So, your child has nightly reading homework?
Sometimes I am surprised when I get asked questions by parents who aren’t sure how to help their kids with nightly reading. It’s not because I think they are stupid, and it’s not because I think they are doing a bad job as parents. Parenting is an unending process of trial and error. The thing that surprises me is how poorly many educators EDUCATE families on methods and procedures for improving nightly routine outcomes. You may be thinking “How do I help my child improve their reading?” Read on for advice and insights about that!
The thing that surprises me is how many people put off starting important learning routines for their kids.
The thing that surprises me is how many people know how much better their lives would be if they had just worked a little bit harder in school. But they don’t take the lessons learned from their own mistakes.
And, once again, it’s not because people are stupid or lazy. It’s the result of a bad culture. It’s the result of an environment that rewards knowing more about celebrities than about history, science, math, philosophy.
So, your child has reading homework tonight?
Turn off the TV. Put down the cell phone. put the iPad away. Close your Excel spreadsheet. And then spend an hour with your child.
explore fantastical worlds in a fiction book. Spend an hour having amazing conversations about historical events and what we can learn from them. Grow your child’s intellect with discussions about politics, morality, and philosophy. Stimulate your child’s mind by talking about how they can apply lessons from science class and invent the next great technology. Open your child’s eyes to the wondrous possibilities that understanding and applying mathematics can bring.
I offer downloadable courses to help teach your child fundamental skills. These online courses are not designed to replace parent-child time. They are meant to enhance it by providing activities you can guide your child through completing. I truly believe schools do a bad job of teaching these things properly. But that doesn’t mean that I believe your child’s education should be in anyone’s hands but your own.
A child only does what the adults in their life teach them is acceptable to do. Help them improve their habits!
Recent and ongoing studies strongly suggest that the rise in autism and anti-social behavior in children is the direct result of too much screen time. Think about how many hours your child stares at their mobile devices, computer screens, or television screens. Now think about how much time they spend looking at and reading the emotions of other human beings.
A child’s first point of contact with the world is through their parents. Be your child’s conduit to the world by being their first and primary teacher, tutor, and mentor. So how does one go about doing that?
When you think to yourself “How do I help my child improve their reading?” Remember that you need to teach them how to take good notes. Teach them how to be curious about the meaning of things they don’t understand. Teach your child that something given has less value than something earned. And then teach them to persevere in their lifelong pursuit of knowledge.
Join me on Facebook for discussions, polls, and to suggest topics that you would like to see!
