Helping Children with Schoolwork

Here are 20 things that you can do to help your child succeed academically:

1. Determine your goals and expectations for the school year and discuss them with your child.


2. Establish a daily or weekly check-in routine.


3. Teach your child good study habits and check that they are being used.


4. Go over your child's homework if necessary. Don't give answers but direct attention to mistakes.


5. Explain the consequences for lack of effort and be consistent about enforcing them.


6. Be a cheerleader! Acknowledge and reward logical or creative thinking and good effort.


7. Be a resource for questions (Possible responses: What do you think? Why don't you try it?)


8. Help distinguish potential pitfalls and strategies avoiding them with your child.


9. Ask for explanations of answers. Your aim is to have your child monitor his own thought processes and identify what works and what doesn't.


10. For writing projects, teach your kids how to brainstorm, map out concepts, and make outlines.


11. For big exams or papers, encourage your child to start early. Emphasize the benefits of planning and organization rather than cramming and doing damage control.


12. Create partnerships with your child's teachers. Use them as a resource.


13. Get quality school supplies for your child.


14. Be an audience for oral presentations.


15. Help create mnemonic devices for memorization (Songs also work).


16. If your child is afraid to talk to the teacher, practice role-playing.


17. Read to, with, and around your child.


18. Give real life examples of why math, science, history, etc. is useful.


19. Model making mistakes and taking them in stride. It's all part of learning.


20. Keep the joy of learning alive in your own life (Use NYC to learn outside classroom!)