Watch Your Child's School Work

How much math homework, spelling and reading is really being given out?  Sometimes moms are so busy tending to household duties and workplace issues that they don't pay attention to what their children are being taught in school.

Homework has never been anyone's favorite thing to do, but it is necessary to help you keep up with what your child knows or doesn't know.

I noticed that my son had more worksheets that dealt with reading and spelling and less assignments that were math related.  Other parents must have noticed too, because finally, after months of being in school, the teacher decided to devote one week exclusively to math homework--will see how long this will last.

If you start to see that your child is consistently bringing home bad grades, you may want to find out what his or her behavior is like in the classroom, how close your son or daughter is seated near the teacher, the Smart Board (a new device wired to the Internet designed to aid teachers with their classroom instruction) or chalk board.  Also, listen for names that often come up when your child is explaining a story.  Sometimes there are those children that are causing problems in the classroom and the teacher has yet to get a handle on them.  You may also want to consider what changes have occurred in your own household that is affecting your child's grades.

When we don't pay attention to what is or isn't coming home from school and how might our child be negatively impacted, we do our children a disservice!  We assume that they are learning, growing, and doing their very best in school when that may not be the case.

Also, watch those notes that don't request your feedback, but give you an option to opt your child out of some event, teaching, etc.  It is very easy for a teacher to come back later and say, "Well we wouldn't have introduced that subject matter to your child had you responded to the notice that you received." 

Nicholl McGuire also maintains a blog for new parents who simply want the basics when raising young as well as older children, stop by: Parents, Babies, Children for families who have babies, children and tweens.