• WAYS TO HELP YOUR FIRST GRADER SUCCEED
     
          ENCOURAGE READING AND WRITING
    • **Read together every day.
    • **Play rhyming games.
    • **Help your child write and read his own stories and books.
    • **Make frequent trips to the local library, and encourage your child to pick out her own books.
    • **Limit television, computer, and video-game time, and encourage your child to read instead.
    • **Take turns reading pages out loud
    • **Encourage your child to write notes, keep a journal, or write her own books.
    • **When reading together, point out how most sentences have the first letter of the first word capitalized, spaces between each separate word, and a period at the end.
    • **Have your child write lists of anything from what she wants for her birthday or what her favorite movies are, to what she loves most about school or what she wants you to buy at the grocery store for snacks.

     

    • MAKE MATH PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE
    • **Have your child set the table (counting and sorting the sets of plates,napkins, cups, and silverware).
    • **Post a running countdown of the days until her birthday. Let her change the number each day.
    • **Challenge him to guess at things, and then find the answers. For example: How many bowls of cereal do you think we can get out of this box? How many M&Ms do you think are in your (snack size) bag? How many minutes do you think it will take to clear off the table? Which of these cups do you think will hold more juice?
    • **Ask your child to measure things in non-traditional units. For example: Let's see how many footsteps it takes to get from here to the door.Why do you think it's more for you and fewer for me? How many action figures (or Barbie dolls) long is this table?
    • **Have your child compare things: Which do you think is heavier a cookie or ten chocolate chips? Who do you think is taller, mom or dad? Which carrot is longer? Fatter? Crunchier?
    • **Give your child problems to solve and let her work them out by touching and counting actual objects. For example: I have four cookies here,but two people want to eat them. How many should each person get?

     

    • TEACH YOUR CHILD HOW TO LISTEN

     

    • **Read aloud to your child on a regular basis even after she has learned to read by herself. Ask questions as you read, to make sure your child is understanding what she hears.
    • **Limit television, computer, and video game time. While they're all entertaining, and can even be educational, they tend to promote tunnel vision. Make sure the time your child spends in front of a screen is balanced by time spent with other people, talking face to face.
    • **When you speak to your child, make eye contact and gently touch his shoulder or arm, to secure his attention.
    • **When giving directions, ask your child to repeat back to you what she heard you say to make sure she really did hear, and does understand what she needs to do.
    • **Play talking and listening games with your child like Charades, Red Light/Green Light, Duck, Duck, Goose, and Twenty Questions.

     

    • ENCOURAGE RESPONSIBILITY AND INDEPENDENCE

     

    • **Play an active role in getting ready for school. That includes picking out school clothes (preferably the night before), getting up on time (using an alarm clock, if necessary), getting dressed, washing up and brushing his teeth, getting his own breakfast ready, making up his bed, and checking to make sure he has everything he needs in his backpack. Once your child is physically capable of doing these things, let him take charge. If necessary, make him a checklist to help him remember everything that needs to be done.
    • **Develop a homework routine. While there's no set formula, it will help if your child has a regular time and place to do her homework each day. That way she's less likely to forget to do it, and less likely to fight about doing it "later on."
    • **Unpack his own backpack. Teach him that as soon as he gets home from school,he should unpack his backpack, put his homework materials in his homework place, and hand you (or put in a special place) any newsletters, notes from the teacher, papers to sign, or special work he's brought home. Then he can watch television, or have his snack, or do whatever else is planned.


    • Thank you for taking an active role in your child's education. Together, we can help your child become a successful learner and develop good learning habits that will benefit them for years to come.

               Mrs. Serena