September - 2007
Greene County School System

Foster an attitude of success in your child this school year

Henry Ford said it best: “If you think you can—or you think you can’t—you’re right.” But how can you foster an attitude of success in your child?

One strategy is to give your child positive, accurate feedback. Kids make slow progress. Learning to ride a bike, or divide by seven, doesn’t happen overnight.

Here are three steps to take to help your child see that he can succeed:

Tell your child the progress you’ve seen. You could say, “The way you describe Grandpa’s workshop in your writing makes me feel like I’m there.” Or, “That drawing of the human heart helps me see exactly how blood moves.”
Link your child’s success with his own effort. “You stuck with that math problem. Now you found the right answer.” “You took the time to copy over that book report. It’s much neater—and you corrected a few misspelled words.”
Give your child confidence to take the next step. Sometimes, kids need a little boost if they’re having trouble. So remind your child of a time when his effort paid off. “Remember how you worked until you memorized your times tables? I’ll bet the same thing will work for learning states and capitals.”
You’ll build your child’s belief that he can succeed. You’ll also help him recognize successful ways to solve problems.

Reprinted with permission from the September 2007 issue of Parents make the difference!® (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2007 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Deborah Stipek and Kathy Seal, Motivated Minds: Raising Children to Love Learning, ISBN: 0-805-06395-1 (Owl Books, 1-888-330-8477, www.henryholt.com).

Building Respect

Insist your child show respect to teachers, staff

Being respectful is just as important at school as it is at home. Encourage your child to show respect to her teacher by:

Being courteous. She should say “please” and “thank you” to her teacher.
Doing what’s expected. Everyone in school has a job to do. If the teacher didn’t plan any lessons, no one could learn anything. If students don’t do their jobs— homework, listening to the teacher—it makes it more difficult to learn.
Addressing the teacher by name. Just saying “Good morning, Mrs. Jones” is an easy way to show respect.
Listening to the teacher’s comments. Teachers want students to learn more. That means they have to point out mistakes. Your child will do much better in school if she can hear the teacher’s concern as she’s pointing out ways she can improve.

Reprinted with permission from the September 2007 issue of Parents make the difference!® (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2007 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Ruby Payne, Understanding Learning: The How, the Why, the What, ISBN: 1-929-22904-6 (aha! Process, Inc., 1-800-424-9484, www.ahaprocess.com).

Ready to Learn

Send your child to school with three things to ensure success

By now, the teacher has sent home a list of things your child needs for class this year. But don’t forget to prepare your child by instilling:

Concentration. Block out some time each day for quiet study. During this time, no one (not even you) watches TV or talks on the phone. Instead, everyone reads or does homework.
Organization. Hang a checklist by the door. Have your child check off all the things that should go to school. Stick another list of the things that need to come home in his book bag. Set up a “parking place.” Inside the door, use a box or shelf as a place for your child to stash all the stuff that has to go to school the next day.
Motivation. How can you encourage your child to do his best? Set aside time each day to ask him about school. Look for ways he can show you what he’s learned. If he is studying percentages, have him estimate how much the sales tax will be if you’re food shopping.

Attendance Matters

Make attending school a priority for your child

Your child’s teachers will do their best to help your child learn and succeed in school. But there’s one thing only you can do—getting him to school every day.

Children who don’t attend school regularly fall behind and score lower on tests. They can have a hard time making and keeping friends—especially in elementary school.

How often a child is absent in elementary school sets a pattern for absences in later school years. Lots of absences often leads to students dropping out of school completely.

A recent study of the nation’s fourth graders showed that almost one in four (19 percent) had been absent from school three or more days in the last month.

Let your child and his teachers know you know attendance counts:

Tell your child how important school is. Be interested in what he’s learning.
Discuss the consequences of missing school. Not understanding. Needing to do make-up work. Missing out on friends.
Make dental and other appointments during non-school hours.
Don’t let your child skip school for reasons that wouldn’t prevent you from going to work.
Avoid taking your child out of school on exam days.
Keep track of your child’s absences. See if there are any patterns that need to be changed.
Talk to the teacher if your child regularly doesn’t want to go to school.