52 Ways to Help Your Child Learn
Courtesy of the Washington Education Association. Reprinted with permission of the Washington Education Association. This booklet is available in English, Spanish and Russian. For a copy of the original booklet, please contact WEA Communications at 253-765-7037, or write to dwatson@wa.wea.org.
- Introductions
- Nurturing the Learning Instinct
- Be a Model and a Partner in Your Child’s Learning
- Reading and Writing
- Mathematics
- Science
- Geography and Social Sciences
- Creative Arts
- Second Language
- Health, Safety and Physical Education
- Five Inexpensive Ways to Make Your Child Feel Special
- A Few Final Words . . .
Introductions
Parents, Guardians and Caretakers,
You are your child’s first and most important teacher. The time you spend with your children at home, and the activities you engage in together, have a direct effect on their success in school.
The suggestions in this booklet will help your youngest and elementary school-age children learn and allow them to relate the things they learn at school to the world outside the classroom. Most importantly, these activities are fun for both of you!
We care about your children and we encourage you to keep in touch with the teachers and other school employees who work with your children. Drop in to see us or call if you have concerns or questions, or if you just want to check on how your child is doing. We also encourage you to get involved in your school by volunteering.
A child learns best by example, and your continuing interest in education can help produce a child who loves to learn! See you in school!
Sincerely,
The members of the Washington Education Association
Acknowledgements
Some material reproduced by permission and courtesy of:
California Teachers Association
Campbell Soup Company
National Education Association
Northern California Public Relations Committee
Additional writing by Eddie Westerman, WEA Communications Field Rep
This booklet is also available in Spanish and Russian
Reprinted 1999
Nurturing the Learning Instinct
1. Begin talking to your child from infancy. Make sounds, call attention to sounds and connect them with objects and events. Explain activities as you perform them. Listen and encourage conversation. Answer questions patiently and promptly. Play listening games. A good bedtime game is to listen quietly and identify as many sounds as possible — heartbeats, breathing, barking dogs, traffic, a ticking clock, etc. Listening attentively is essential in learning.
2. When your child presents you with a crayon-scribbled masterpiece, instead of asking, “What is it?” say, “This is beautiful. Tell me about it.” Similarly, when your child first begins trying to write, compliment the squiggle writing and ask your child to read it to you.
3. You can begin developing your child’s listening skills by playing a game in which you say a series of words and your child has to repeat them to you in the same order.
Be a Model and a Partner in Your Child’s Learning
4. Help your child develop effective work habits. Make a special spot for studying, writing, reading and homework. Do your homework while your children do theirs. Whether it’s work from the office, balancing the checkbook or doing laundry, show that everybody has homework to do.
5. Make learning fun. Target at least one activity each weekend that involves parent/child learning and discovery — a trip to the zoo or a museum or a walk in the park.
6. Limit the amount of television your child watches. One hour a day may seem short compared to what the child watches now, but it encourages the child to pick one or two programs a day and discourages just watching “whatever is on.” Search out better programs with your children. Public Television and educational cable channels provide a wealth of interesting and age-appropriate programming. Watch some of the programs together and discuss them.
7. Be subtle in helping your child learn. Keep things light-hearted and fun, rather than grim or tense. Make learning fun for all of you. Remember to listen to your child. Stifling curiosity by brushing off questions may make your child stop asking.
8. Communication is the key to successful learning. Young children may be fidgety and teenagers may be moody. Remember that none of that is directed at you. Children need “space” just like adults. Don’t try to force a conversation just because you are ready to have one. Keep the lines open and be prepared to really listen when they want to talk. Above all, ask about and listen to your child’s daily experiences.
9. Does your child dislike a certain subject? Find out why. Your child may need extra help. Maybe your own aversion to a certain subject has caused it. Seek the reason behind the dislike and enlist the teacher’s help so that you can work together to change your child’s attitude.
10. Learn as much as you can from your child’s teacher, the school staff and principal about school curriculum, teaching methods and club activities. Then you can give your child help that fits realistically into everyday learning programs.
Reading and Writing
11. Read to your child for at least a few minutes every day. Twenty minutes a day is ideal. Make a pleasant and relaxed experience of the event. Let your child choose a favorite story and explain pictures and answer questions about it. As time goes by, you can stop in the middle of a familiar story and ask what happens next. This encourages memory skills and reinforces the material in the text. For new stories, develop your child’s imagination and ask what your child thinks will happen next.
12. When your child is learning to read, try labeling household objects by printing in bold letters on masking tape. Encourage the reading of signs, posters, billboards — everything.
13. Besides regular children’s materials, read aloud from ordinary books, magazines, newspapers and advertisements. Your child will begin to recognize that the printed word is a part of everyday life and that words convey useful, interesting and amusing information. Set a good example by reading in your child’s presence.
14. Introduce your child to the wonders of the public library at an early age. Browse and answer questions about books and other materials. As soon as possible, a child should apply for a library card and use it. Encourage frequent use of the school library. Read and discuss books brought home for possible school projects or during family sharing periods. Subscribe to a children’s magazine. Children love the idea of having their very own periodical.
15. Before you select books for a birthday, holiday or other special occasions, ask the teacher’s or librarian’s advice. Books tailored for the child’s age group or reading skills as well as those that dovetail with topics being studied in school will make the book more enjoyable.
16. Encourage the writing and addressing of personal greeting cards, invitations and thank-you notes. Have the child help in writing grocery lists and putting names in an address book. Suggest a backyard “mailbox” for exchanging regular letters with other children in the neighborhood. Encourage your child to keep a journal. This is an excellent writing practice as well as a good outlet for venting all kinds of feelings. Give praise for all efforts in writing.
17. Word games such as Scrabble can help increase your child’s vocabulary and improve spelling. There are many games that have junior versions.
18. If at any age your child seems “turned off” by reading, don’t make an issue of it. Casually leave “irresistible” books around — books on whatever the child’s current interests are. You may dislike a current fad, but if it sparks enough interest to make your child read more about it, it may turn him or her into a reader.
Mathematics
19. Bingo, dominoes, toy telephones, card games, board games, calendars, clocks with large numbers and lots of other things in your household will help familiarize your child with the world of numbers.
20. Give your child math experience at home. Mention the size of containers, such as half-gallons of milk and quarts of juice or soft drinks. Encourage help when you bake or lay carpet, tile or plant seeds in the garden. Allow your child to measure ingredients, areas or quantities of material. Think about using metric measurements, too.
21. Shopping trips are great math lessons. Have your child read newspaper ads and price the cost of items you plan to buy. Encourage comparison of prices and quantities marked on containers to determine the best buys. Allow your child to buy an item and figure out the change. Children can double check the addition on grocery tapes; manage allowance; and read thermometers, barometers and stop watches. Let them calculate age, weight, height and dimensions, or figure gas purchase and mileage, tolls and other trip expenses.
22. Put your preschooler’s counting ability to work. In preparation for meals, let the child count out forks for the table, the different dishes at each setting and the number of vegetables you put in the salad.
Science
23. Stimulate your child to make use of all senses in discovering the world. Encourage curiosity about the feel of textures and materials, characteristic smells, sounds, tastes, weights and sizes of things. Teach the child to look carefully and to see beyond the surface appearance of the environment.
24. Watch the moon as it appears to change shape over the course of a month, and record the changes.
25. Encourage a child to grow plants and vegetables beginning with seeds and seedlings on a bedroom windowsill or in a garden.
26. See if your children can spend part of a day or even an hour with a friend who is a park ranger, pharmacist, veterinarian, engineer or laboratory technician. This can teach the importance of science for many jobs. Before the visit, encourage your children to read about the work so they will be able to ask good questions during the visit.
27. Let the child manipulate and learn about familiar objects — a dripping faucet, the household water system, a nutcracker, an old doorbell, discarded appliances (supervise younger children) and locks and door hinges. When making household repairs, fixing the family car or other appliances, include your child as an observer and helper. Natural scientific and mechanical skills are discovered and developed in this way, and many scientific principles can be demonstrated in firsthand and practical ways.
28. Make certain that you teach your child rules of safety in the handling of electrical, mechanical and chemical equipment. Consider giving a subscription to a scientific magazine, a general science kit, an ant farm or toy farm that grows real crops, a chemistry set, telescope and other science-oriented toys or kits.
29. Confer with the child’s science teachers to find out how you can help enrich what your child is studying at school.
30. Encourage your child to be a “collector.” Provide a place for collections of rocks, insects, leaves, stamps, shells or whatever. A dime-store picture frame can display summer collections of flowers, leaves or even insects.
Geography and Social Sciences
31. Create a treasure map for children to find hidden treats in the backyard or inside your home. Treasure maps work especially well for birthday parties.
32. Look for your city or town on a map. If you live in a large city or town, you may even be able to find your street. Point out where your relatives or your children’s friends live.
33. Help young children learn location. Make sure they know the color and style of the building in which they live, the name of their town and their street address. Then, when you talk about other places, they will have something of their own with which to compare.
34. Make sure you have research materials, including a dictionary, atlas, globe and almanac at home. Remember that computers with modems have constantly updated information. Computers are available for use by children and families in public libraries too.
35. Visit a county fair, farm, zoo, courthouse, airport, dock, museum or factory — whatever is available in your community. Many places conduct regularly scheduled tours.
36. Find the nearest mountain, park, lake, or other cultural or physical feature on a map. Then, talk about how these features affect your child’s life. Living near the ocean may make your climate moderate. Prairies and valleys may provide an open path for high winds. Mountains may block some weather fronts.
37. Teach your child the importance of being a good citizen by discussing local candidates for public office, issues and problems of the community. Help with the judgment of each person individually rather than by race, creed or color by curbing unkind remarks about others. Celebrate the diversity of your community and your state. Give books that reflect the diversity of American culture. Don’t be afraid to talk about the fascinating realm of ideas. Many children love the chance to talk (and be heard) about serious topics.
Creative Arts
38. Encourage musical activity in the home and on family trips. Family songs are fun for everyone. Encourage them to make up songs and verses to melodies you already know.
39. Give your child frequent opportunities for the expression of artistic ability — making valentines, other greeting cards and holiday decorations, performing an original skit in your living room, making puppets and putting on a show, putting on a mock television show, etc. Proudly display your child’s creations on the wall, door or bulletin board and change the exhibit regularly. Take the work to your office and let your child visit to see it there.
40. Let the child be a music maker as well as a listener. A toy drum, piano, horn, bells or harmonica can help teach rhythm and tone.
41. If your child plays an instrument, help schedule uninterrupted practice time. Listen to those tunes the child thinks are good. Encourage your child to perform and give your child constant praise.
42. To encourage creative writing, jot down stories your child tells and songs your child made up. Show them to the child later. Suggest they be illustrated and “published” for grandparents or other relatives on special occasions.
43. Encourage recycling and re-using all kinds of household throw-aways by using them for art projects. Scraps of yarn, materials, odd pieces of wrapping paper and old egg cartons are just a few things that can be turned into beautiful art.
44. Point out the differences in the intensity of colors and other subtle variations in nature. Observations and experimentation open up the doors to confidence.
Second Language
If your child is learning a language other than his or her native one:
45. Provide the opportunity to listen to songs, poems, stories or plays in the language your child is learning. Television, tapes, radio and any other exposure to the language are the best ways for your child to learn.
46. Find out if there are books, games, flash cards or other materials in the language your child is learning at the library or in bookstores. Borrow simple foreign language tapes or compact discs from the library.
47. Encourage your child to acquire a pen pal from the country that is of particular interest to the child or the language being studied. If your child’s second language is English, encourage the child to get a pen pal from another state or even someone in the town where you live who goes to a different school.
Health, Safety and Physical Education
48. Good health is essential to good learning, so be sure your child has regular, necessary care from a physician and dentist. Any condition of a serious nature should be reported to the school. Emphasize personal hygiene and cleanliness. Diet — especially a nutritious breakfast to start off the day — is of prime importance. Follow through on eye and ear screenings and routine immunizations. Consult your child’s physical education teacher concerning physical development and coordination and how you may assist.
49. See to it that your child has enough sleep each night and is dressed properly for the weather. The child should stay home from school if you notice definite signs of illness such as a fever, suspicious rash or severe cough. Send a note to explain the absence when the child returns to school. Be alert for signs of poor vision, such as squinting, frowning or red, watery eyes. Faulty hearing can be indicated by earaches, chronic inattention or frequent requests that statements be repeated.
50. Encourage the habit of vigorous daily activity. The best way to do this is to participate yourself. Active play builds strong muscles, which are basic to good health and posture. Join your child in active games and stress good sportsmanship. Encourage participating in creative activities and individual and team sports.
51. Teach your children their full names, address and telephone number at an early age. Working your address or phone number into a familiar melody really works well. Select the safest, most direct walking route to school and check to see that your child uses it. Explain any traffic hazards along the way. Teach your child to stop at the curb or at the side of the road; to look in both directions to be sure there is no traffic or that traffic has stopped before crossing; to WALK across the road in the crosswalk; and to obey a student patrol or adult crossing guard. Warn you child never to get in a car or accept a ride with a stranger.
52. If your child travels to and from school on a bus, teach the fundamentals of bus safety — to stand well back from the road while waiting for the bus, to always remain seated while the bus is moving and to keep head and arms inside the bus at all times. Teach your child to STOP, LOOK and then WALK across the street to the bus only after the bus driver has signaled that it is safe. Children learn very quickly from experience. Ride a public transit bus with your child one day so you can model how to behave properly. If your child rides a bicycle to school, be sure the child knows and obeys bicycle laws and wears a helmet. Check the bike frequently to be sure the brakes are working properly and that the handlebars and seat are not loose.
Five Inexpensive Ways to Make Your Child Feel Special
Write and mail post cards or letters to your child once in a while. That way, the child receives personal mail.
Start a story on the family computer if you have one (or on a piece of notebook paper if you don’t). Ask every family member to add a sentence to the story and keep it going for a set amount of time. Then read the story aloud after a meal.
Monitor the computer games your children are playing. Play the games together and ask your child to explain them to you. Discuss the different roles that the computer characters take on. Are they realistic? Ask your child if he or she would like these characters if they came to life. Also, limit the amount of time your child spends playing computer games.
Make a Hall of Fame spot on your refrigerator or kitchen bulletin board. Exhibit papers with improved grades or new artwork or interesting stories about your child or children.
Take advantage of free days at zoos, aquariums and museums. They are often advertised in the newspaper.
A Few Final Words . . .
Every parent knows how important it is to spend “quality time” with children, but always remember to take time out for yourself, too. If you find that you feel frustrated and angry with your child most of the time, ask for help. People at your child’s school can put you in touch with others who will assist you.
If you have any questions about the material in this booklet, talk to your child’s teacher or contact the WEA Information Center at 800-622-3393, ext. 7037. This booklet is also available in Spanish and Russian.
The Washington Education Association represents more than 70,000 teachers and other certified staff, educational support personnel, higher education faculty, college of education students and retired members. Our mission is to help public education be the best it can be for students, staff and communities. Visit our Web site at www.wa.nea.org.
Check out this Web site for more publications and ideas about how to help your child learn: http://pfie.ed.gov/
