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Elementary News
Reinforcing the Importance of School Attendance Word From the Director
Reinforcing the
Importance of School Attendance At one time or another, your child will probably ask you, “Do I have to go to school today?” He may be tired from staying up late. He may be afraid of a big test. Or he may just want to stay home so he can watch TV and play on the computer. Here are some ways you can make sure your child gets to school every day - on time - and ready to learn: Get your child to bed on time. A sleepy child can’t get up. He dawdles over breakfast. He misses the bus. Remember: Late nights lead to morning fights. Stay in touch with the school. If you know there’s a science test on Tuesday, help your child study—don’t let him stay home. Let your child see that you value education.
Tell him that when he misses a day of school, he’s missing the opportunity
to learn new things.
‘WBP’ Awards Help Teach Self-Discipline
Most kids (and many adults) find it hard to wait for something they want. But success in school and in life often means having the self-discipline to do just that. Some people call this the “Work Before Play” (WBP) rule. You can teach your child this rule by creating a special award. One night at dinner, tell your child there will be a new award: the “WBP” award. It will go to the person in the family who did the best job of showing self-discipline during the week. Then talk about times when family members put work before play. Your son may have finished his math homework, without being asked, before he went to a friend’s to play. Your daughter may have taken the dog for a walk before she watched TV. You may be in the running yourself. Perhaps you started dinner in the morning so the family would have a tasty meal. Perhaps you worked through your lunch hour so you could come home early for a soccer game. Post the name of the family WBP winner where everyone can see it. As you present the award each week, you’ll be helping your child develop the discipline to put work before play.
Follow routines. Routines make life easier for parents. Kids who know dinner is always at 6:30 will be ready to come to the table. Kids who know that homework time is always before they can watch TV may grumble, but they’ll follow the rules. Create regular times for homework, reading and watching TV. Make transitions easier. Some kids have trouble moving from one thing to another. Give plenty of advance warning. “Remember, homework time starts in five minutes, so finish your snack.” Help your child plan ahead. Take a few minutes at the end of the day to prepare for school in the morning. Have your child write a checklist of things that have to go to school. Allow enough time. Big projects take time to finish. Help your child break big jobs down into smaller tasks.
Here we are, getting ready for the holiday
season - it just seemed to arrive overnight! As I prepared to write this,
I started thinking of the movie “Click”. The star wants to hurry through
some everyday things so he can get to where he wants to be in life. You
know, the raise, the promotion, the bigger house, and older kids - all of
those “it will be easier when” thoughts. But as the story unfolds, he
realizes he has missed some of the most important parts of his life, the
ordinary living of day-to-day joys. So enjoy family and friends this holiday season, and
remember to give yourself time to truly enjoy each day.
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