Reading

Your children’s educational journey doesn’t begin and end at school. It’s a lifelong adventure that comes home with them and persists through evenings, weekends, and even summer vacations. Make sure you’re supporting your children’s learning and helping them excel at their homework with these smart strategies.

Develop a Routine

Image via Flickr by dgoomany

Consistent study habits are essential if you want your children to excel in school. Choose a regular block of time when they’ll study and do homework each night. Determine your child’s learning style and incorporate strategies that cater to these preferences. Your child may understand math better with manipulatives, thrive with flashcards, or prefer a math program on the computer. Include at least 20 minutes of reading for elementary-age children.

Give kids some time to unwind after school, but don’t push the homework routine so close to bedtime that the kids go to sleep late if the study session runs over. A late-afternoon block is best.

Create a Functional Study Space

Children learn best if they have a dedicated space set aside for studying. Even a tiny desk set in the corner is sufficient. Use task lighting so your kids don’t have to squint over their papers. Keep all the essentials handy, including paper, pencils, and reference materials. You don’t want to interrupt your routine hunting for an eraser or ruler. Make sure it’s all handy in a drawer or supply tote.

Consider including a blackboard, whiteboard, or bulletin board in your study space. You can write up the week’s spelling words, leave encouraging notes, or work out math problems on a larger scale with these tools.

Set and Reward Goals

Set homework and study goals for your children, and track their progress so they can see their growth and achievements. You might track passing grades, demonstrated math fluency, or the number of books read each week. Stickers on a chart are easily visible and provide a visual incentive. Set a reward system with perks like a pizza night, screen time, or freedom from a particular chore if children meet their goals.

Keep Kids Healthy

Healthy kids will have an easier time with all their activities, including school. Make sure your children are eating a well-balanced diet that’s low in sugar and processed foods and high in whole foods like fresh fruits and vegetables. Children between the ages of 5 and 17 should get at least an hour of moderate to vigorous activity each day.

Make sure your home is a healthy space by keeping it clean. Proper humidity levels will help keep asthma and allergies under control. High humidity creates a breeding ground for mold, mildew, and dust mites, yet excessively dry air encourages these irritants to dry out and become airborne. Keep your humidity level between 30 and 50 percent for the healthiest environment.

With the right home environment and routine, your children can thrive in all their activities, from learning a musical instrument to mastering math facts. Work closely with your children’s teachers to set appropriate goals and make sure they’re working on the right activities during their homework time.

Since I was a child, Reading and Writing have always been something that I have enjoyed. I can remember, as a young girl, going to the library with my dad and picking out books to take home. It was always an exciting time. Both of my parents would read to my brother and I before we went to bed. I know that this is a huge reason why I enjoy reading today.

I feel like it is super important to introduce books and reading to our children as early as we can. How many of us moms would read to our bellies when we were pregnant with our first babies? That was not crazy at all! LOL

Whether you sit down with your toddler and look at a picture book or if you read the same Dr. Seuss book over and over again, reading is something that a child can LEARN to enjoy.

Recently my son, who just started first grade, said to me that he didn’t like reading. I know he didn’t mean it, because he actually just learned how to read and he gets excited when he sits down with a book and is able to read the words. I think he just wanted to get out of doing his homework that day so he could play. 🙂

I started to think more about the whole topic of children and reading after getting an instruction sheet from one of my children’s teachers. It was titled “How to make Readers out of your Children”. These were some of the points listed:

Follow your child’s interest – if your child enjoys pretending to be a superhero, then look for superhero books. If your child likes dinosaurs, then get them a book about dinosaurs. Providing them books about things they like will definitely spark their interest in reading.

Share books YOU enjoyed as a child – The Dr. Seuss books are timeless when it comes to children and reading. My kids love Green Eggs and Ham. I think I may have memorized it by now. LOL

Get a collection of fairy tales, riddles, or joke books

Find an Interactive Book – Some of my favorite interactive books are the “Look and Find” books where you are instructed to find certain objects on the page. They get so excited trying to be the first one to find what we are looking for.

Take your child to the library. This is big for us. As I said in the beginning of the post, the library was a huge influence on sparking my interest in reading books as a child. I wrote a post a while back called Library Books are a Special Part of our Daily Lives. Be sure to check it out.

Get “How To” Books

Those are just a few ways that you can get your child interested in reading books. And even AFTER your child learns to read, it is still important to read TO them. When you read a book to a child they are more likely to pick up that same book later on and read it themselves. Children also like to read what they CHOOSE to read, so allow them to pick a book the next time you sit down to read together.

And another key point is that children who enjoy reading, actually do better in school. As they get more and more comfortable with reading at home, they will be more comfortable and have a better self esteem about reading in school.

This bit of info really helped me to understand the importance of reading with my children and I hope that it will also help you as well.

How about you? Do you read to your children? Do you go to the library? What reading rituals do you have in your family? I would love to hear your comments!