Help your child become a
reader and a writer. Provide books, and other "print rich"
items so your child will see letters and words and want to explore
them. Provide a variety of writing materials for their use.
Children are naturally creative and curious!
Read to your child and
have him/her read to you. Askquestions about what
was read. "Tell me what you read." Discuss the material.
"Why did the elephant run away from the monkey?" "What could he
have done differently?" "What part of the story did you like
best?" "Why?" Second graders regularly use critical thinking
skills in their daily lives. You can encourage and strengthen
them by asking questions, listening to their responses and
discussing their viewpoints.
Read and discuss
non-fiction materials as well as fiction. Children are
naturally curious about the world around them. They love to have
their questions answered. This will also help them become skilled
technical readers and to know that books, magazines and
newspapers are sources of information.
Let your child catch YOU
reading regularly! Research tells us that children read more
and read a greater variety of materials when they see their
parents and older siblings reading. Make sure you read for
information and pleasure!
Use family outings as
learning opportunities. Trips to grocery stores, mall, parks,
vacations and excursions on buses, planes, and trains, all provide
material for discussion. Continue to ask your child questions
about what they see, feel, hear, etc. What did they enjoy most
about their experiences, and what did they find less enjoyable?
Listen to their responses and let them know their opinions are
important. Knowing you value their thoughts keeps them thinking
and wondering about the world around them.
Make collections!
Children love to collect things; rocks, shiny things, shells,
buttons, keys, coins, anything small that can be stored as
"treasures". Collections are great things to talk about, write
about, make up stories about, and, they are useful for
counting, sorting, classifying, grouping, and for practicing
addition and subtraction with real objects so children
better understand these math concepts.
Help with math skills
by: playing games which involve counting, adding, subtracting and
basic multiplying with your child (Uno, Yahtzee, etc.).
Cooking is a great way to teach measurement, proportions,
fractions, more/less, and many other math concepts we all use
daily.
Continue to give your child
choices of activities, chores, ways to spend time, or
foods. "Would you rather have spaghetti or tacos for dinner?"
"Would you like to read to me or do flash cards right now?" "Would
you rather set the table or fold the clothes?" These are decisions
7-8 year olds can and should make. In these situations, the adult
is clearly in charge, yet the child is able to have some control.
The chores described give children feelings of independence
and teach them responsibility.
Help your child select items
or topics to share at school. Sharing or Show & Tell, teaches
children to have pride in themselves and respect diversity among
others. Sharing also helps develop oral communication skills and
helps children work toward the goal of effective and responsible
communication.
Provide time for your child
to play, share and cooperate with others.
This will help him/her
make friends, as well as learn to work together
cooperatively with classmates. Remind him/her to treat others
with respect, understanding and acceptance.
Volunteer at
school!
Limit and monitor TV
watching!
Remember that YOU are
your child’s first teacher. The impact of your words
and actions are the most important!