Routines:

• Develop a routine for your child to follow each day when they come home from school: A specific place to put their backpack, a time to discuss what was covered in school that day, a time to help with any homework or projects they might have, a time to make sure you are organized.



• Help your child develop a schedule for each day that includes plenty of time for study , reading and homework, and then post it—say, on the refrigerator or bedroom door. Make sure they follow the schedule.



• Help your child at an early age to become organized: Help them find a specific folder, binder or organizer that they like, and that they will use to stay organized.



• Have a bin with their name on it, where they can keep all their school papers and assignments once they have been graded and returned by the teacher—as long as they don’t need to go back to school. That way they can find them later for reference or study.



• Be a role model when it comes to being organized: Show them how you stay organized, for your work, or for household bills and records.



• When you want your child to develop a habit or follow a certain routine, try to model it for them— if he or she sees that it is important to you, they will follow suit. it will be important to them also.



• Teach your child to manage their time. This is a tough task! Set a timer and work on a task for a specific amount of time and then take a break before moving on to the next task.



• Make sure you have a certain time each day or evening when they talk with you about what happened in school that day. Be nosy! Push! Ask what they did. Don’t settle for one-word answers or shrugs. Ask for details about assignments turned in or tests taken—even before they come back from the teacher.



• Establish a “ritual” of making them tell you “one new thing I learned today.”



• Make time for the family—or just you and your child—to play games at home some time during the week or weekend. (Research shows that playing games teaches and reinforces certain math skills.)



• Monitor—and limit—the time your kids spend watching TV and playing video games. Spend time talking with them or reading with them instead.



• Teach your child to be an active reader who outlines or makes notes in her textbooks. If your child is not allowed to write in her books, have her keep these notes in a special notebook—or on “post its” that stick to the pages.

Rules:

• Establish rules that your child must follow at home—this will make it easier for them to follow school and classroom rules.



• Rule Number One” should be that, during the school year, school and school work are your child’s most important responsibilities.



• Make rules about how much time—and when—your child must study each afternoon or evening. But instead of denying your child privileges for not studying or getting schoolwork done, offer him rewards or incentives.



• Use rules to help your child develop time management skills—require them to complete a certain number of assignments or work for a certain period of before going out to play. (This also will guarantee a healthy balance between schoolwork and exercise.)



• Try to set as rule number one that homework must be done in the afternoon or very early evening. They will be too tired in the late evening—and you will be too tired to make them finish it. Everyone in the house will share in the frustration that the work is not completed. (And if they—and you—stay up too late doing homework, it will make the next morning just that much harder!)



• Make—and observe—firm rules about television watching during the school week—and about the amount of time your student may spend playing computer or video games. It is far more important during the school year that they spend their time on schoolwork and on healthy, outdoor exercise and play.



• Make a rule that you and your child will not say negative things about teachers. DO allow them to express concerns or frustrations about their teacher if they have them—but then show them how to respond appropriately. Call or email the teacher, or send a note to school. Ask the teacher for a conference to discuss your child’s problems or frustrations and work them out.

Responsibility:

• Once you have set your rules and established routines for your children, make certain that they know you expect them to be “in charge” of following them: This may take time, of course, but the younger they are when they learn to make themselves follow the rules and keep to the schedule, the more successful they will be in school.



• Show your child that they can find out things for themselves, instead of relying on others to give them answers. If they ask you a question to which you do not know the answer, admit that you don’t know. Then ask, “How can we find out?” You may have to go to the library or online together to find out, but time that you spend searching for answers with your children will show them that this is an important skill, and will help them develop it.



• Never let them forget that you expect them to succeed, and that you have confidence in their ability to succeed. Ask questions like: “How are you going to handle that?” and “What is your plan for getting that done?”



• Make sure your child knows that you expect them to get the best grads they can, to finish high school and to go on to college. Talk about these things at home as if they are simply understood.