The Backpack

Here you will find some helpful resources for parents on various topics.

For a full list of helpful resources for parents, please visit our Links page.

The National PTA has a website that is full of wonderful information for educators, parents and students! Below are two articles from the National PTA website regarding back to school. Log on today at www.pta.org. Click on “Topics” to find out more about student achievement, health, safety, nutrition, physical activity, and more!

10 Ways for Parents to Help Teachers

By Mimi Doe

Many parents have written to me over the years, frustrated with how unprepared their students are—and they don’t mean academically. Chris, a kindergarten teacher, wrote what many teachers have expressed, “I would love it if you could write a 10 tips for parents to help us teachers do our increasingly demanding job. Many parents of children I teach have left the job of spiritual, character, and social/emotional education to me. I can’t do it all in addition to teaching academic skills. I’m getting burned out and pretty soon won’t have the energy left to nourish one child let alone 25.” So here goes—my 10 tips:

1. Create a smooth takeoff each day. Give your child a hug before she ventures out the door and you head to work. Look her in the eye, and tell her how proud you are of her. Your child’s self-confidence and security will help her do well both in school and in life.
2. Prepare for a happy landing at the end of the day when you reconvene. Create a predictable ritual such as 10-20 minutes listening to your child talk about his day—before you check phone messages, read the mail, or begin dinner. That way you are fully present to listen, and your child has a touchstone he can count on between school and home.
3. Fill your child’s lunchbox with healthy snacks and lunches. Have dinner at a reasonable hour and a healthy breakfast. A well-balanced diet maximizes your child’s learning potential.
4. Include calm, peaceful times in your children’s afternoons and evenings. Maintain a schedule that allows them to go to school rested, and if they are sick, have a system in place so they are able to stay home.
5. Remember it’s your children’s homework, not yours. Create a specific homework space that’s clutter-free and quiet. Encourage editing and double-checking work, but allow your kids to make mistakes, as it’s the only way teachers can gauge if they understand the material. It’s also how children learn responsibility for the quality of their work.
6. Fill your child’s life with a love for learning by showing him your own curiosity, respecting his questions, and encouraging his efforts.
7. Fill your home with books to read, books simply to look at, and books that provide answers to life’s many questions. The public or school library is an excellent resource.
8. Be a partner with your child’s teacher. When you need to speak to him or her in reference to a specific issue, do it privately. Make a point never to criticize your child’s teacher in front of your child.
9. Set up a system where routine items are easily located, such as backpacks, shoes, and signed notices. Create a central calendar for upcoming events to avoid the unexpected.
10. Tuck “love notes” in your child’s lunch bag to let him/her know how special he/she is.

Homework Hints

By National PTA & National Education Association

* Assume that your children will have studying to do every night.
* Ask your children if they understand their homework. If they do not, work a few examples together.
* Ask your children to show you their homework after the teacher returns it, to learn where they’re having trouble and where they’re doing well. See if your children did the work correctly.
* Stay in touch with your children’s teachers. Ask about their classes and what they are studying. Ask their teachers how you can support what they are studying (flash cards, spelling, etc.).
* Remember, you and their teachers want the same thing—to help your children learn.
* Don’t be afraid to get in touch with the teacher if you and your child don’t understand an assignment or if your child is having a great deal of trouble. Almost all parents run into these problems, and teachers are glad to help.
* Don’t do your children’s work for them. Help them learn how to do it themselves.
* Show your children that you think homework is important. If you are at work during homework time, ask to see their work when you get home.
* Praise your children for doing well. Make praise a habit.
* Maintain a portfolio of “best pieces.”
* Ask your school about tips or guides for helping your children develop good study habits.
* Help older students organize their assignments by recording them on calendars or planners, along with due dates, dates turned in, etc.