From Childrens Stories to Study Skills: Help Your Children Succeed in School
Introduction As a parent who wants the best for your children, there are
undoubtedly many things that you already do every day to
help your children succeed in school. The purpose of this
article is to provide some practical ideas for you to try. Some
of these suggestions may be new to you, many will be
familiar, and some are just plain common sense but,
hopefully, they will all serve as reminders of the many
simple steps you can take that are too often taken for
granted or forgotten about, due to the hectic pace of
everyday living. Read to your kids, whatever their ages First of all, read to your children. We all know that this is
important, but I'd like to point out that reading aloud should
begin in infancy. It can contribute to your baby's developing
attention span and receptive language skills. In addition, I'd
like to encourage parents to read to growing children, even
once they are able to read on their own. Don't stop once your
kids are in elementary school for, whatever the status of
their reading skills, hearing a good book read aloud is an
experience apart. Being read to allows children to focus more on the
descriptive passages and the action, rather than having to
struggle with understanding every single word. It also
allows them to hear great children's stories that are beyond
their current reading level, and it's a wonderful way for a
family to share a magical experience. Choose a children's
book that can also be enjoyed by you as an adult, and have
a family reading session each evening or each week. A
classic children's story, such as "The Wind in the Willows,"
or the Harry Potter books might be perfect for your family,
depending on the ages and interests of your children. Encourage independent reading and library use Offer quality children's literature to your growing children and
encourage them to read on their own - at their own level and
at their own pace. Fiction and nonfiction can both open up
new worlds of knowledge and experience and help prepare
kids for success in school and in adult life, and don't forget
that online children's stories are an exciting new resource to
add to your reading repertoire. Take your children to the local public library. Be sure that
each member of the family has his or her own library card.
Help your children see the public library not just as a place
associated with homework and drudgery, but rather as an
exciting doorway to interesting information and adventure.
Encourage library book borrowing related to any special
topic that interests your kids - from astronomy to adventure
stories, from fact to fantasy. Get your kids to participate in some of the special free extra
activities and programs that are regularly scheduled in
many public libraries, like storyhours, craft projects, films,
and summer reading clubs. Take your children to
museums, concerts, puppet shows and the like. Expose
them to any forms of entertainment and cultural enrichment
that you may be lucky enough to have access to. Develop effective research skills and good study habits Help your kids develop research skills that will serve them
well, not only on school projects, but later in daily life as an
adult. For instance, if you're planning a family trip, let the
kids conduct library and Internet-based research on
possible destinations, sites of interest, driving or flying
routes, and how to dress appropriately for the climate of
your destination spot. If you're thinking of buying a new car,
let your kids take part in your consumer research,
comparing different car models according to a variety of
pertinent criteria. Nurture good study habits and self-discipline. Set aside a
regular, daily study time for homework in a quiet, well-lit
room. Be sure that your kids have a study environment that's
sound physically, as well as conducive to mental
concentration. A quiet room is important, but so too is good
lighting, a chair that provides good back support and access
to all the materials that your children need to complete
projects. Supply them with pencils, erasers, rulers, and so
forth. Encourage kids to keep their desk or other study area neat
and well organized. This will prevent lots of time-wasting
searches for materials and will really pay off as your
children get older and their school assignments become
more complex. Good organizational skills, which include the
arrangement of physical objects, plus the logical structuring
of the steps involved in completing any given project, can
last a lifetime. Take an interest in your kids' day-to-day school life Take an interest in your children's school projects.
Encourage them to show you reports they've written or
pictures they've drawn. Make them see that you care about
what they're doing and about how they're doing, but don't
make them feel like they're constantly being monitored or
judged. Don't add pressure, just give them plenty of support,
encouragement and praise for jobs well done. Provide them
with the resources they need (such as Internet access,
library time, books and magazine articles) to do a good job
on school assignments, but... resist the temptation to do the
school projects for them. Take the same approach with everyday homework. If your
child's having trouble with a math problem, review the rules,
explain the procedures, and check the results, but don't just
give a child the answers. The learning process is more
important than a list of correct answers to hand in to the
teacher. Go that extra mile Among the most precious gifts that you can give to your
children is your time. Put them first and make time for them.
Build a happy, stable home environment, full of love and
security, and you've already gone a long way towards
helping your children thrive and succeed both in school and
in life. Be involved in the big and the small events that make
up their daily lives. Offer your support, encouragement,
resources and love. Be there for them, no matter how busy
your professional life is or whatever other commitments you
have. Before you know it your children will be grown up and
what they'll become depends largely on you. For their sake,
as well as for your own, make the most of their childhood. There are no pearls of wisdom here, just a refresher course
in things that we've all heard a million times, but don't
always stop to take them to heart. They're so important that
they deserve our attention, to periodically remind us of what
really counts in life. Barbara Freedman-De Vito, children's librarian, teacher,
professional storyteller, and artist, writes and illustrates
animated children's stories which are available at
http://www.babybirdproductions.com which also has free
games and educational activities for children, teachers and
parents. Clothing and gift items decorated with artwork from
the stories are also available.
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