Working with Your Child at Home...

I know parents sometimes are looking for activities that they can do with their child at home to reinforce what is going on in school.  I have put together a list of some ideas that you could have your child try at home.

Reading:

• As  you know, it is so important for students to be reading at home.  Getting any extra "dose" of reading ultimately helps them become better readers.  Reading can be done in quick "bursts" as well.  For example, while waiting at the doctor's office, while driving to the store, when waiting for a sibling's practice to end.  There are many times where your child can try to fit in reading!

• Talk about books with your child.  When reading with your child it is great to ask them about what is going on in their book.  Having a discussion about their favorite/least favorite part, about the characters, setting, funniest/scariest part are great ways for your child to think about books.

• Reading picture books, comic books, and magazines count as reading!  Taking a break from reading chapter books can be motivating for some children.

• Join a book club at the library!  This a great way for your child to become motivated to read a book and then have a discussion about it with their peers.

Writing:

• Your child is more than welcome to go onto Kid Blog and blog about their weekend or any topic that is of interest to them.  The more they get their ideas down, the more proficient writers they will become.

• Have your child "storytell" about the favorite part of their day.  Storytelling frequently helps a child add details and elaborate.  These are two traits that we look for in writing.  Students need to be able to "talk it" before they can "write it."  So the more talking they do about an event or story idea the better....usually!  :)

Math:

• Practice math facts daily.  Practicing on an app or computer game counts too!

• Try to weave math into their daily life.  For example, if you bake 23 cookies and there are 4 kids, how many cookies will each person get?  Will there be any cookies left over?  Tying division into everyday situations helps kids to understand that math is all around us!