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Meeting Report from September 18:
The Parent Institute. Their mission is to encourage parent involvement in their children’s education. They publish a variety of materials including newsletters, booklets, brochures and videos. www.par-inst.com Parent Teacher Association. The PTA, www.pta.org, has an excellent set of standards for parent involvement and several common sense tips. International Reading Association. THE site for reading research and information, www.reading.org also has several sets of parent brochures about helping children succeed in school, especially in the language arts. Countless early childhood websites exist, but the most helpful in terms of information for parents are State Board of Education’s/University of Illinois’s www.illinoisearlylearning.org. The Tip Sheets and Web Resources are easily accessed, highly readable and top quality. The National Association of the Education of Young Children www.naeyc.org is also outstanding. The Family Forum Library series has a series of 16 page booklets full of practical advice, checklists, tips and resources that deal with real issues including coping with grief and death, underage drinking, dating violence and being a confident single parent. The titles and ordering information are available at www.hec.ohio-state.edu/famlife/nnfr/ctf/pamphle/6.html Armstrong, Thomas, In Their Own Way: Discovering and Encouraging Your Child’s Multiple Intelligences. J.P. Tarcher (2000). Biddulph, Steve, Raising Boys: Why Boys are Different - And How to Help Them Become Healthy, Well-Balanced Men. Celestial Arts (1998). Elium, Jeanne and Don, Raising a Teenager: Parents and the Nurturing of a Responsible Teen. Celestial Arts (1999). Elium, Jeanne and Don, Raising a Son: Parents and the Making of a Healthy Man. Celestial Arts ((1996). Elium, Jeanne and Don, Raising A Daughter: Parents and the Awakening of a Healthy Woman. Ten Speed Press (1994). Faber, Adele, et al., How to Talk So Kids Can Learn: At Home and in School. Fireside (1996). Glenn, Stephen and Michael Brock, Seven Strategies for Developing Capable* Students (*responsible, respectful and resourceful). Prima Publishing (1998). Hartley-Brewer, Elizabeth, Raising Confident Girls: 100 Tips for Parents and Teachers. Fisher Books (2001). Murphy, Elizabeth. The Developing Child. Davies-Black (1992). Rich, Dorothy, Megaskills: Building Children’s Achievement for the Information Age. Mainer Books (1998). Rich, Dorothy, Megaskills: In School and in Life – the Best Gift You Can Give Your Child. Home and School Institute (1992). The Parent Institute. Their mission is to encourage parent involvement in their children’s education. They publish a variety of materials including newsletters, booklets, brochures and videos. www.par-inst.comParent Teacher Association. The PTA, www.pta.org, has an excellent set of standards for parent involvement and several common sense tips.International Reading Association. THE site for reading research and information, www.reading.org also has several sets of parent brochures about helping children succeed in school, especially in the language arts.Countless early childhood websites exist, but the most helpful in terms of information for parents are State Board of Education’s/University of Illinois’s www.illinoisearlylearning.org. The Tip Sheets and Web Resources are easily accessed, highly readable and top quality. The National Association of the Education of Young Children www.naeyc.org is also outstanding.The Family Forum Library series has a series of 16 page booklets full of practical advice, checklists, tips and resources that deal with real issues including coping with grief and death, underage drinking, dating violence and being a confident single parent. The titles and ordering information are available at www.hec.ohio-state.edu/famlife/nnfr/ctf/pamphle/6.htmlWhat parents at the meeting told us they are doing to help their children succeed in school: As a parent, I make sure that my children know how proud I am of them – every day, every test, every project. I encourage them to do their best. Let them DO their own homework. Stay as uninvolved as possible. My son recently transferred schools and this was a difficult, long (18months) process, but I feel that we made the right choice. Moving to this district, writing to the school about their learning style to find a good student-teacher placement. Supplementing school with family values. Letting my kids’ teachers know some specific information about them that has changed their approach to teaching them. Started the year out with a one week tutor to help my son with writing. Get the right supplies. Structure a nightly study time. Talked him into dropping out of certain things he loves doing to free up some time – i.e. band Get to know their teachers, go over homework, make sure they read every night Let him take responsibility for his actions. Do your best… celebrate the successes- comfort the sorrows… Helping them get organized Getting my child an IEP in 3rd grade, keeping it through grammar school and insisting on it for 9th grade. That and helping her know that we believed being in 2 level classes is really OK. Emphasizing importance of school/education. Taking time to review and assist with homework, projects, etc. but allow them to maintain independence and responsibility. Being very involved in PTA, including hands-on contact/work with kids. Reading with each child when young. Being a Room Mother each year for one of the kids. Large monthly calendar in kitchen for her to note long-term projects, due dates, quizzes, tests, social events, schedule after school. I spent a lot of time helping my children with homework, projects for school and most important spending every Friday night as a family at the Wilmette Library reading, browsing and just enjoying the books and facility with no pressure – just for fun, nothing related to school. Talk often with child about school days. Have a good rapport with teachers. Consistent but not overbearing assistance with homework. Daily conversations about what’s happening at school and addressing problems and issues that arise. Communicating with the teachers on a regular basis. Since my child’s challenge is organization, what helped him best was to write out his morning schedule, from wake-up to leaving for school. He checked it against the clock and it kept me out of nagging. Always have my son discuss his homework right after school. Always answer questions, get out the dictionary, etc. Organization, time management, breakfast daily, excitement about course content, involvement in local and world affairs. Love them, volunteer in school, provide a place to study, value them as individuals. I have helped my children have a successful school year by helping them to develop friendships with classmates outside of school – play-dates, soccer and other extra-curricular activities. I ask them what they have for homework (a lot or a little) (what subjects) Love of learning. Enthusiasm for their studies and doing well (coming to me and sharing something they’ve learned or thought about), which ultimately should lead to the final achievement of having good marks. |
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