We shared a bit about your child's new school year for reading recently, but if you missed it, you should definitely check it out here: A New Year for Reading: What Parents Need to Know.
As families, it’s one thing to know about what’s going on in school, but it’s a whole other thing to know how to best support your child through it all. Today we’re covering just that: how you can support your child's reading throughout the year.
Before anything, get to know these few facts about life during the Reading New Year:
1) Your child will be tired. The new school year means a whole new schedule for most families, so with the adjustment period may come a bit of fatigue.
Your family should:
- Make sure your kids get enough sleep!
- Prepare and pack in the evening for the next day of school.
2) Your child may feel nervous or anxious. Everything is new! Everything is different!
Your family should:
- Talk, talk, talk! Ask about the day, ask about your child's teachers, and ask about how he is feeling.
- Know your child and follow his lead. Maybe he needs a bit of time to decompress after school and wants to talk more in the evening, or maybe he’s exhausted in the evening and wants to chat after school. Figure it out and follow!
3) Your children want to do well. They really do. So go into the year knowing that no matter what last year looked like, this year is a fresh, new start!
Your family should:
- Make it clear that your job as a supportive family is to do what you can to help your children.
- Connect with their teachers. Go to Back to School Night. Email their teachers. Call the teachers. Do anything you can to make a personal connection where you make it clear that you want to be a support for the teacher so your learners meet with success.
- Celebrate successes — no matter the size!
4) Your child really, truly needs you. No matter what she says, your child needs you to be present during this new school year for reading.
Your family should:
- Read together. Read together before bed, after school, on the weekends.
- Know what is going on. Know what homework looks like and what projects are around the corner. Know what supplies your child needs for class and get them. Look through binders, folders, and notebooks.
- Make regular ‘backpack checks’ so that your child knows you are a school partner.
How else would you suggest families support their children during the this New Year for Reading?
Share your thoughts with us on the Scholastic Parents Facebook page, or find Amy on Twitter, @teachmama, and let’s continue the conversation!
