Ask any teachers, and they would say the same. But there's more you can do to help your children succeed. Following are words of advice from some of the wisest teachers around.
Make reading and math into everyday games. First, Henriques says, ask children questions about the books they've read, like who the main character was and what problems the characters faced, or make a game out of guessing what a book is about by looking at its cover. And when you and your children are out on the town, ask them to find letters in license plates, grocery store items and fast-food menus. To develop budding math skills, turn the task of setting the table into an engaging puzzle: How many forks, knives and plates do we need? If there aren't enough cookies to go around, how can they be divided up evenly?
Bring the arts into your home. "Even folks who can't afford music lessons can encourage children to turn on the radio and listen to some great classical music, or use the Internet to find historical and biographical information," says Tim Brophy, who teaches music at Grahamwood Elementary School in Memphis, Tennessee.
Be a good example. You are the most influential person in your child's life, says Kathy Wiebke, who teaches at Sonoran Sky Elementary School in Scottsdale, Arizona. Since children learn best by example, she says, teach your kids to be lifelong learners by taking up new hobbies, reading and learning about new subjects yourself.
Get them talking. Once children are old enough to watch the news or read the papers, engage them in discussions about current events, social-studies teacher Myra Dietz of Rochester, New York, suggests: Share your own knowledge, and ask them to reflect upon the world around them.
Don't forget to listen. The most significant thing you can do for your child is also the simplest, says English teacher Mark Antonoff of Downers Grove, Illinois: Just be there, and be ready to hear what your children have to say. "Adults tend not to listen to kids, they tend to tell them what to do," he says. "I prefer to listen, then ask, 'So how would you like to resolve this?'"
Give healthy advice to young children. Foreign-languages teacher Scott Wells of Long Beach, California, offers the following tip to parents who hope to caution their school-age children against drugs without resorting to "just say no": "I tell the kids, 'If drugs make you happy, how come all the adults who are happy aren't running around doing drugs?'" he says.
Be ready to learn from your children, says John Zavalney, who teaches seventh-grade science in Los Angeles, California. "Kids should teach their parents what they're learning in school," he advises. Your child will reinforce what she learned in school that day, and you might pick up something new yourself.
