Moms Talk: Reinforcing Lessons from the Classroom

With school starting, it may take a while for the first few weeks' lessons to sink in. How do you reinforce what your children learn in school? Whether it's academic or social lessons, how do you make sure what your kids learn in school stays with them? How active are you in homework or their lessons? 

Jenny Wescoat
Last year we had pretty minimal homework because it was only kindergarten, but we did do a lot of the extra stuff (like he read 600 minutes or something to earn a ticket to Six Flags) and his teacher sent home extra reading challenges because he was reading well.

We have talked a lot about our thoughts on homework and we hope to maintain a high level of availability for the kids with me staying home, but without actually hovering. As far as reinforcing, I read everything that comes home, and if I know that they are working on a topic in class, we will watch for opportunities to talk about it more at home.

But I think so much is dependent on the kid. My oldest has a pretty long attention span and a natural interest in reading, discovering, etc., so I feel like I have it pretty easy. When it comes time for my girls, though, I may be facing a challenge.

Jennifer AuBuchon
As my kids get older, my direct involvement in their homework has decreased. In their early years, I did many things to reinforce their learning. For example, when they were learning letter sounds in kindergarten, we would go around the house with a baggie looking for items that started with that letter sound. We'd cook to reinforce math concepts. We did little science experiments and we took a lot of field trips around town which coincided with things they were learning about.

My kids are both good, strong students and I find that they don't need much from me in terms of helping with homework. There are the occasional requests to quiz them for an upcoming test or to take them to the library to look for a book for a certain type of report, but usually they're fairly independent.

Both my husband and I still show a lot of enthusiasm about what they're learning and talk to them about school everyday. We hope this shows them that we consider it important and valuable. We feel so fortunate that they both love to read and are good students. It makes our evenings much easier and enjoyable than if everything were a struggle.

Samantha Goswami
We first do any homework that is due the next day and then add on as needed. My third-grader can do his own homework and only comes to us if he needs help. We work on extra math concepts and extra readings on evenings where we have no activities going on. Our basic rule at home is there are no extracurricular activities until homework is done. My kids' teachers have been great at giving the kids challenge words and extra homework to keep them more challenged.

We try and read up more on the topic or surf the web for more information but this depends on the amount of activity we have going on at the time. So far the ride has been not too bad at all. I am sure we will get busier as the kids get older.

Lisa May
We are very lucky in that our children complete their homework without prompting. I do encourage them to not procrastinate, especially when studying for a test. Checking their homework every evening is important. I make sure it is complete and sign their form. Of course with my new middle-schooler, we are working out what is best (and expected). I know that I need to give her the chance to be responsible in the way she should be.

Our family is big on doing other lessons at home. When time allows, we work on math, read books that we can learn from (biographies, etc), science and history. Taking trips provide wonderful opportunities, even if the place is not per-say historic. For example, our trip to Naples led to a different climate (we went in the spring), time difference, different demographics of those living there and visiting, plus sites we saw on the way. The children are learning even when they don't realize it.