|
|
|
Previous months' tips
|
|
May
|
Successful learners
Learning is always that much stronger if it is an active and enjoyable process and it can be easier to remember things if we can make associations with things that we enjoy doing. For example, children who love drawing could use this to turn the plot of an English Literature text into a drawing or cartoon or, if they are keen on music they could set some key vocabulary to the tune of a favourite song.
Confident individuals
Exam results and good school reports are important but so is nurturing children’s’ self esteem so set sensible expectations of your child. If you expect too much of them they may be tempted to ‘cover up’ so as not to disappoint and upset you. Use incentives to help motivate them and to reassure them that their best effort will be rewarded - not just results!
Responsible citizens
Ask your son or daughter to find out in advance when the parents’ evening appointments will be taking place so that you can ask them to help you plan ahead to ensure that you can attend. Make sure that you take the time to discuss their school report with them and get them to help you to prepare a list of questions you may want to ask the teacher.
Effective contributors
Get your teenagers involved with helping younger brothers and sisters with homework or exam revision. Not only with they be taking some time out of the stress of revision or worrying about exams but they will see that they have a valuable contribution to make in helping others. Try this excellent BBC games site for some fun science, history and revision activities:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/games/
|
|
|
April
|
Successful learners
It may be holiday time for many pupils but our older teenagers could well be spending their holidays revising for exams. This can be a stressful time for all (including parents!) so encourage your child to plan their revision timetable with time-off or 'rewards' built into it.
An excellent site for revision is http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/bitesize/
Confident individuals
Does your child have a role model? There will be times in your child's life where it may seem like a superhuman effort to get out there and try and achieve his/her dreams. It is at these times that he/she needs to be inspired by someone who went through the same struggles and made it. Temporary setbacks are a part of life, and everyone goes through them. A role model helps give your child confidence that he/she can succeed, because it is likely that his role model also suffered setbacks and overcame them.
Encourage your child to choose a role model wisely!
Responsible citizens
In social subjects, children study Children’s rights and responsibilities. At home you can help by discussing:-
rights and responsibilities within the home;
the roles of different members of the family;
the importance of rules at home, and in society.
Effective contributors
In school, children are encouraged to be enterprising. At home you can help by discussing fund raising activities, like garage sales, car boot sales, charity shops, etc. You might even encourage your child to organise a fund raising event or clearing out their surplus belongings for a charity shop for during his/her holiday.
|
|
|
March
|
Successful learners
Children are born naturalists, and can't help but explore the world with all of their senses. This spring, join in the fun and exploration with your child! You will get closer to your child, you will feed your child's growing mind, and nurture the naturalist intelligence in him or her. Doing so can be as simple as naming a flower or bird, collecting and sorting shells, reading about nature, doing simple experiments, or talking about everything under the sun!
Confident individuals
Organisations like the Brownies, Cubs, Scouts, Guides and the Boys Brigade help develop confidence. More and more parents are realising this so these associations are now very popular.
Responsible citizens
In order to help children interpret the information they get from the media and other outside sources, parents need to talk with them about the difficult issues they will confront throughout their lives. By being proactive and initiating discussion of tough issues such as aggression, violence, sexual activity, substance abuse, we let our children know that we care about what happens to them and capitalise on our ability to be a more powerful influence than these other outside sources.
Effective contributors
Part of self-reliance means learning from mistakes. Here are some tips to help your children keep going when things go wrong.
• Tell them everyone makes mistakes.
• Tell them it’s the effort that counts.
• Tell them you love them no matter what.
|
|
|
February
|
Successful Learners
Get your children to guess how much the shopping will cost while waiting at the supermarket checkout.
At some point in their school experience, children learn about ‘Space’. On a clear night, help your child link with this topic by observing and discussing the night sky . For monthly 'sky at night' information go to http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/mills/nightsky.htm
Confident individuals
If your child brings home a commendation certificate from school, find out the detail of why he/she was given it.
By talking with your child when you are doing everyday things together like washing up or walking somewhere, this will help build their confidence when they find themselves in less familiar surroundings.
Responsible citizens
Encourage your children to be energy-saving e.g. switch off lights when they aren’t needed.
Effective contributors
Get your children to help with appropriate jobs around the house. The younger they are, the more they will be receptive to this suggestion!
|
|
|
January
|
Successful Learners
As it is a new year, it is appropriate to get your children to think about calendars and dates. Make a timeline that includes the birthdays of each member of the family and work out how far apart each one is. Use different units: months, weeks and days, even hours, minutes and seconds. Add other important events, such as a family holiday, and encourage your child to count down to the big day.
Consider sharing your skills: for example if you are parents who speak minority languages you can help by translating and interpreting for parents who need this support.
Confident individuals
If homework is getting too tough for you and your child, phone the teacher and tell her.
If your child’ school isn’t already using “praise letters” suggest they do- you want to hear about the successes as much as the problems.
Responsible citizens
Visit a local car showroom and talk about how much petrol each car consumes according to its size.
Buy a Fair-trade product and read about it on the back of the packet.
Effective contributors
Involve your child in planning a holiday or day out. Set a budget and get her to help calculate the cost of tickets. Your child could even get involved with insurance quotations and, if the trip is to be abroad, with the conversion of currencies. Ask her to draw up a 'ready reckoner' on a postcard so that currency calculations are easier when you are away.
|
|
|
December
|
Successful Learners
Cooking can be fun and doesn’t need to be difficult. By involving your child, it can also be great for helping him get to know simple weights and measures and introducing the idea of ratios and proportions to older children. . An old-fashioned set of balance scales is ideal although not essential! Count out spoonfuls of ingredients. Let your child help you set the timer and count down to teatime! Bear in mind that your child will be learning the metric system at school, so try to measure amounts in grams and kilograms!
If you would like to try making tutti-frutti rounds which involve no cooking and are easy to make go to the BBC GoodFood website
Confident individuals
Teenagers may be getting excited as the festive party season gets into full swing - but for their parents who worry about what their kids might get up to, it can be an anxious time. Help them resist pressure. Point out that their friends may just be ‘showing off.’ They may not really be doing what they say they are doing. Help them to see that they can have a mind of their own.
If you want to help your children feel good about themselves, you need to start with yourself. Your children will pick up important messages about self-esteem from how you act and talk about yourself. Build self esteem by appreciating the things you do and the things your children do.
Responsible citizens
Remember that children change their minds every week with new crazes. Help them to see that they can’t have everything they want and if it is a Christmas list tell them that not even Father Christmas has that much money and ask them to list presents in order of preference with a limit of five.
Effective contributors
Get your child to design and write Christmas cards for family and friends. Perhaps he could even make up a rhyme to go in the middle.
If over the festive period, you have family and friends in the home, provide opportunities for games which cross all ages such as Give us a Clue or TV quiz.
|
|
|
|
|
