School First

       

        October is here and we are on our way to a great school year. I am really enjoying my class of 20 students.  As I am teaching and learning my students, I wonder if students put school first. What about parents? Are we preparing our children to be successful at school and in life?

        My students have plenty of excuses on why they can’t do thier homework. “I had dance practice.” “I had football practice.”  I can not emphasis enough that school comes first. School should be the number one priority for students. Football, dance or any other activity should come later. As a matter of fact, in my house if you don’t do your school work and keep up your grades, you don’t participate in activities. Many parents fail to make rules at home. Rules are very important whether you are at school or at home. Many of our students have a difficult time following school rules because they do not have home rules. Learning begins at home. Children who are successful in school follow the rules.  I would love to hear about the rules you have at home for your children. Please respond below.

Organized Learning

One of the hardest things for parents at the beginning of the year is to help their child become better at organizing. As children get older, they have more notebooks, more papers, and more textbooks to keep up with. If your child is unorganized at school and at home, he or she is most likely unorganized in for learning. Disorganization causes them to not focus on what they are learning. Organizing papers and notebooks keep them organized for learning. Throughout the years, I have found that children who do well in school are very organized. They keep up with papers and are prepared for class.

If you have some good ideas on how you keep your child organized, please share. I would like to share with you some of the things I have found helpful in my classroom and at home to help with organization.

ORGANIZATION AT HOME FOR STUDENTS

1. Get in a routine of checking your child’s bookbag daily. When you check your child’s book bag make it a habit of :

      a. Cleaning out old papers (display your child’s work on the fridge)

      b. Making sure pencils and paper is packed for the next day

     c. Checking for notes from the teacher

     d. Signing notes immediately and putting them back in your child’s bookbag

 2. Study ! Study! Study!

      a. Set a time aside daily to help your child study

       b. Doing homework and studying is not the same

       c. Teach your child how to study

       

 ORGANIZATION AT SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

As teachers we have so much to do and so much to keep up with. Here a few suggestions. If you have a tip to share, please add it to this site.

 1. Give students 1 binder to keep all work in. I think teachers make a mistake giving students too many notebooks and binders to keep up with. Students need 1 binder with plastic pocket folders labeled per subject to keep study guides and handouts for class.

2. Bring a grocery bag per child to school every Friday, and have students clean out desks and seat sacks if applicable.

3. Take old crayon or crayon found on the floor and create crayon baskets for small group work. Train students to pick up crayon and put in baskets at the beginning of  the year.

4. If you don’t have room for library books in desks,  keep them in book baskets in the middle of each table or on the floor beside each table.

5. When students complete assignments, do not let them put papers in their desks. Have folders in a central location and let students file their own work.

6. When you get things that require your attention or signature,  complete  and return them before the due date. Don’t put it down.  

7. Let students grade their own papers. This saves you time and it lets the students see their grade immediately.  

 

 

 

WELCOME!

Hello,

I am glad you are visiting this site. As you begin this new school year, I would like to share with you some ideas and resources that hopefully can make  your school year better. If you have any questions, concerns or ideas to share, please do not hesitate to let me know.

School is Cool!

School is Cool! that’s what my two nine year olds think. I make it a point of asking them everyday how was their day. Every day I get the same answer. “Awesome Ma”, “School is Cool”. When I ask them what was so awesome about it, they start telling me about their friends and recess. Believe it or not, they are Honor Roll students. They just don’t think about what they learned in school. So as a parent, I have to remind them. Here are some suggestions on getting your child to think about what they have learned in school.

1. Ask them  every day  and tell them to be prepared to answer
2. Talk about each subject
3. Make them give you specifics- don’t ask yes or no questions

Research shows that children are more likely to succeed in school if parents take an active part in their education. A great starting point in getting involved in your child’s education, is sharing a positive attitude about school with your child. Giving children the idea that school is too difficult, that teachers are unfair, or that school isn’t important will discourage them from doing well. Instead, talk about your friends from school, your favorite teachers or your best subject. If school was a bad experience for you, you might tell them you made the mistake of not liking school and you don’t want them to do the same. Talking about their school day before doing homework reinforces the skills they learned.