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All across the country, children are heading back to school for another year of learning. Whether your kids are in elementary school or high school, you can take steps to help them succeed in the classroom.
We asked the U.S. Department of Education and veteran teachers for tips on helping kids succeed at school. Here are a few of our favorites:
Get Involved
Stay in contact with your child's teacher. Many teachers post classroom assignments on the Internet or send out weekly emails about class activities. Ask the teacher how you can help your child.
Set a Bedtime
Kids might want to stay up late - especially teenagers - but they still need their sleep. Tired students don't do as well in school as well-rested ones.
Food For Thought
Make sure your child eats breakfast and lunch. Hungry students don't learn well - just ask a teacher!
Monitor Homework
Let your child know that homework comes first - before sports, TV, extracurricular activities and after-school jobs. Set a regular time for homework and make sure they complete assignments on time. Remove distractions - turn off the TV and say no to phone calls.
 Help With Homework
Be willing to help with your child's homework. Even if you don't know a complex subject like calculus, you can still show your interest by reading the assignment and making sure he or she completes it. Praise your child's work.
Limit Television
Too much time watching television and playing video games cuts into important learning activities - things like reading, playing with friends and talking with family members. Try to model good TV behavior for your kids. In other words, don't spend all your time in front of the tube.
Encourage Reading
Helping your child become a reader is the single most important thing that you can do to help the child to succeed in school - and in life. Reading helps children in all school subjects. More important, it is the key to lifelong learning.
Don't Overbook
Limit your child's extracurricular activities. Some kids are involved in too many activities, teams and clubs. It causes stress and cuts into homework and/or sleep. In general, being highly involved in one or two activities is better than being slightly involved in 10 or 12.
 Encourage Active Learning
Listen to your child's ideas and respond to them. Let him or her ask questions when you read together. If you encourage this type of give-and-take at home, your child's participation and interest in school is likely to increase.
Make It Simple
Show your child how to break a job down into small steps and complete the job one step at a time. This works for everything - getting dressed, cleaning a room or doing a big homework assignment.
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