Kids at school: 10 Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in Elementary School (for Parents)

10 Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in Elementary School (for Parents)

Support from parents is key to helping kids do well academically. Here are 10 ways parents can put their kids on track to be successful students.

1. Attend Back-to-School Night and Parent-Teacher Conferences

Kids do better in school when parents are involved in their academic lives. Attending back-to-school night at the start of the school year is a great way to get to know your child’s teachers and their expectations. School administrators may discuss school-wide programs and policies, too.

Attending parent-teacher conferences is another way to stay informed. These are usually held once or twice a year at progress reporting periods. The conferences are a chance to start or continue conversations with your child’s teacher, and discuss strategies to help your child do his or her best in class. Meeting with the teacher also lets your child know that what goes on in school will be shared at home.

If your child has special learning needs, additional meetings can be scheduled with teachers and other school staff to consider setting up or revising individualized education plans (IEPs), 504 education plans, or gifted education plans.

Keep in mind that parents or guardians can request meetings with teachers, principals, school counselors, or other school staff any time during the school year.

2. Visit the School and Its Website

Knowing the physical layout of the school building and grounds can help you connect with your child when you talk about the school day. It’s good to know the location of the main office, school nurse, cafeteria, gym, athletic fields, playgrounds, auditorium, and special classes.

On the school website, you can find information about:

• the school calendar
• staff contact information
• upcoming events like class trips
• testing dates

Many teachers maintain their own websites that detail homework assignments, test dates, and classroom events and trips. Special resources for parents and students are also usually available on the district, school, or teacher websites.

p

3. Support Homework Expectations

Homework in grade school reinforces and extends classroom learning and helps kids practice important study skills. It also helps them develop a sense of responsibility and a work ethic that will benefit them beyond the classroom.

In addition to making sure your child knows that you see homework as a priority, you can help by creating an effective study environment. Any well-lit, comfortable, and quiet workspace with the necessary supplies will do. Avoiding distractions (like a TV in the background) and setting up a start and end time can also help.

A good rule of thumb for an effective homework and/or study period is roughly 10 minutes per elementary grade level. Fourth-graders, for example, should expect to have about 40 minutes of homework or studying each school night. If you find that it’s often taking significantly longer than this guideline, talk with your child’s teacher.

While your child does homework, be available to interpret assignment instructions, offer guidance, answer questions, and review the completed work. But resist the urge to provide the correct answers or complete the assignments yourself. Learning from mistakes is part of the process and you don’t want to take this away from your child.

4. Send Your Child to School Ready to Learn

A nutritious breakfast fuels up kids and gets them ready for the day. In general, kids who eat breakfast have more energy and do better in school. Kids who eat breakfast also are less likely to be absent, and make fewer trips to the school nurse with stomach complaints related to hunger.

You can help boost your child’s attention span, concentration, and memory by providing breakfast foods that are rich in whole grains, fiber, and protein, as well as low in added sugar. If your child is running late some mornings, send along fresh fruit, nuts, yogurt, or half a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Many schools provide nutritious breakfast options before the first bell.

Kids also need the right amount of sleep to be alert and ready to learn all day. Most school-age kids need 10 to 12 hours of sleep a night. Bedtime difficulties can arise at this age for a variety of reasons. Homework, sports, after-school activities, TVs, computers, and video games, as well as hectic family schedules, can contribute to kids not getting enough sleep.

Lack of sleep can cause irritable or hyperactive behavior and might make it hard for kids to pay attention in class. It’s important to have a consistent bedtime routine, especially on school nights. Be sure to leave enough time before bed to allow your child to unwind before lights out and limit stimulating diversions like TV, video games, and Internet access.

p

5. Teach Organizational Skills

When kids are organized, they can stay focused instead of spending time hunting things down and getting sidetracked.

What does it mean to be organized at the elementary level? For schoolwork, it means having an assignment book and homework folder (many schools supply these) to keep track of homework and projects.

Check your child’s assignment book and homework folder every school night so you’re familiar with assignments and your child doesn’t fall behind. Set up a bin for papers that you need to check or sign. Also, keep a special box or bin for completed and graded projects and toss papers that you don’t need to keep.

Talk to your child about keeping his or her school desk orderly so papers that need to come home don’t get lost. Teach your child how to use a calendar or personal planner to help stay organized.

It’s also helpful to teach your child how to make a to-do list to help prioritize and get things done. It can be as simple as:

1. homework
2. soccer
3. put clothes away

No one is born with great organizational skills — they need to be learned and practiced.

6. Teach Study Skills

Studying for a test can be scary for young kids, and many educators assume parents will help their kids during the grade-school years. Introducing your child to study skills now will pay off with good learning habits throughout life.

In elementary school, kids usually take end-of-unit tests in math, spelling, science, and social studies. Be sure to know when a test is scheduled so you can help your child study ahead of time rather than just the night before. You also might need to remind your child to bring home the right study materials, such as notes, study guides, or books.

Teach your child how to break down overall tasks into smaller, manageable chunks so preparing for a test isn’t overwhelming. You also can introduce your child to tricks like mnemonic devices to help with recalling information. Remember that taking a break after a 45-minute study period is an important way to help kids process and remember information.

Your child probably will be introduced to standardized testing in elementary school. While students can’t really study for standardized tests, some teachers provide practice tests to help ease students’ worries.

In general, if studying and testing becomes a source of stress for your child, discuss the situation with the teacher or school counselor.

p

7. Know the Disciplinary Policies

Schools usually cite their disciplinary policies (sometimes called the student code of conduct) in student handbooks. The rules cover expectations, and consequences for not meeting the expectations, for things like student behavior, dress codes, use of electronic devices, and acceptable language.

The policies may include details about attendance, vandalism, cheating, fighting, and weapons. Many schools also have specific policies about bullying. It’s helpful to know the school’s definition of bullying, consequences for bullies, support for victims, and procedures for reporting bullying.

It’s important for your child to know what’s expected at school and that you’ll support the school’s consequences when expectations aren’t met. It’s easiest for students when school expectations match the ones at home, so kids see both environments as safe and caring places that work together as a team.

8. Get Involved

Whether kids are just starting kindergarten or entering their last year of elementary school, there are many good reasons for parents to volunteer at school. It’s a great way for parents to show they’re interested in their kids’ education.

Many grade-schoolers like to see their parents at school or at school events. But follow your child’s cues to find out how much interaction works for both of you. If your child seems uncomfortable with your presence at the school or with your involvement in an extracurricular activity, consider taking a more behind-the-scenes approach. Make it clear that you aren’t there to spy — you’re just trying to help out the school community.

Parents can get involved by:

• being a classroom helper or homeroom parent
• organizing and/or working at fundraising activities and other special events, like bake sales, car washes, and book fairs
• chaperoning field trips
• planning class parties
• attending school board meetings
• joining the school’s parent-teacher group
• working as a library assistant
• reading a story to the class
• giving a talk for career day
• attending school concerts or plays

Check the school or teacher website to find volunteer opportunities that fit your schedule. Even giving a few hours during the school year can make a strong impression on your child.

p

9. Take Attendance Seriously

Sick kids should stay home from school if they have a fever, are nauseated, vomiting, or have diarrhea. Kids who lose their appetite, are clingy or lethargic, complain of pain, or who just don’t seem to be acting “themselves” should also might benefit from a sick day.

Otherwise, it’s important that kids arrive at school on time every day, because having to catch up with class work and homework can be stressful and interfere with learning.

If your child is missing a lot of school due to illness, make sure to check with the teacher about any work that needs to be completed. It’s also a good idea to know the school’s attendance policy.

Sometimes students want to stay home from school because of problems with classmates, assignments or grades, or even teachers. This can result in real symptoms, like headaches or stomachaches. If you think there’s a problem at school, talk with your child — and then perhaps with the teacher — to find out more about what’s causing the anxiety. The school counselor or school psychologist also might be able to help.

Also try to avoid late bedtimes, which can result in tardy and tired students. A consistent sleep schedule also can help students.

10. Make Time to Talk About School

It’s usually easy to talk with elementary students about what’s going on in class and the latest news at school. You probably know what books your child is reading and are familiar with the math being worked on. But parents can get busy and forget to ask the simple questions, which can have an effect on children’s success at school.

Make time to talk with your child every day, so he or she knows that what goes on at school is important to you. When kids know parents are interested in their academic lives, they’ll take school seriously as well.

Because communication is a two-way street, the way you talk and listen to your child can influence how well your child listens and responds. It’s important to listen carefully, make eye contact, and avoid multitasking while you talk. Be sure to ask questions that go beyond “yes” or “no” answers.

Besides during family meals, good times to talk include car trips (though eye contact isn’t needed here, of course), walking the dog, preparing meals, or standing in line at a store.

These early years of schooling are an important time for parents to be informed and supportive about their child’s education and to set the stage for children to develop and grow as young learners.

11 Things You Need to Know About Your Kids’ School

This upcoming school year, I have a little more confidence and a little less insecurity about all things back-to-school. With two kids in school in elementary school, I’ve already navigated chaotic drop-offs, attended numerous classroom parties, made it through last year’s pandemic uncertainty. I even survived a call from the principal’s office during my first year as a school mom to a kindergartner.

To answer some questions you might be asking yourself: yes, one parent should try to attend at least one PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) meeting–or watch the live stream. No, you don’t need to facilitate the most Pinterest-worthy craft at the holiday party, the kids don’t care. And yes, you might get emotional at drop off more than once.

It will be OK.

When your little one is leaving the safe haven of home and headed to preschool, kindergarten, or a new elementary school, it can be hard to keep track of all the things–not to mention managing the emotional toll of knowing another milestone is upon you both.

So to help, we gathered a list of 11 things to know about your kids’ school, from the philosophical to the practical, to help ease the transition back-to-school for you both.

Learning Environment and Philosophy

For a majority of parents, local public schools are the best option for their families, and while your school choice is often limited to the district where you buy or rent your home, it’s still helpful to understand your school’s environment and philosophy. Take a school tour and attend a new parent orientation. Maybe you’re curious about how the school addresses bullying or promotes inclusivity. Don’t hesitate to ask questions that are important to you.

If you chose a Montessori, language immersion, parochial, or private school for your child, you probably felt the school already aligned with your values and parenting philosophies, but orientations are still a great chance to meet other parents, ask questions, and understand more about your child’s day to day.

Source: @tarynnewton

School and Classroom Calendar

Save both the school and classroom events to your digital calendar and regularly check ahead. You don’t want registration deadlines, holidays, teacher in-service days, or spirit days to sneak up on you—take it from someone who nearly missed basically all of these.

Know which days of the week your child has gym or library, so you help make sure they’re prepared. Plus, field trips, class parties, and other obligations with your child’s individual class will come up, so you’ll always be adding to the calendar.

Birthday Celebration Rituals

Birthday celebrations vary so much school-to-school. Some schools and districts do not allow food-based treats to help address childhood obesity and avoid food allergy issues. Some teachers may have their own rituals, like having the student bring a parent or friend into the classroom to read a story or donate a book to the library.

Find out your school or classroom preference in advance of your little one’s birthday. If your child has a summer birthday, you can also ask the teacher’s preference for celebrating (perhaps on their half birthday?).

Food Restrictions and Lunchroom Rules

How long is the lunch hour? Are adults on site available to help open snacks? What is the hot lunch ordering procedure? How does your child pay? Don’t be like me—I received a bill for a week’s worth of chocolate milk because my daughter thought they were “free.”

It’s also helpful to know whether there are nut-free tables, nut-free lunchrooms, or other food restrictions all parents need to follow. Volunteering in the cafeteria or talking to a veteran mom is helpful to understand the lunchroom rules and dynamic.

How to Report Absences

Our school has an online system to report absences, but some schools prefer email or phone calls to report absences. Know the preferred or required way to report an absence for your child and whether there are limits on the number of days they can be out of school.

Source: @thymeandtupelo via #sharetheeverymom

Policies for Discipline and Resolving Conflict

Preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school procedures will likely vary since, developmentally, children change so much in those early years. For example, a toddler biting a classmate may only get separation at daycare but would obviously have a more significant consequence in kindergarten.

“Talk, walk, and squawk” is the conflict resolution rule my daughter’s school teaches the kids when it comes to conflict. First, they should try to talk to the classmate, then walk away, and finally, tell a teacher or other adult. Each school likely has a variation of this strategy, and if you agree with it, it can be helpful to reinforce it at home.

Parental Involvement Expectations

Many classrooms still have a class or room parent(s) who help manage class parties, gifts, and other tasks to help the teacher, and, let’s be honest, to help out us other parents. But if you can’t commit to class parent status, most schools have plenty of opportunities for parents to get involved, whether it be coaching, volunteering, driving to field trips, being part of PTO committees, helping with class parties, heading up Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts troops, and more. Many opportunities are also available outside of school hours—like tending the school grounds or typing up newsletters.

While it’s not possible to do everything considering work schedules, other children, and other commitments, consider looking at the calendar with your child and prioritize events together. That way, you can set expectations and help lessen any mom guilt you might feel.

Special Ed Support and Accommodations

Even if your child doesn’t have any particular special needs or an IEP (Individualized Education Program), it’s helpful to know how the school supports students with disabilities so you can answer any questions your child may have.

My daughter had multiple classmates with autism. Within the first few days of kindergarten, she even taught me a few things. She’d tell my husband and I frankly, “My friend has autism, so she learns differently and talks differently.” Or, “she wears headphones at recess because it’s a little too loud for her.” Teachers are wonderful about answering questions and giving age-appropriate responses (amongst being wonderful at so many other things).

Online Systems and School Groups

Are there online systems you need to access for class registration, absence requests, or teacher communication? Is there a parents’ Facebook group? A PTO Facebook page where events and information are posted? Does your child’s teacher provide updates on a private blog? Or use a specific app for update? For the grassroots groups not managed by the school, you may need to ask a veteran mom, but most are eager to help a newbie.

Source: @houseofsparrows via #sharetheeverymom

Ongoing COVID Precautions

With rules varying from state-to-state and school district-to-school-district, it’s essential to stay up to date on your own child’s school’s policies and procedures. Policies on mask requirements, quarantines after exposures, classroom support, and more may change throughout the year, so don’t ignore those emails from school administrators.

The Other Hard Stuff

None of us want to think about the nightmare scenarios we watched unfold at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas or countless other schools, but lockdown/code red drills, adult visitor procedures in school, and emergency preparation are an important part of keeping our children safe. Schools are taking greater safety precautions and it’s imperative to know your child’s school emergency drills and protocols.

Knowing how your school describes these drills to each grade level will also help you be consistent with the language if your child has questions at home. It’s also important to know how your school communicates with parents in an emergency situation (emails, texts, phone trees, etc.) even if you never have to use it.

Additionally, does your child’s school offer lessons about body safety or internet safety that you can supplement at home? When does sex education begin and what does it cover?  Resources for parents sent home with my daughter were extremely helpful in having some of those harder conversations.

Starting the school year is an exciting and emotional time for parents and for kids. But preparation, organization, and information can be empowering.  This year, you and your kids will learn a lot–enjoy it!

This story was originally published in 2019 and has been updated for timeliness.

Children at school

Interviews with students and graduates of the school give advice on how to combine studies and full-time work. However, very few people say how to manage to study and raise a child.

The heroes of this article are seven student parents. They honestly talked about whether it is realistic to study at the Bureau School with children in their arms and what it costs. In these stories, you will not find magic pills like “give a child this toy and he will sit silently for three hours in a row.” Here are only real situations with cartoons, daytime sleep and a tough daily routine. nine0003

Evgeniya Chereshkova, school of editors

Children: Dmitry, 9 years old

An adult family man has two essences between which he has to choose: family or earnings. The study begins – the third entity appears. It is important to prioritize and not let yourself be torn apart. For example, for me, a child is primary, and school is more important than work.

Studying at school did not go according to plan from the very beginning. I wanted to spend a maximum of three hours a day on lectures and tests, but this was already broken by the first lecture on editing. The confusion lasted four weeks. Then I revised the plan for the week, and it began to coincide with reality. nine0003

I began to understand how much time goes where. I know that my son spends five and a half hours at school, so I study while he studies. He is in a regular school – I am in the School of Editors. He does homework – I watch lectures. True, sometimes it happens that Maxim Ilyakhov speaks about paragraphs in one ear, and his son talks about Dragonfly and Ant in the other.

The child comes home at 13:30. After this time, I don’t do tests – I feed my son lunch, take him to mugs and help with lessons. At the same time, it turns out to listen to lectures, but you have to take breaks. I solve work issues in the evening and at night – thanks to the remote worker. nine0003

Sometimes Dima quickly understands the lessons, but I haven’t finished the lectures yet. Then you have to occupy it with a tablet and telecom. I take this calmly – the main thing is to control what and how much my son watches there. If there is no tough guy at the Bureau School, I free up the evening. I do household chores and then we play board games together. We definitely spend weekends together — we walk in Moscow parks, we love interactive museums like Lunarium and Experimentanium. Recently, we also learned about the Joki Joya amusement park. nine0003 Jocky Joy Family Recreation Parks

It’s hard to fight your own conscience. I really don’t understand what kind of example I’m setting for a child. Dima sees that his mother is constantly sitting at the computer, but at the same time he does not play or watch videos, but works or studies. I don’t understand what kind of picture of the world he has in his head, but I believe that this is a great contribution to the future – both mine and Dima’s.

My son loves to read and construct from cardboard. I gave the box from under the computer for crafts, and Dimka found another use for it. The occupation captivated him for a long time, and I was able to calmly study

Anna Pavlova, school of editors

Children: Diana, 3 years old

My main salvation during my studies is a clear daily routine with my daughter’s obligatory daytime sleep. Those two hours when she sleeps I spend on tests. And I do two more hours in the evening before going to bed. There are almost no weekends with such a schedule.

My daughter is three years old, but we have not yet received a place in the garden. Instead, I take Diana to creative classes. While she is painting, I can give lectures.
I tried to do it when my daughter is awake – it turned out badly. Once Diana asked me to go for a walk, and I wanted to think about difficult questions in the interface test. The result is three mistakes, and just in those issues that I corrected. nine0003

School takes a lot of time, and sometimes it’s exhausting. The most difficult thing here is not to dump the negative on the family. I sat on the test for three hours, clicked “pass”, got 75 points. After this, I get turned on half a turn because of the little things: scattered toys or an unwashed mug in the sink. You have to constantly work on yourself and repeat that it’s stupid to take it out on your daughter because of your studies. For me, this is like a mantra, because everything I do is for the future of my family.

Diana draws not only in class, but also at home. When she is so passionate, I calmly study nearby

Veronika Vysotina, School of Editors

Children: Misha, 3 years old

I manage to combine office work, study and raising a child. It is very exhausting, but at the same time I do not sacrifice anything.

Work allows you to do school while sitting in the office. I warned the supervisor in advance that I had entered the school and that I would sometimes listen to lectures or solve tests. At the same time, work tasks are a priority – if I need to write something about work, I postpone school for the evening.

The son went to the garden in September, but not yet for a full day. Studying for a long time therefore does not work – there is not enough concentration. I try to take all the tests in the morning at the office, because in the evening I get distracted by games, dinner and cartoons. In the evenings, I only do practical tasks on layout or editing. nine0003

My main assistant is clear time management. The day is scheduled almost by the minute – I know in advance what time to get up, when to pick up my son from the garden and how many minutes are left to solve the test.

I spent the first two weeks of school with Misha at home — my son went to the garden only for two hours. I then chose the wrong system for myself – one day for the test. From the very morning she solved questions, in the evening she handed over. I also had to take a walk with my son, feed him lunch and dinner, play and read. I couldn’t concentrate on the tests, didn’t understand all the intricacies of the questions. In the second week, because of this, I failed the tests and fell from 6th place to 86th. I consider this my mistake, after the failure I took up time planning. nine0003

Naturally, the “I’m a bad mother” complex is in full bloom. The book of Lyudmila Petranovskaya “SelfMama” helped to cope with it a little. I read about her in an interview with Evgenia Samoilova, for which I am very grateful. Now I will try to apply life hacks in practice.

Interview with Evgenia Samoilova

In our family, there are obligatory child-parent affairs that do not depend on the amount of work. A book for the night is one of these rituals

Valery Bekareva, school of editors

Children: Nathaniel (Nate), age 3

I started online school when my son was six months old. She graduated from six or seven courses at Netology, now the School of Editors. Ever since that moment, my main rule is to do the most energy-intensive in a quiet hour. Every dream of a child was and still is a time for learning.

I sit down for lectures and tests at 9:30 and finish at 16:00. All this time the child spends with the nanny – from March she took her to full time. This is both salvation and a problem at the same time. The nanny is always involved in the process, she is constantly doing something with the child – walking, doing creative work, playing. Therefore, Nate cannot captivate himself for a long time, he constantly requires active attention. Sometimes in the evenings, when I don’t have time to finish my studies, I have to turn on cartoons on my iPad or on the Karusel channel. nine0003

Another rule is to rest at night and on weekends. I put my son to bed for the night and go about my business – I drink tea, chat with my husband. On weekends I play with my son, rest my head, read books – and this is not Camp with Raskin at all.

In difficult weeks with a lot of tests, I get tired by Wednesday. I’m afraid to burn out because of the heavy load. The husband works during the day, and in the evenings he studies at the magistracy, so he is not at home from morning until late evening. And I need to cook dinner for the next day after work/study in the evening, feed the child, bathe him and put him to bed. I have not yet found a solution how to feel cheerful at six in the evening and do everything. And in this I am like other ordinary mothers. nine0003

I believe that you can be a great mom and at the same time level up professionally – this is a matter of attitude and time management. It’s also important not to get emotional. If you feel like you’re screwed up – take a break and think about what’s wrong.

The nanny is my main assistant, she always captivates Nate with games and tasks. It is difficult for me to study with my son all day long, as Tatyana Anatolyevna does

Elena Kozaderova, school of designers

Children: Lisa, 5 years old

It helps in my studies that my daughter goes to kindergarten for a full day. We also take her to dances and to a preschool class four times a week. nine0003

Lisa is a super independent child. In our family, there is an iron rule “I work”. When these words sound, you can’t touch mom or dad, get out as you like. I will not hide, it took a lot of time to learn this. We explained to our daughter what work is, where food and toys come from. As a result, now Liza perfectly knows how to occupy herself – she can sit alone for two hours behind drawings and games.

In cartoons, we do not limit our daughter – I do not consider them harmful or stupefying. The main thing is to control what she looks at. It’s much worse when kids throw themselves at the TV screaming like they’ve never seen it. nine0003

The main life hack in combining study and parenting is control and self-organization. Closed lists help me with this. I try to schedule all the cases a week in advance – when what lecture and what test. Naturally, all this is adjusted for the child’s schedule.

In practice, we realized that it is important to talk to your daughter on an equal footing. She normally responds to a request not to interfere if I am very busy. At the same time, it is important to return to her question when you are free.

Drawing at mother’s workplace is useful for everyone – the child is both busy and supervised at the same time

Grigory Golovanov, School of Editors

Children: Aleksey, 8 months

I am extremely grateful to my wife Alina for her help in my studies. She supported me before entering, and supports me now. When I am busy with tests and lectures, it is my wife who takes care of the baby. And her parents live nearby and also help out a lot.

School takes three to six hours a day. When it works out, I study at night. For the first three months, we spent about an hour on each climb and did not get enough sleep. Then they got used to it, for a couple of months the nightly rises passed quickly and naturally. In the morning they felt the same as if they had slept all night. Now Lyosha is teething, and he does not sleep for more than an hour, he needs to be rocked and laid down. Night is now a completely restless time, unsuitable for study. nine0003

The job allows me to take my son to the swimming pool, for massages and scheduled check-ups at the clinic. I drive a car, carry Lyosha in a cradle and then wait outside the door – at this time I listen or watch lectures.

In an interview with Lyuda Sarycheva, I read about a sun lounger for babies. We also bought it – I confirm, an irreplaceable thing. They attached an arc with toys to the deck chair, and the effect intensified. The son played by himself, rocked himself, could fall asleep – in general, he was always busy and in a good mood. It is impossible to concentrate under the children’s cry, and the deck chair helped to get rid of it. It’s a pity that Lyosha grew out of him. nine0003 Interview with Lyudmila Sarycheva

I wouldn’t be able to study if I were in Alina’s place. Permanent employment with a baby is incompatible with such a volume of lectures. But I have other responsibilities that I can handle and therefore I can learn.

Weekends are family time. This is Lyosha and I on a joint walk – he just ate, and I wear it with a column

Olga Saburova, school of editors

Children: Masha – 4 years old, Katya – 2 years old

I did not go to work after the birth of my daughters. It seems to me that it is difficult to combine children, work and school. nine0003

Classes take an average of four hours a day. An hour of them during the day, while the youngest sleeps. At this time, no one distracts me, and I can immerse myself in lectures. I also study in the evenings when my husband helps with the children. But I have to constantly be distracted: I cook dinner, bathe the girls and put them to bed.

For the first three weeks I tried to study at night. Now I don’t do that anymore – at 12 at night I start to pass out and I don’t absorb anything from what I read. There are 6-7 hours left for sleep, taking into account night feedings, but I’m already used to this. nine0003

The first weeks of school were hellish — my husband is at work, I am alone with the girls. The youngest had teeth, she did not slip her hands. The eldest fell ill, in addition, it was necessary to prepare for the garden. I physically did not have time to really immerse myself in the materials – I made up for it on the weekends.

I will never forget how I completed the work for the editor-in-chief competition for “Who is a student. ” Katya didn’t sleep without me that night – I just sit down at the computer and immediately hear her crying. I had to constantly pump, stack, download again. It was a shame not to finish the job. She did this – with her left hand she held her daughter at her chest, with her right hand she assembled the layout. This went on for an hour, then my hands trembled with tension. But no one distracted me from work – I managed to pass the interview before the deadline and even took first place in the competition. nine0003

Even in the first weeks I tried to combine education and study – I played with my daughters and gave lectures out of the corner of my eye. The test results showed that this is not possible. The scores are low, and you feel like a terrible mother to the heap. Now I study only when the children are busy playing or sleeping. Sometimes I watch lectures with my daughters. I wonder who Masha and Katya will become if in childhood they listened to Ilyakhov and Birman instead of fairy tales?

I advise prospective student parents to start reading literature from the additional list in advance. And it’s also good to take an assistant at least for the first time – a grandmother or a nanny. That way you get into the process faster. nine0003

We teach with girls to distinguish nominal headings from transitive ones

For future students: remember

• Studying at the Bureau School and raising children can really be combined.
• It is important to talk to the child in advance and accustom him to independent games.
• If your child attends kindergarten or art classes, this will give you extra time to study.
• For the first few weeks of school, invite an assistant – a nanny or grandmothers.

nine0134

Experts told why children do not want to go to school

MOSCOW, November 20 — RIA Novosti. About half of Russian students do not want to go to school because they dislike the teacher, Alexander Kuznetsov, president of the Association of Child Psychologists and Psychiatrists of Russia, told RIA Novosti. What difficulties schoolchildren face, how to return motivation to learning and instill independence in a child, experts told RIA Novosti on the eve of Children’s Day, which is celebrated on November 20. nine0003

Mom, is the weekend coming soon?

The mother of a second-grader, a student of a secondary school near Moscow, Maria Rempel did not expect that her eight-year-old son Mark might have problems with his studies. She herself studied at school with excellent marks, while Mark cannot boast of such success yet. The boy graduated from the first quarter of the second academic year with one C in Russian.

“He dislikes school so much that every day he asks me when the weekend will be,” Rempel told RIA Novosti. nine0003

According to the parent, her son has no desire to study because the school teacher could not interest him. “We used to come to school to study, but now we come to show what we have learned at home with our parents,” she said.

In addition, according to Rempel, there are many difficult and strange tasks in school textbooks, which even not every adult can solve. “And the parents of a second-grader have to solve problems with a collective mind in special forums on the Internet or by phone,” Rempel noted. As a result, it turns out that it is not the children who are more concerned about doing homework, but the parents themselves. nine0003

Study, study, study

The reluctance of a child of any age to go to school is self-defense against a heavy load, says Inna Golenok, teacher of the Russian language and literature, honored teacher of the Russian Federation.

“It turns out that the child is uncomfortable, uncomfortable from what he does not do, and when he starts doing everything, he is also uncomfortable, because he gets tired,” she explained.

Golenok noted that the workload of teachers associated with shortcomings in basic planning is projected onto students. “The program is designed in such a way that sometimes one hour a week is allocated for a subject. And according to all psychological rules, one hour a week should not be at all: knowledge is not consolidated, there is no repetition, hence the heavy load,” the teacher believes. nine0003

Director of the Physics and Mathematics Lyceum N 239 in St. Petersburg, winner of the All-Russian competition “Director of the School-2012” Maxim Pratusevich agrees that the program for modern schoolchildren is not easy. At the same time, he considers laziness the main reason for not wanting to go to school.

“There is little time and one has to work, and work is not very accepted these days. Children are not accustomed to work. They say that one must have fun in order to study well, but this is not so. Studying is hard work. We study for life, and in life you have to work hard, be able to do it,” Pratusevich said. nine0003

What do they teach at school?

Child psychologists believe that the key role in the child’s attitude to school is played by the first teacher, who must motivate the child to learn. President of the Association of Child Psychologists and Psychiatrists Alexander Kuznetsov told RIA Novosti that schools in Russia have always lacked an individual approach to each student.

“The school is focused on the average student, so there can be no talk of any individuality. It has been proven that strong students descend to the average level after two or three classes,” Kuznetsov said. nine0003

According to him, often a child does not want to go to school precisely because he does not love his teacher. Or a child goes to school not for knowledge, but just to chat and show off in front of their peers. “We don’t like a subject for which we don’t like a teacher. From our practice, about 50% of children in elementary school, when asked about a teacher, answer that they don’t like the teacher,” the psychologist noted.

According to Kuznetsov, if parents want their child to have no problems learning at school, they must preserve the main thing – the child’s motivation to learn. “And not due to the fact that studying is work, this is a big stupidity, but on the contrary, to explain that studying is always interesting. We need to look for ways not to kill the child’s natural curiosity for knowledge,” he noted. nine0003

The right help

The psychologist gave some practical advice to parents who cannot force their child to study at school. First of all, parents should find out if the child likes the teacher. “If the child doesn’t like the teacher, change the teacher. It could be a teacher at a neighboring school. You don’t have to become attached to the school just because it’s the closest to home,” recommends Kuznetsov.

If you cannot find a good teacher, you can transfer your child to home schooling. “According to the new law on education, this can be done very simply: you come to school, write an application and that’s it. Then you just need to take tests,” the psychologist explained, noting that his children, for example, have long been comprehending the school curriculum at home. nine0003

Studying at home saves a lot of time and develops independence in the child. “If a child can read, he can study the topic on his own. If he has a question, he can ask his parents or watch numerous video tutorials on the Internet,” Kuznetsov said.

Another tip is to assign prizes to the child so that he is fully motivated and does his homework on his own. For example, children can earn the right to spend twenty minutes on their tablet after eight in the evening with cognitive apps. Subsequently, the child will get used to a certain course of events, to the ritual and will begin to do homework on their own. nine0003

“Parents don’t understand how to help their child do their homework. They can’t force the child to leave the computer and do homework for them for five hours. do physics for me?!” The child develops such an attitude that my mother still won’t let me go until I do my homework, and since she also needs to go to bed, she will eventually do everything for me, I just need to be more stupid and do less,” Kuznetsov explained. nine0003

The psychologist noted that approximately 20% of children have attention deficit disorder. “Therefore, one more piece of advice: children need to be taught to rest and break complex tasks into small ones. So that the child does not have the feeling that he is sitting at the lessons until he is blue in the face,” he said. To control the time of work and rest, you can use a timer for cooking or an hourglass.

In elementary grades, it is imperative to teach a child to read. “By instilling a love of reading, you will insure yourself against most problems in education,” the psychologist believes. The easiest way to teach your child to love books is to show interest in what the child reads to you. “We usually have very little time to hear a child. When you listen to a child, he really likes to read to an adult, especially if the adult is sincerely interested,” Kuznetsov added. nine0003

Sometimes it is important to buy textbooks for the previous grade and diagnose and determine the level with which the child copes with “excellent”. “And tell the child: that’s it, at home we start studying from this level. We need to catch up with the program so that the person gets on firm ground and feels confident in the class,” the psychologist said.