On my walk around my neighborhood this morning, I marveled at the magic of smart shuffle on Spotify. I trusted my Fitbit to know I was walking, not sitting still. And Alexa must have been eavesdropping on my conversation at breakfast because a pop-up from Amazon served me a deal for exactly what I needed: new walking sneakers!
There is a lot to remember when getting your child ready for a new school year, but it’s helpful to put your efforts into three important areas: sleep, routine, and communication.
It is common for children to go through stages where they show resistance towards reading and need help finding books they enjoy. Fortunately, there are ways to help reluctant readers find excitement in books. Try implementing some of these strategies at home to help your child foster a love of reading:
1. Allow Book Choice at a Just-Right Level
While many of us would like our children to read classic literature or the books we loved as children, new or reluctant readers may need more time to take that leap. Guide your child towards books they are interested in and can read independently to build confidence and keep reading fun. Pleasure reading is not pleasurable when your child has reached a frustration level or is bored with the subject matter. Tackling more difficult material can come later.
2. Create Reading Routines
Read comics or light news together at breakfast each morning. Cozy up by the fire together after dinner. The whole family can bring something to read–a book, magazine, newspaper, Kindle…anything! Bedtime stories are another beneficial reading ritual; there is no better way to relax and unwind after a long day than through a shared story. Your child will become accustomed to your family’s reading routines and start to look forward to them each day.
3. Link Reading to Real-Life Experiences
If your child is an animal lover, follow up an animal-themed book with a trip to the zoo. Is your child a sports fanatic? Catch a game together after they finish a sports biography and discuss connections and themes between the book and the game. These meaningful associations will add depth and excitement to your child’s reading experience.
When children feel empowered with choice, are comfortable reading independently, and feel connected to their world through text, they are headed in the right direction to become lifelong readers.
Connecting math to daily activities in the real world is an important way to help children develop higher engagement in math. If you’ve ever heard kids say, but math is soooo boring—fear not! Here are a few ways you can make math fun in your own home:
It’s beneficial to engage in creative play with your child at home, because it not only gives families the opportunity to play together but also fosters joy, togetherness, and for adults, that feeling of being a kid again!
Here at Peck, we take play very seriously.
“Creative play is an outlet for exploration,” says Lower School Psychologist Ashley Tabor. “Kids can try on different behavioral and emotional hats in these environments and role-play different scenarios. All of these exercises are necessary for childhood, from supporting social-emotional learning and physical development to problem-solving and building confidence, to creative growth.”
Here are five unique ideas to foster creative play at home:
It’s back. The conversation about the value of cursive writing in an elementary school education has returned, but after 30 years in education my opinion has not changed. Here at Peck, we believe that cursive offers numerous benefits to our students.
My husband and I were happy with how our children, Matthew and Emma, were doing in our local public schools. They were both excelling academically and socially. My husband, a product of independent schools, had raised private schools as a consideration, but we felt satisfied with the education our children were receiving. However, we eventually came to realize what was missing at our local public school. What attracted us to Peck was the Upper School curriculum and how it is intentionally designed around building the specific skills that are critical to develop both from an academic and character perspective in preparation for secondary school. Even though our son Matthew only started at Peck in sixth grade, we felt his growth in three years exceeded our wildest expectations. Here are the five reasons we wish we had considered private school sooner:
At Peck, we strongly believe in the power of reading and intentionally foster opportunities to develop a passion and love for reading in our students. One genre that is a fan-favorite with students of all ages right now is graphic novels. Our Librarian and Literary Specialist Melissa Sorge compiled the top 5 graphic novels our students are reading:
As I enter my fifth year at Peck, I am still fascinated by the tradition of Kairos Day. I had never heard this word before coming to Peck and the concept of a day celebrating it felt even more curious.
A timeless tradition at nearly all schools in the nation is the beloved back-to-school night. Parents get to sit in child-size chairs, peek inside cubbies and lockers, and hear firsthand from teachers about all that is in store for the coming school year. Our Peck administrators have collectively experienced more than 100 back-to-school nights—so, they know a thing or two about how to host, and attend, a successful event. They offered these six tips to parents:
