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.