March 2015

Copyright 2015 The Parent Institute, a division of NIS, Inc. May be reproduced only as licensed by Helping Students Learn newsletter 1-800-756-5525

Daily Learning Planner: Ideas Parents Can Use to Help Students Do Well in SchoolTry a New Idea Every Day!

o 1. Make up trivia questions about your family. Quiz one another at the dinner table.

o 2. Start keeping a family TV diary. See whatand how muchyou and your child are watching.

o 3. Help your child plan a gathering for friends, such as a make-your-own-sundae party.

o 4. Share with your child a favorite quotation that inspires you. o 5. Patiently explain the reason for a rule your child doesnt like.o 6. Take advantage of any chances you have to talk with your child. Kids

this age tend to talk less than younger children.

o 7. Celebrate National Nutrition Month! Shop for extra-healthy foods. o 8. Try to have a conversation entirely in rhyme with your child. o 9. Write your child a letter about the day he was born.o 10. Tell your child a story about when you were a middle schooler.o 11. Let your child choose clothes to buy within your budget and guidelines. o 12. Forbid your child to smoke. If you smoke, make every effort to quit.o 13. Has it been a hard week at school? Take your child out for a treat.o 14. Check out an astronomy book at the library. Can your child find a

constellation in the sky tonight?

o 15. Choose a spot in your home where family members can post things they are proud of. Post something your child has done.

o 16. Kids who cant see well have trouble reading. If you havent had your childs vision checked recently, make an appointment to do so.

o 17. At dinner tonight, have family members each share an opinion about a current event.

o 18. When your child expresses an opinion, encourage her to support it with facts from reliable sources.

o 19. Tell your child a story that teaches a moral lesson.o 20. Brainstorm with your child about something to help your family, such

as how you can lower the electric bill.

o 21. While your child does homework, do some quiet work yourself.o 22. Have a formal family dinner. Everyone should

dress up and use their best manners.

o 23. Designate a surprise week during which family members do nice things for each other.

o 24. Give your child plenty of privacy. For example, knock before entering his room.

o 25. Teach your child stress-relieving tips, such as deep breathing.o 26. Let your child invite a friend to stay for a family dinner. o 27. Use math terms while talking with your child. For example, This

street is parallel to ours.

o 28. Take turns choosing movies to watch. Youll learn about your childs interests from his choices.

o 29. Have your child write a proposal for a privilege she has requested.o 30. Teach your child the three-step process for any job: Plan, do, finish.o 31. Teach your child symbols that speed up note-taking, such as w/ for

with and @ for at.

March April May 2015

Odyssey School Parental InvolvementMrs.Priser, PIC@odysseycharterschool.net

April 2015 Daily Learning Planner: Ideas Parents Can Use to Help Students Do Well in SchoolTry a New Idea Every Day!

Copyright 2015 The Parent Institute, a division of NIS, Inc. May be reproduced only as licensed by Helping Students Learn newsletter 1-800-756-5525

May 2015

Copyright 2015 The Parent Institute, a division of NIS, Inc. May be reproduced only as licensed by Helping Students Learn newsletter 1-800-756-5525

o 1. Help your child create a telephone message center.o 2. Play a rhyming game. Your child picks a word, and you and she take

turns saying words that rhyme until you run out.

o 3. Schedule some one-on-one time with your child this month.o 4. Help your child make a planning sheet to use for big assignments.o 5. How many ways can your child make change for a dollar using different

combinations of coins?

o 6. Its Mathematics Education Month. Have family members count how many times they use math today.

o 7. Talk with your child about your familys ethnic background.o 8. Look in a library book or online for simple science experiments to do at

home. Try one with your child.

o 9. Ask your child, Is it more important to be the best, or to do your best?o 10. Let your child stay up late to read and sleep in late in the morning.o 11. Open a newspaper to a random article.

Read it with your child and see what you learn.

o 12. Ask your child to run errands with you. Use the time to talk with him.

o 13. Encourage your child to start a journal.o 14. Apologize to your child when it is appropriate. Shell learn that it is

important to take responsibility for mistakes.

o 15. Teach your child how to balance a checkbook.o 16. Ask your child about his dreams for the future. Discuss ways he can

work toward them now.

o 17. Teach your child how to play a strategy game, such as chess. o 18. Let your child calculate the tip when you are next at a restaurant. This

gives her practice with percents.

o 19. Ask your child to estimate the length of a table. Then have him measure to see if hes right.

o 20. Nurture your childs creativity. Ask questions that start with What if ... and Why do you think ... ?

o 21. Have your child research the meaning of your states flag design.o 22. Talk with your child about the possible implications of a recent

scientific discovery.

o 23. Ask your child which classes she is excited to take in high school.o 24. Ask your child to name his favorite dish. Teach him how to make it. o 25. Ask your child to pay attention to things she might not usually notice

about a book. When was it published?

o 26. Discuss sex with your childand how your values relate to the facts.o 27. Ask your child to go on a fraction search through the newspaper.

Which sections have the most fractions?

o 28. Write your child notes and ask him to write back.o 29. Let your child know that the things that make her unique also make

her precious to you.

o 30. Suggest a book to your child in which the main character is a good role model.

o 1. Ask your child to tell you how to get from one place to another. Follow her directions together to see if they are accurate.

o 2. Go on a nature walk with your child. Can you each find things you have never seen before?

o 3. Talk with your child about a current event that is happening out of the country. How could it affect you? Could it happen here?

o 4. Today is the beginning of Screen-Free Week. Ask your child to list fun alternatives to watching TV and playing electronic games.

o 5. Point out the position of the sun. See if your child knows what it can tell you.

o 6. Mention something you learned recently to your child. It shows that you value education.

o 7. Ask your child how many two-scoop combinations she can make with three flavors of ice cream. Then try one together.

o 8. Review your childs finished homework. Find something to compliment.o 9. Watch a history program together. o 10. Have a family meeting. Use the time to work toward family goals and

recognize achievements.

o 11. Challenge your child to walk someplace (if safety allows) instead of being driven.

o 12. Open the dictionary to a random page. With your child, learn the words on it that are new to you.

o 13. Make a statement and ask your child to classify it as fact or opinion.o 14. Brainstorm with your family about where youd go on a dream vacation.o 15. If your child could learn anything this summer, what would it be?

o 16. Take your child to a local cultural event, such as a play or concert.o 17. Play the Fame Game with your child. Take turns calling out names of

famous people and guessing what they did. Then look them up.

o 18. Quote a helpful saying, such as If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.o 19. Does your child know how to swim? If not, sign him up for lessons.o 20. Give your child a history lesson. What was life like 30 years ago?o 21. Ask your child to research three places where shed like to volunteer.o 22. Look at old pictures of your child. Reminisce with him about how

many things he has learned.

o 23. Put your child in charge of buying at least one grocery item. o 24. Serve your child breakfast in bed.o 25. See if your child can think of homophoneswords that sound alike, but

mean different things. For example, mail and male.

o 26. With your child, do something nice for someone else, such as an elderly neighbor.

o 27. Challenge your child to classify each living animal she sees: amphibian, mammal, bird, reptile, fish, insect or invertebrate.

o 28. Give your child several reasons why you are happy to be his parent.o 29. Ask your child what she thinks is the greatest invention, and why.o 30. Encourage your child to write a thank-you note to a teacher.o 31. Ask your child to organize the books in your home.

Daily Learning Planner: Ideas Parents Can Use to Help Students Do Well in SchoolTry a New Idea Every Day!