Wadhurst Primary School How To Help Your Child In the feed-back from the Ofsted Parent Questionnaire in June 2010 one of the main issues that arose was that parents felt that they would like more advice from the school about how to help their children. This booklet will hopefully give you some ideas about how you can best help your child do well in their learning. Please also look at the further ideas for Maths games and the Written Calculation policy which explains how we teach numeracy.
Helping with English English is probably the most important subject that your child studies at school. Without English, your child couldn't communicate with other English speakers. It has been established that a person with a large vocabulary has a greater ability to think. This is because words are like bricks - having a large 'pile' in your head makes it easier for you to 'build' ideas. So, how can you help to improve your child's English, whether it is a first or additional language? There's plenty you can do, even if you don't see yourself as an expert. How to help your child None of these suggestions are expensive or complicated. Each one needs just a little thought and time from you. One or two of these activities a week will really help a child get better at English, in a very undemanding way. Make sure that you read often with your child. As your child learns, he will want to read often to you, too. Make a regular commitment to visit your local library. Take out a book for yourself as well as allowing your child to choose, to show that it's 'cool' for grown-ups to read too. Limit TV. At the start of each week, read the TV guide with your child and get him to note down all the things he wants to watch that week in a diary or on a pin-board. He could write a mini review of a favourite programme, complete with stick-on stars, afterwards.
Get your child to design and write greetings cards for family and friends. Perhaps he could even make up a rhyme to go in the middle. On car journeys, take note of car registration plates. See if everyone can make up a phrase using the letters in the order they are shown. So, T401 SPF could be, 'Trains Speeding Past Fields.' Play Word Associations. One person starts by saying a word at random. The next person says a word he associates with the first one, and so on. So, you could have: 'Snow - cold - warm - holiday - beach - swim - fish - chips', etc. Try to get some pace into the game! The BBC Schools website also has lots of entertaining and educational ideas.
Helping With Homework Helping your child with homework will help their learning at school. You will benefit, too. You'll get to know your child's particular strengths and difficulties and you will also find out what your child is studying. The school will also gain by having motivated pupils and well-informed parents who are fully involved with their children's education. As your child gets older, of course they need to become more independent. Helping your child to get organised, providing equipment and a quiet place to work and offering lots of encouragement will get them off to the right start. How to help Find somewhere at home as a homework area. It needs a flat surface, a good light source and resources such as pens, pencils, rulers, scissors, glue, dictionary and notebook to hand. Set up a routine. Plan a homework timetable so you both know what your child needs to do and when. It's a good idea if your child has a break and something to eat before starting on homework. Ask your child to explain the homework task and how it follows on from what she was studying at school. Be interested and be on hand to talk to your child about what she has learnt so far.
Help your child to become an independent learner. Explain how to look up information or find a word in a dictionary rather than simply giving an answer in order to get the task finished. Don't be tempted to teach your child methods you used at school. Turn off the television while homework is underway but do let your child listen to music if she finds it helpful. Use home/school books to note how your child tackles the task, what is done well and where she has difficulties. (Remember, your child is probably one of 30 so keep your comments brief!) Discourage your child from copying when she's asked to do research tasks. Talk about the information together, work out the key facts and help your child to write these down as brief notes. Be positive about your child's attempts. If you have concerns about her progress, make an appointment with the school. Don't let homework become a chore. Make it a special time that you both look forward to. A word of warning: we are extremely keen that parents become fully involved in your child's education but please don't be tempted to correct homework and make your child copy it out. We need to know how much your child understands and can do independently.
Helping with Maths Mathematics is one of the most important subjects that your child studies at school. Numbers are all around us and even if you don't feel yourself to be a mathematics genius, there is plenty that you can do. In fact, your child should enjoy most of the suggested activities so much that she won't even realise that it's educational! Current teaching methods for maths and even the way that sums are recorded appear very different from those used twenty years ago. As a result, parents are sometimes reluctant to help their children with maths homework for fear of doing things in the wrong way. However, children do really benefit when parents take a keen interest in their mathematical learning. You can help your child to gain confidence and develop a positive attitude towards mathematics by talking about what has been taught at school and helping her to notice and use mathematics in an everyday context. Try some of these to reinforce learning that has taken place at school: A key part of every numeracy session in school is mental maths, so practise at home. Children must get used to solving problems in their heads, rather than resorting to a calculator. Play games with your child: throw two dice and multiply the numbers, then move on to multiplying the sum of two throws by the sum of another two throws. Try to get some pace into the game!
Play snakes and ladders, cribbage, darts, dominoes and other games that depend on numbers, counting, calculation and scoring. 'Battleships' is a fun way to use graphs. Invest in a range of maths puzzle books. Talk about pocket money with your child. Help her to add it up week by week, and work out whether she can afford a particular toy or treat. Shop using money and calculate change. Add number apparatus to your child's toy collection - counters, a purse full of change, dice, dominoes, a tape measure, ruler, pack of cards, timer, different shapes - and use them to make mathematics come alive. Capitalise on hobbies. If your child is car-mad, talk about relative engine sizes, fuel economy, speed and performance. If she has a favourite pop group, get her to compile a list of statistics such as the number of weeks each single is in the charts. Watch and play sports that involve scoring, timing, counting, measuring. Be creative! Ask your child to look out for patterns and shapes on floors, wallpaper, plants, animals, buildings - anything from the arrangement of tiles in the kitchen to the markings on the cat. Draw objects made entirely of triangles, rectangles or squares: make 'butterfly' pictures by painting on one half of the paper and folding it over so that the image is mirrored. Make mobiles by suspending objects from coat hangers and ensuring they balance.
Think about time. Look at clocks, both digital and analogue. Estimate how long a certain activity will take to do and see if you are right! Work out how long it is until the next mealtime. Play games: how long is a minute, starting from now? Think about calendars and dates too. Make a timeline that includes the birthdays of each member of the family and work out how far apart each one is. Use different units: months, weeks and days, even hours, minutes and seconds. Add other important events, such as a family holiday, and encourage your child to count down to the big day. Cooking is great for helping your child get to know simple weights and measures. An old-fashioned set of balance scales is ideal. Count out spoonfuls of ingredients. Let your child help you set the timer and count down to teatime! Later on, this is a good way to introduce the idea of ratios and proportions, too. Bear in mind that your child will be learning the metric system at school, so try to measure amounts in grams and kilograms. Use learning games on educational websites: check out the BBC Schools Games Machine for lots of ideas
Helping with writing Writing and reading are a part of every subject your child will study at school, and they're vital for many aspects of everyday life. It's crucial to encourage your child's writing skills as much as possible right from the start. Tips and ideas Spend quality time each day talking with your child. Read to your child - not just stories but a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts - and discuss the ways that authors use words to shape their ideas. Be a writing model and encourage your child to write alongside you. Create real opportunities for your child to write, such as letters, posters or invitations. Have an exciting selection of writing materials readily available. Talk to your child about his writing and read it through together. Praise your child for trying. Don't dwell on mistakes, focus on the content.
If your child brings a spelling list home to learn, try to make the practice fun by playing games that encourage careful listening to the sounds in words and looking for letter patterns. Your child may enjoy singing or reciting spellings, or writing them out and colouring letter patterns. Most importantly remember that writing can be difficult, so be available, supply help if asked and marvel at how well your child is doing.
Helping With Personal Organisation Helping your child and doing things for them is quite natural, indeed when they are babies we have to do everything for them. However as your child gets older, of course they need to become more independent. Some children seem to do this easily whilst some seem to need more help and have to be taught how to organise themselves. Helping your child to get organised, will get them off to the right start. How to help Talk about the following day. What will they be doing? What will they need? (e.g. pens/ paper, PE kit, etc) Keep a planner or calendar at home so that your child can see the week ahead. Get your child to make lists of things to do. Encourage them to pack their school bag the night before. Help your child to become an independent learner. Explain how to look up information or find a word in a dictionary rather than simply giving them the answer. Provide equipment and a quiet place to work Give the responsibility to your child small steps at first and ask them questions to check and support them. Offer lots of encouragement and praise Don t show your frustration or anger!