Listen to them and pay attention to their problems.
Children
 need to know that you, as a parent are concerned about their problems 
and are always ready to listen to them.  If kids don’t know their 
concerns and feelings have value, they will be less likely to share them
 with their parents.
Read with them.If children 
see their parents taking an active interest in reading with them, they 
are much more likely to continue reading on their own.  It is one of the
 best things a parent can do to help younger children build a solid base
 for the rest of their school years.
Tell family stories.Not
 only are family stories a great way to expose your child to public 
speaking, but they create a sense of connection and family that ads 
stability to a young persons view of life.  Your children are much more 
likely to retain a story that involves a family member and then be able 
to re-tell the tale to others.
Limit their television watching.Television
 is considered by some to be a major obstacle to education for children 
today.  As elaborated on at www.tvkids.us [http://www.tvkids.us] , Kids 
spend more time watching television than any other single activity other
 than sleeping and school.  Limiting the time spent watching television 
important, but controlling the content is equally important.  It is a 
parent’s responsibility to ensure their children’s brains are not fed 
with junk.  There are some quality children’s television shows that are 
educational and fun for the kids too.
Have books and other reading materials in the house.This
 is a no brainer.  There is really no reason not to have books around 
the house for children.  Children’s books are readily available and are 
not expensive.  You can pick up second hand books at garage sales and 
flea markets and popular online auction sites for very little money.
Look up words in the dictionary with them.Challenge
 your kids to listen for words they are not familiar with and look it 
up.  Try a new word every day.  This is a good exercise for adults too!
Encourage them to use an encyclopedia.If
 you don’t have access to an encyclopedia, use the internet.  There is 
vast wealth of knowledge on the internet, just waiting to be explored.  www.encyclopedia.com is a great free resource to start with.
Share favorite poems and songs with them.After
 you have shared your songs, ask them to share theirs.  There are a ton 
of song lyrics available online.  Look some of you kids favorites up, 
print them off and get them to practice reading them back to before 
singing them. 
Take them to the library--get them their own library cards.The
 first time my kids went to a library, the absolutely loved it.  With 
all the information available at home these days I tend to forget how 
cool libraries were when I was a kid.   Kids still love to see all the 
books, and when they get their own library cards and understand how the 
library works, it teaches them responsibility.
Take them to museums and historical sites, when possible.Take
 the time to do this one, especially the museums.  It is an experience 
they won’t forget.  It opens up children’s minds and really gets them 
excited about learning.  It’s really fun for parents too!
Discuss the daily news with them.The
 news is not always good, so focus your conversations towards 
interesting topics and skip over the stuff that they are to young to 
concern themselves with.  Local newspapers are usually a good source for
 community events and milder topics.
Go exploring with them and learn about plants, animals, andlocal geography.Take
 along a plant guidebook and search for the different species of flowers
 or have the children write down the names of the animals they see.  The
 key is to keep them involved and interested.  Bring along a camera and 
when you get back, print off the pictures and have the kids make a 
scrapbook of the things they saw that day.
Find a quiet place for them to study.Its
 very important to establish a place where you child can study without 
being distracted by the television or younger siblings.
Review their homework.Always
 have your children show you what they did at school and check their 
homework with them.  It shows them that you think it is important and 
then they will think is important.  It will also keep you up to date 
with the progress they are making.
Meet with their teachers.Remember,
 your children are probably spending more time with their teacher than 
anyone else, aside from yourself.  Teachers can give invaluable insight 
into the kind of person your child is becoming.  Parents have a hard 
time being objective about their own kids, it is only natural.  That’s 
why it is so important that you know the person that is guiding your 
children’s education.