School may be five days a week, but when it comes to learning, no one should ever take a vacation. Even
on the weekends, when you’re home with your kids, there are fun and educational activities that you can
do. You don’t need a lesson plan, just a little bit of inspiration to point you into the right direction.

Take a Day Trip

Zoology is the study of animals. Why not take the kids to the zoo? If they’re in a science class, it’s always a
winner to visit a science museum. Maybe their teacher is educating them on botany (the study of plants).
If so, there are more and more places that are erecting community gardens. Or maybe they’re in an art
class. If so, when’s the last time that you checked out an art exhibit at a local gallery? The fun thing about
options like these is that while in a school setting, kids are often sitting at a desk and reading about
various subjects, an educational outing with the family, gives them more of a hands on experience in more
of relaxed setting.

Create Your Own Card Games

A little bit of construction paper can go a really long way. If you want to help develop a child’s memory,
get some magazines, cut out some pictures and glue them to some 5×7 index cards or cut some pieces
of paper down to that size. Turn the pictures over one at a time and then flip them back. See who can
remember which pictures were where. Another idea is if you want to help them learn how to read better,
another set of cards can be made with words on them that teach spelling, enunciation and the definitions.
For each word said and defined correctly, give a point and at the end of the game; to whomever has the
most points, give a prize. Another cool way to use handmade cards is to create your own scavenger hunt
that has instructions on the front like “Look in the hallway closet” or “Check underneath the kitchen table”
for items. What are your kids learning? How to follow directions.

Check Out Some Sports

OK, Dad will probably love this option, but there is a greater [Read more…]

Sure you love your kids and you enjoy spending as much time with them as possible, but the reality is that
if they’re school-aged, the one who shares most of their (weekly) waking hours with them is their teacher.
That reason alone should be a strong enough motivator to want to do all that you can to cultivate a healthy
parent-teacher relationship. Not only will it put you more at ease when it comes to your child’s well-being,
but it can also help the teacher to be a more effective educator. Being that each child is different, it can
never hurt for their teacher to have as much relevant information from you that will assist in your son or
daughter’s academic development.

It’s rare that a child has the same teacher (or set of teachers) for more than one school year and so this
means that it’s a good idea to be proactive in introducing yourself. If there’s not some kind of formal open
house at your child’s school (or you’re not able to make it), most administrative offices provide a list of
each teacher’s name, phone numbers and email address. Don’t hesitate to contact them to request a time
for the both of you to get better acquainted.

Once the two of you have met, be sure to state some of your desires for your child for that school year. If
they’re older children, ask the teacher if there’s a weekly lesson plan available that gives you an idea of
what your son or daughter will be studying and when tests are scheduled. Also be sure to ask the teacher if
there is anything that you can do to help your child excel in their class. Most educators are quite relieved
to know that they have a parent’s support when it comes to classwork assignments.

While it shows great initiative and responsibility to attend every prescheduled parent-teacher conference,
should problems arise, either [Read more…]