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One of the questions that parents ask the most is, how should I prioritize studying time with my child? The main problem here seems to be, what classes should parents put the most emphasis on when helping their children? Schools have notoriously recently put less emphasis on science and social studies in favor of math and English since the latter two subjects are featured on standardized tests more than the former. So how can you help prepare your child for all of the four core subject areas? Here are some ways to help your children with homework or with just exploring the topics on their own. • As a means of helping your child with Social Studies/History, encourage them to by taking them on your own field trip to a local museum. School district budgets have been decimated by the falling economy, and field trips have been among the first casualties. If you find that this is the case, take the initiative and take your child on a trip of your own. Use Google or any other search engine to find local historical sites which would serve as an appropriate location. • Another History tip is to visit your local bookstore and skip the fiction section and head straight to the nonfiction for a good dose of biography. Children love reading about real life events and this can serve two purposes—to encourage reading and to educate your children about the history of their country or the world. • As for science, check out your local toy store or teacher supply store for science kits. (Even the “big box” bookstores like Barnes and Nobles have started carrying these.) They can include microscopes, telescopes, build your own robot kits, junior chemistry sets, and the like. The fact is, a science degree isn’t necessary in order to help your child with their science. • Bookmark the following websites to help your child with their homework: o Discovery Education (www.school.discoveryeducation.com/homeworkhelp)--This website provides videos and other resources for helping your child with their homework in all of the core subjects. o Mathnook(www.mathnook.com) – This is a great resource for math games which help your child find that math can be fun. Anything that can achieve this goal is in need of praise, but Mathnook especially does a great job at providing this. o Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.org) – This revolutionary website has been praised for its suggestion in changing the way students learn. The idea is that the students “learn” the material at home with the help of these videos and then do their “homework” at school where they will have a trained professional teacher to assist them if they become stuck. The videos are fun and informative. o Shmoop (www.shmoop.com) –Forget the old days of Cliff’s Notes. Shmoop provides an actual literature learning site which analyzes the literature with the student and delves deeply into the works without just providing a plot summary of the book so the child doesn’t have to read it. o The Purdue Online Writing Lab (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/) –This is the premier website for assistance with writing essays. If you have a paper to write, chances are there is a powerpoint on this site which will help you write it. Many educators even use these presentations for their classes as they are so detailed and professionally put together. A great resource for writing in all of the core subjects. Those are just some of the ways that you can help your child succeed in all of the core subject areas. I look forward to hearing other suggestions from educators and parents alike.
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