Family Engagement Tips
Weekly Parent Center e-Tips
Week of 9/1
Monday, September 1, 2025
For some kids, getting out the door in the morning with everything they need is a challenge. To help your child overcome it, tackle three areas: 1. Time management. Block out regular times for study, play and getting organized. 2. School items. Put a big box in a noticeable spot. School belongings go in it when your child gets home. As assignments are completed, they go in it, too. 3. Evenings. Together, lay out clothes, make a lunch and pack your child's backpack so it's ready to go in the morning.
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Tuesday, September 2, 2025
Just as a bedtime routine prepares kids to sleep, a schoolwork routine can help them prepare to study. Start your child's routine with an announcement that study time is about to begin. Offer prompts on what to do: "Put your toys away." "Clear the table." "Get out your schoolwork." To set the stage, bring a glass of water or school supplies to the table.
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Wednesday, September 3, 2025
As Mark Twain once noted, a person who doesn't read books has no advantage over a person who can't read them. To motivate your child to read, set bedtime a little earlier and allow your child to keep the light on to read for a while. On weekends, take the whole family to the library to browse, then go out for a yummy treat. Plan regular family reading times, too, where you turn off digital devices and read a favorite book together.
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Thursday, September 4, 2025
Research makes it clear: All families, no matter what the adults' own level of education, can help their children succeed in school. To do it, set realistically high goals for your child. Then, stress the importance of persistence, and praise your student's effort and progress. Establish reasonable rules and uphold them consistently. Make it a point to keep in touch with your child's teachers. And every day, spend time with your child, talking, listening and sharing your values.
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Friday, September 5, 2024
It may sound surprising, but daydreaming can be a useful activity as kids start thinking in more abstract terms. Daydreaming helps children reduce stress. It allows them to be creative, consider outcomes of possible actions and spend time on self-reflection. Give your child some free time and a place to daydream undisturbed. Build a little downtime into family activities, too. After a ball game, relax on a hill. Watch the clouds.
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Saturday, September 6, 2025
Show that education matters at home
To show how important your child's education is to you, reinforce the idea that you and the teachers are on
the same team: your child's. Explain that the things your elementary schooler learns at school matter at
home, too. Then, make school attendance a top priority. Expect your child to complete assignments, and set
aside at least 20 minutes a day for the whole family to pursue pleasure reading.
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Sunday, September 7, 2025
Learning well involves more than just listening in class. To give their best effort in school, students also need to arrive well-rested and prepared, with completed schoolwork and supplies. Encourage your child to ask questions, offer opinions and participate in discussions. Explain that learning sometimes takes persistence. Then, express confidence that your child's efforts will pay off!
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Week 9/15
Monday, September 15, 2025
By the ages of seven and eight, many children are starting to read chapter books on their own. Other kids, however, are losing interest in reading. To keep reading enthusiasm alive, look for books on your child's interests. Or, share books you loved at your child's age. You might also get a craft book and make a project together, or try interactive books that let your student direct the story. To boost reading confidence, ask your elementary schooler to read to a younger child.
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Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Is the TV on constantly when your child is home? Does family conversation center on TV shows or digital games and their characters? Does your child choose to watch TV or play video or online games even when friends are available to play? If you answered "yes" to these questions, your child may be overdosing on recreational screen activities. Set limits and encourage active screen-free alternatives.
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Wednesday, September 17, 2025
Getting back into school mode after a long summer break can be a challenge for some children. To help your child make the transition, establish some daily routines. Explain the tasks you want your child to do and post a schedule so your child knows what to do when. To further boost independence, use silent signals sometimes, such as a gentle touch on your student's shoulder to indicate that it's time to calm down or pay attention.
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Thursday, September 18, 2025
Maybe your child wants to be on the honor roll or be elected class president. Setting goals is the first step to achieving dreams. Effective goals are specific. Encourage your child to aim high, but still be realistic. Have your student write down goals, post them and look at them each day. Seeing a personal goal to get a B on the next math test can motivate your child to put effort into math during study time.
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Friday, September 19, 2025
Although school buses are the safest way for children to get to school, it's still important to make sure your child follows bus safety rules. Here are just a few: Wait in a safe place away from the traffic. Never walk behind the bus. Don't stick hands, heads or objects out the windows. Don't push and shove. Walk three "giant steps" (six feet) away from the side of the bus. Wait until the driver says it's safe to get off the bus.
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Saturday, September 20, 2025
Some kids (and even some adults) believe that successful students are just born that way. But teachers know that students can learn and build the skills they need to do well in school. To help your child develop them, make learning a priority and provide lots of fun ways to do it. Maintain a balance in your child’s life between school and sports, work and play. And if your student is struggling, work with the teacher on a plan to help.
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Sunday, September 21, 2025
Your child is fussing that an assignment is "stupid." But how do you know if you should contact the teacher? Get in touch with the teacher if your child refuses to do assigned work, even after you've tried motivating strategies. Or, if your child regularly finds the work too hard or too easy, or doesn't understand the instructions, even with your help. Also let the teacher know if your child needs school supplies you can't provide.
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Week 9/22
Monday, September 22, 2025
Children ask a lot of questions. Reading nonfiction is a great way for them to find the answers. To encourage curiosity and help your child engage with nonfiction, look for books and articles that answer questions about how things work. How does a wheat field end up in your family's pasta? Or, have your child choose a familiar activity and write a how-to manual explaining the process.
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Tuesday, September 23, 2025
Here's a game to make learning to spell vocabulary words fun! Create a game board that has a path of connecting squares. Write the letters S or R on most of the squares. On a few, write directions like, "Go ahead 2 squares.” Next, have your child write vocabulary words on index cards. To play, each player rolls a die and moves that number of squares. If the square has an S, the player must spell the word on the top card. If it has an R, the player must read the word.
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Wednesday, September 24, 2025
There are lots of things that you can do to help your child succeed in school this year. To start, just remember your ABCs. A: Ask your child about school each day. B: Bedtime is an important part of getting enough sleep. C: Choose activities your child will like. For D through Z, click on the link.
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Thursday, September 25, 2025
It's the digital age. But some kids get so used to digital clocks that they don't learn how to tell time the standard way. To ensure that your child does, keep at least one "old-fashioned" (analog) clock in your house. Practice reading the time on it together often. Make sure your child understands the concepts of a.m. and p.m. Then, play a game: Ask how many more minutes or hours it will be until a certain time.
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Friday, September 26, 2025
Young writers often have trouble thinking of words to write. Making a word bank helps your child think of words in advance. Say a common word and ask your child to write a list of words with similar meanings. For "said," for example, your child might write words like "whined," "shouted," "whispered," "yelled," etc. Your child can also make lists of words about a particular topic. Collect the lists in a "word bank" binder. When writing, your child can check the bank to find just the right word.
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Saturday, September 27, 2025
How can you help your family find more time for togetherness in a fast-paced world? Call a family "time out." Stop and talk about what you'd like to do as a family and how to achieve it. Set specific goals, such as eating dinner together four times a week. Post goals where you will all see them. Childhood doesn't last forever, so make family time a priority now. You'll have time for other activities later on.
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Sunday, September 28, 2025
Chores teach kids about responsibility. To get your kids to pitch in, write weekly chores on slips of paper. If a job has to be done daily, write it on six slips. Put the slips in a jar. Then, make a chart with each child's name down the side and the days of the week across the top. Have your kids take turns drawing jobs. Let them choose what day to do them and put their chores on the chart. One day a week, don't assign chores. Just write, "See what you can do to help."
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Week 11/14
Monday, November 17th, 2025
Build your child's powers of mental math
Here's a way to help your child practice doing addition without a pencil or paper. Start by giving your student four single-digit numbers to add together. Pause after you say each number to allow your child enough time to add. When that is easy, give four double-digit numbers, also spaced out one at a time. Next, give four numbers all at once. When your child is a pro, you can move on to giving five, six or more numbers.
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Tuesday, November 18th, 2025
Notice and praise what your child does right
The right kind of praise helps your child feel like a capable and valued person. It can also encourage your student to keep trying. Effective praise is specific and lets children know exactly what they did well ("Thank you for folding the towels so neatly"). Praise should also be earned. If you praise everything your child does, no matter the results, your praise will lose its meaning. To motivate your child, focus your praise on effort and progress.
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Wednesday, November 19th, 2025
Simple strategies at home support success at school
There are lots of things families can do at home to expand children's learning. Here are a few ideas to start with: Play board games that involve numbers or reading. Play listening games such as Simon Says. Ask your child open-ended questions that inspire thinking ("What if?"). Give your child a daily responsibility to carry out. And most important of all, read with your child every day.
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Thursday, November 20th, 2025
The benefits of reading aloud don't stop as kids grow
Once your child can read independently, should you still read aloud? Research says yes. For one thing, reading aloud together now can have lasting positive effects on your child's attitude toward school. In one study, high school students whose families read to them often when they were younger worked harder and earned higher grades in school than other students. Give your child a boost that lasts: Keep reading aloud.
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Friday, November 21st, 2025
Sometimes, saying 'no' gives your child a chance to grow
Families strive to give their children everything they need. But everything they want? That's a different story. Saying no at appropriate times encourages resourcefulness and helps kids learn to solve problems for themselves. Children must learn to occupy themselves and settle their own disagreements. They must do their own schoolwork. Saying no to doing these things for your child makes it clear that your child is capable of doing them independently.
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Saturday, November 22nd, 2025
Decide on consequences before the rule is broken
When your child breaks the rules, you have to take action. But consequences are more effective if your child knows beforehand what they will be. For example, "If you don't do your assignments, study time will be twice as long the next day to give you time to focus on schoolwork." Establishing rules and consequences in advance keeps your child from feeling picked on. And it helps reinforce the connection between your child’s actions and their outcomes.
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Sunday, November 23rd, 2025
Have a ton of rhyming fun
Rhyming games can help children increase their vocabularies and general knowledge. And they are easy to play anywhere! If your child is trying to learn the names of the states, for example, say, "I'm thinking of a state that rhymes with plane. What is it?" (Maine). Take turns asking the questions. Or, try making rhymes for words on your child's vocabulary list. Having fun with words develops your child's love of language.
English
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Week 2/23
Monday, February 23rd, 2026
Emphasize the difference between fact and opinion
In order to think analytically about reading material, your child must learn to separate fact from opinion. For practice, give your child a news article on a subject of interest. Cut off the headline. Ask your child to read the article and underline the facts in red and the opinions in blue. Then, have your child write a new headline. How does it compare to the original?
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Tuesday, February 24th, 2026
Use three jars to teach money management
Promote the savings habit by having your elementary schooler divide pocket money into three jars. The first jar is for change your child is free to spend as desired. The second jar is for saving for more expensive items that may take a few weeks or months to afford. The last jar is for long-term savings for big ticket items like college, for example.
English
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Wednesday, February 25th, 2026
Get to the bottom of underachievement
It is possible for very bright students to struggle in school. When your child's performance in school is well below your child's ability, it's time to take action. First, talk to the teacher. Your child may be bored. Could the teacher assign a project that might provide an interesting challenge? Work together to find solutions. Outside school, look for activities that develop your child's strengths. If the situation continues, ask a doctor or school counselor how to find out if your child might have learning differences.
English
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Thursday, February 26th, 2026
Encourage table talk at family meals
Experts know that casual conversation at the dinner table helps families connect. Children who feel close to their families are also less likely to take part in risky behavior. But conversation is impossible when everyone is focused on a screen. So, turn off the TV and other devices during meals. Instead, encourage everyone to share a success. Your family dinners may shield your child from trouble later on.
English
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Friday, February 27th, 2026
Send your child on a hunt for different letter styles
Young writers can be confused by the different ways letters appear when printed. Is "a" the same as "A"? Look through old catalogs and newspapers with your child and cut out uppercase and lowercase letters in as many fonts and sizes as you can find. Help your child sort the letters and paste all the examples of each letter onto a separate index card. Your child will learn a variety of ways each letter can look.
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Saturday, February 28th, 2026
You don't need to have all the answers
Families sometimes worry that their children won't respect them if they don't have all the answers. But kids respect adults more when they admit they don't know something and say, "Let's find out." You don't have to answer questions immediately, either. If your child asks a difficult question when you are too busy to answer, say, "That's a good question. I'd like to think about it and get back to you at dinner." Then, follow through.
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Sunday, March 1st, 2026
Help your child prevent a repeat of a poor choice
Sometimes, children make poor choices. It's what they do next that counts. Teach your elementary schooler these steps for recovering from a mistake: First, admit it. "I said there was no math assignment so I could go play at Jamie's house, but that wasn't true." Second, accept the consequences. "I'll have to do my schoolwork and stay at home after school this week." Third, make up for it. "I'll use that time to master math skills." Finally, learn from the experience. "Next time I'll be honest and do my schoolwork first!"
English
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Week 4/27
Monday, April 27, 2026
Children develop self-discipline when they have a clear set of rules to stick to. When adults consistently enforce the rules, kids may grumble, but they are usually relieved. Make your rules and expectations clear to your child, then be sure to offer praise when your elementary schooler lives up to them. And as your child demonstrates responsibility, allow more freedom.
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Tuesday, April 28, 2026
After studying for a test, encourage your child to finish preparing by reviewing the most important information one more time right before going to bed. It shouldn't take long; 10 or 12 minutes should be enough. Your child's brain will keep thinking about the material even during sleep. The next day, your child may find the material easier to remember.
English
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Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Let your child know that negative thoughts and words can actually make tough times worse. Words like "awful" and "horrible" are often exaggerations that can make disappointments seem like disasters. If you hear, "This math is impossible," help your child restate the situation: "This math is challenging, but I know I can figure it out.
English
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Thursday, April 30, 2026
You don't always have to set aside a block of time to teach your child. Just do the things you normally do, but do them together. Explain what you are doing. Let your child observe and ask questions. Let your child help you. Then, ask questions that encourage thinking: "Why do you think I do it this way?" "If it takes 15 minutes for the food to cook, and we want to eat at 6:00, what time should we put it in the oven?"
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Friday, May 1, 2026
Careless errors in writing can make your child's points unclear. Help your student give written work a final "once-over" before turning it in. Teach your child to ask: Is every sentence complete, beginning with a capital and ending with a punctuation mark? Does my paper say what I want it to? Have I checked the spelling? Have I used commas and apostrophes as needed? Is my writing legible? Is this my best work?
English
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Saturday, May 2, 2026
Telling "circular stories" is a fun way to get your child's creativity flowing. Gather family members and start a made-up story: "Once upon a time there was a knight who was sent by the king on a dangerous mission." After a sentence or two, it's the next person's turn to continue the tale. Keep going around the circle until the story is finished with the magic words "The End."
English
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Sunday, May 3, 2026
Kids can suffer from stress just like adults. And that stress can have a negative impact on their studies, relationships and sleep. The first step in helping your child relax is to relax yourself. Move slowly and talk in a quiet voice. Sit in a comfortable place together. Close your eyes and listen to soothing music. Or, take an imaginary trip together by describing a peaceful place. Ask your child to imagine what you'll do there.
English
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Summer Learning Tips
Helping Students Stay Sharp All Summer Long
Summer is a wonderful time for rest, fun, and family—but keeping children’s minds active helps prevent learning loss and builds confidence for the new school year. Simple daily routines and real‑life learning experiences make a big difference.
Here are easy, age‑appropriate tips to support learning at home all summer long.
🎒 Kindergarten–2nd Grade (K–2)
📘 Read Every Day (15–20 minutes)
- Read together daily—take turns reading or listen to audiobooks.
- Talk about the story using simple questions:
- Who was in the story?
- What happened first?
- Read in any language—this supports overall language development.
🧮 Math Through Play
- Count objects around the house (toys, snacks, steps).
- Practice simple addition and subtraction using everyday situations.
- Play board games, card games, or dice games.
✍️ Writing & Drawing
- Draw pictures and write a sentence about the day.
- Practice writing names, sight words, or labels.
- Make lists (shopping lists, toy lists, chore charts).
🎲 Learn While Playing
- Puzzles, building blocks, and pretend play build thinking skills.
- Encourage outdoor play that includes counting, sorting, or patterns.
- Keep screen time balanced with hands‑on activities.
📚 Grades 3–5
📖 Keep Reading Strong
- Read daily for 20–30 minutes.
- Choose a variety of texts: chapter books, comics, articles, or nonfiction.
- Talk about what was read:
- What was the main idea?
- What did you learn?
➗ Practice Math in Real Life
- Use math when cooking, shopping, or planning outings.
- Practice multiplication facts and problem‑solving.
- Play strategy and logic games (chess, checkers, math card games).
✏️ Write for Real Purposes
- Keep a summer journal.
- Write letters, emails, or short stories.
- Respond to reading with short summaries or reflections.
🌍 Explore & Discover
- Encourage curiosity—ask children to explain their thinking.
- Visit libraries, parks, or museums.
- Watch educational videos and discuss what was learned.
🏡 Helpful Summer Learning Tips for All Families
✅ Keep a simple routine
- Choose a regular time for learning each day (30–45 minutes).
✅ Encourage independence
- Let children try first before helping.
✅ Focus on effort
- Praise effort and progress, not just correct answers.
✅ Make learning fun
- Learning works best when children are relaxed and engaged.