School Isn't The Only Place For Learning

Now that the school year has started, you have probably had lots of conversations with your child(ren) about how school isn't just for learning — it's also for friendship, sport and fun. The reserve is also true. School isn't the only place for learning, and sometimes the obligations and rigidity that come with school actually kill a child's curiosity and love of learning. 

At home, parents can foster their children's love of learning and help them with skills that schools aren't generally very good at teaching. Moral and religious education is area that will fall to parents, but organizational skills are also extremely important. Your child's success at school will eventually depend on those organizational skills to a very large extent. 

Organization

Young elementary-aged children suddenly have a lot to organize. Instead of packing their bag for them and taking all the responsibility for making sure your child's homework has been completed, why not use the child's school obligations as a chance to teach them how to get organized?

Launch and landing pads are one great idea that makes life much easier. Set up an area near your front door where all the child's school stuff "lives". It can include shoes and coats, but also a cubby with their backpack, school books, and completed homework. You can put your child's packed lunch here right before school — but you can also get in the habit of preparing this lunch together and then asking your child to place in in their bag themselves. 

This way, you'll never have to run around looking for missing items before your child catches the school bus. The launch pad can also include a chart with school responsibilities, so you and your child can both check that homework and other obligations have been done.

Start A Read-Aloud Tradition

Your child may be reading many great books at school, or they may not. Starting a family read-aloud tradition will help in either case. In young elementary kids, it improves reading skills and vocabulary. In older kids, being exposed to great literature constantly will improve performance and analytical thinking skills — if you also discuss the books you read in detail. 

You can tie the tradition in to those family dinners we discussed earlier, or make it part of the bedtime routine. 

Don't Forget Free Play

The beginning of the school year signifies the start of a long list of constant, serious obligations. Many kids also engage in many extracurricular activities. Don't underestimate the power of free play, though. Kids who have time to play with friends and siblings in an unstructured way have a fantastic way to release stress, build creativity, and continue to enjoy their childhood.