Helping our Children's Education

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.