I often have parents ask me for ideas of things they can do to help there child at home. There are many ways you can support and help your child be successful academically. Listed below are a few of the suggestions I typically give to parents who want to reinforce the skills we are learning in class.

1. Memorize your multiplication facts -- tape them into a recorder, create flashcards, chant them around the house. Sing them in the car -- just MEMORIZE, MEMORIZE, MEMORIZE!!!!!
2. Measure different objects around your house. Use cups, pounds, inches, feet, yards, quarts, or gallons.
3. Gather a group of items (cereal, buttons, chips, etc.) then divide them evenly into piles creating a division array.
4. Practice counting out money by pretending to buy a list of groceries from the ads and paying with a $20 dollar bill. How much does the list cost? How much change will you get back from the $20 or how much more money do you need?
5. Take turns making up problems for each other to solve. These problems can involve addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, measurement or getting information from a graph in a magazine.
6. Look over your child's graded papers in their Tuesday night Take Home folder. Help your child make corrections on any failed paper.
7. Be sure to tell your child that you love him/her and that you are proud of them every day! Self-esteem is very important in helping a child to learn.