Things You Can Do At Home

• One key to success is to establish good routines right from the beginning. Follow a schedule that identifies definite times for homework, meals, and sleep.

• Continue to share reading with children, even after they can read by themselves. For variety, try reading newspapers and magazines. You will continue to send the message that reading is important.

• Show interest in school activities and take a few minutes to look at what your child brings home from school. Talk about the schoolwork together. If you show interest in school activities, your children will learn that you value education and learning.

• Establish several attainable goals with your child. You may want to consider planning smaller steps with them to help reach their goals. Make sure that you recognize your children's efforts along the way!

Home and School Reading Connections

In our society, we often hear about habits that are very effective. Students can begin effective habits early, and they all deal with responsibility. Here are some habits parents and children can work on together:

Seven Habits That Lead to Success in School*

1. Set goals. Short and long term goals for schoolwork are very important. Some examples might be completing all homework in a week, doing well on a test, improving report card grades. Discussing goals and writing them down makes them become real.

2. Plan your time. Help your child work with a calendar and their assignment notebook to plan for schoolwork. By thinking ahead and planning, they can participate in extracurricular activities and family commitments, and also turn in quality work on time. They have to work little by little to complete a long-term assignment or study for a test.

3. Study every day. Set time aside for doing schoolwork daily. Even when the teacher does not assign homework, spend some time reading, reviewing, or practicing a skill every day.

4. Take notes. Develop the habit of taking notes. Students who do well in school take notes in class, and as they read the textbooks at home. Most teachers write important points--the things they want your child to remember--on the board. Writing down important information helps to organize it in the student's mind, and will help him or her remember and apply new knowledge.

5. Have the tools you need. Successful students arrive in class prepared, with pencils, paper, notebooks, or whatever tools are needed in that particular class. Students who go to class without the tools they need, lose time and will be distracted from their main purpose, which is to learn.

6. Keep commitments. For students, this means being responsible for homework assignments. Successful students know what they need to do, and when it's due. They do their share in group projects. If they are involved in extracurricular activities, they attend regularly and on time. This develops excellent habits for life.

7. Get ready ahead of time. Being on time, or being late, are not things that just happen to you. Teach your child to take time before bedtime to lay out clothes, and pack the backpack, and make his or her lunch. Help make sure that your child has those tools we mentioned in number 5 above! You will find that being organized and ready makes getting ready in the morning much less hectic.