwork to your friends and relatives.
- When traveling, read road signs with your child and discuss what they mean. Play roadsign games.
- Show your child how to use a metre stick, ruler, or tape measure to measure things around the house.
- Give your child a special place to keep items he or she must take to school regularly.
- Display your child's work around the house.
- Hug your child daily!