OPENING THE DOORS OF COMMUNICATION

Sigh of relief. School has started. That last week of vacation was chaotic: getting all the school supplies together, re-integrating the concepts of routine and scheduling into your household. You’re exhausted. But you can’t relax yet; life is chaotic and you are just sooooo busy! It seems like it never stops; there’s always something to do; a child to drive to an activity, dinner to prepare, homework to do, showers, bedtime stories. And then there’s our day jobs. Overworked and overbooked seem like understatements at this point.

But even with the busy-life syndrome that we all face, you still want to take responsibility for your child’s educational path. You don’t want to make any excuses when it comes to academics. So you look at your checklist to see what’s left to do:

School supplies: CHECK

Schedule: CHECK

Routine: CHECK

Supportive heart-to-heart conversation: CHECK

What’s next? OPEN THE DOORS OF COMMUNICATION WITH THE SCHOOL!

I’ve heard parents complain time and time again that they go to their child’s ‘meet the teacher night’ and have homework time every (or most) nights. But that when report cards come out in November, their child’s grades are not necessarily up to par. Let’s get organized and take preventative measures to get your child on track NOW!

The first step is maintaining regular communication with your child’s teachers. Parents sometimes think that they’re doing this by reading their child’s agenda every night. But this is not always enough. Has your child written down everything he/she was supposed to in the agenda? Instead of playing a guessing game, maintain regular contact with your child’s teachers to make sure that you and your child are on track. By contacting your child's teachers by email or telephone on a weekly basis, you will be able to find out what is happening in the classroom. You will also be teaching your child about how to get information that he/she needs to be successful. Some questions to ask are:

· What is the homework for the upcoming week?

· What does my child need to work on?

· Are there any tests/group projects coming up?

· What needs to be studied for these tests?

· Who is my child grouped with for his/her project?

· Is there an outline to follow?

· Is there anything else I should know?

Remember: When you are contacting a teacher, you want to keep a positive tone. You are asking the teacher to work with you to ensure that your child succeeds. YOU NEED THE TEACHER TO BE ON YOUR SIDE. Also, don’t forget that teachers are very busy too, so if they do not respond to you in a timely manner, don’t be afraid to follow-up politely.

By working with your child’s teacher, you will be provided with valuable information that will help him/her to succeed. You will also be able to better organize homework time, which may even shorten it. Lastly, since the expectations of the school work will be clearly defined by the teacher, you will find that the time you were spending playing the homework guessing game will quickly transform into extra quality time with your child.

If you have a specific question or topic that you would like to see in my next blog, email me at robin@brightsidelearning.com