Past Principal Points
How Parents Can Help Children Learn
The
beginning of the year is a good time to think about how parents can support the
learning which teachers are aiming for in each class this year. No matter how
much work a teacher puts into her lessons, it is never a solo effort. The partnership between
the school and home is vital, and parents play a huge role in the success of
their children’s education. Here are some simple,
but very important things that parents can do to help their children get
everything they can out of school and support the teachers in their work. In
Luke 2, Jesus is said to have returned home with his parents to live in
subjection to them, and that He then proceeded to grow in “wisdom and stature
and favor with God and man.” Lk 2:32. I will try to
address all four of these dimensions in this and subsequent articles.
Clothing-1: It may
seem like a little thing, but if a child comes unprepared for the weather, then both they and a
teacher or teacher-aide must stay inside during their recess times. (In very bad weather we keep all children in, but I’m thinking of
those “in-between” days.) When children and teachers miss those breaks, the day
becomes longer and more difficult for both.
Clothing-2: The
second thing we would really appreciate is that parents clearly label every
article of removable clothing with their children’s last name. That will ensure
that they have those mitts, toques, and jackets when the weather turns cold. (I
have already returned two unlabeled jackets left behind in the year’s first
chapel.) We have a very small lost and found, so we cannot hang on to things
for very long. If clothing is labeled we will get it back to one of your children;
however, if it is unlabeled we will send it to the Salvation Army Thrift Store. Despite our best efforts last year, we ended up giving away a lot
of very expensive clothing, including new runners, etc. Please label your
clothes! J
Sleep: It used
to be that Mondays were the most productive day in school because the kids came
back refreshed from their weekend and ready to learn. Increasingly we are
finding Mondays and Tuesdays after a long weekend to be less productive than
they could be. Please consider Sunday night as a school night, and ensure that
children are in bed by their usual times. As
a rule of thumb, you may want to consider the following rubric: In bed by eight
until you’re eight; then 15 minutes later each year until age 16. Allow an
extra hour for Friday and Saturday nights, and you’ll be pretty close to the
mark. Grade eleven students could be given another hour and grade twelve
another two hours on Friday or Saturday nights, but even there one should be
cautious how often. Lost sleep adds up!
Food: Feed
them! J Every child is different in how much food they need and how picky
they are about their food. I know it’s an on-going struggle in some homes. The
most important issue is that they have well-balanced meal for lunch and a healthy snack. Scientists have determined that simply sitting still but engaging
in rigorous mental activity burns a considerable number of calories. Some sugar
is needed for quick energy, but too much of the pop and chips will not provide
the kind of nutrition kids need for the hard work of learning throughout the
day. In addition, it is helpful particularly in the younger grades to have a
water bottle, and that too should be labeled for sanitation reasons!
Homework: When
parents are actively involved in monitoring what their children are doing in
school, children invariably will do better. Obviously, more supervision is
needed in the younger grades, but even in junior and senior high it’s good to
check with kids to see what they have to do and ensure that they are setting
aside adequate time to do a good job. It doesn’t hurt to look at an essay a
teen will be turning in to see whether it represents a reasonable effort or
not. In the younger grades, teachers have much closer communication with
parents because each day’s learning is so vital to their success the next day.
Children will have small amounts of homework, but it is important. Please ensure that
homework is completed and keep your children’s teachers informed whenever there
is a problem.
Reading: Setting
aside time to read aloud with your child regularly is the single most important
thing a parent can do to help develop good readers and therefore good students. It doesn’t take a lot of time, but it makes a huge impact. At the
older grades, the evidence is clear that those students who read more make
greater gains in their reading abilities than those who read less. Your
teachers are very aware of this and are working to ensure that there is
sufficient time both in and out of school to provide reading practice.
Principal,
Copyright © 2002/2003 Airdrie Koinonia Christian
School Last modified: September 24, 2002