:: Helping Your Child Achieve
Success at school begins at home. You are the first and most important teacher your child will ever have. As a parent, you can help stimulate your child's enthusiasm for learning.
Courses for Success - Consider parenting courses for yourself or enrichment courses for your children through Continuing Education Services to encourage achievement.
Tests - help your child to cope with test anxiety and improve their test scores.
Help your young child get off on the right foot:
- Children who get plenty of sleep are more ready to learn. Ten to 12 hours is recommended for four to six-year-olds.
- Habits of good nutrition begin in the early years. A well-balanced diet, which includes breakfast, is important to learning.
- Children need to learn to dress appropriately for different kinds of weather.
- Help your child to look forward to school:
Get to know your child's friends.
- Talk with your child about school activities and routines.
Become familiar with school rules and discuss them with your child. Your attitude and actions will help determine how your child feels about school.
Know your child's school. Become familiar with:
- the names of teachers who will be working with your child
- the school procedures regarding care of outer clothing, field trips, fees and supplies
- the school calendar - identify holidays and special events
- the school timetable - starting and dismissal times
- the school's emergency procedures
Interact with your child's teacher:
- volunteer to support your child's school program
- share information about your child's strengths and weaknesses
- inform your child's teacher when there are things happening in your child's life that may interfere with learning
Encourage your child's language learning:
- Encourage your child and be a good example of speaking and listening.
- Talk about family events and take your child to visit interesting places.
- Read stories to your child regularly when they are young.
- Show that you enjoy reading your own books, magazines, newspapers.
- Help your child to understand that their own writing is important: letters, cards, lists.
For more information, email Kathy McCabe at Kathy.McCabe@epsb.ca.
This information represents our best advice on this topic. Other authorities, such as Alberta Education, may provide additional information.
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