At the End of the Year: Look, Listen, Act

As the school year draws to a close, I advise parents to reflect on their child’s year by looking, listening and acting…the end of the year is a great time to take stalk and make a plan.

Look: at your child’s school work samples-is it legible, how was the spelling, what scores is he/she consistently achieving, how are his/her grades-any areas where the grades/score dipped? How did my child do last year, compare teacher comments-are there any echoing themes?  How does the arc of learning look for your child-are their reading scores consistently building, dipping? How is their reading comprehension-read with them-can they restate the main points of a text? Are they fumbling over sight words? Are math foundational skills building in addition, subtraction, multiplication, division? Do they need assistance to complete homework? Is this an area of frustration?   How is your child feeling about him/herself, how is his/her self-esteem? If so, then…

Listen: Talk to your child-ask him/her how she felt about the year-what things were fun, what things felt challenging; what things does he/she need to work on; what are their general feelings about school; are they struggling with attendance; anxiety around school performance; in what areas; how can this be supported at home and at school; how can things be different next year?  Read with them, engage in math activities with them, bring history alive with them and gauge academic, engagement skills.  Are they overwhelmed; are there areas of need? If so, then…

Act: Schedule an end of the year teacher meeting or an SST (student study team meeting) to develop a plan of action for the summer; for the upcoming school year and if need be, find outside support utilizing evidence-based curriculums and methodologies.

My Learning Farm www.mylearningfarm.com offers academic support utilizing evidence-based curriculums and methodologies in reading, writing, spelling, math in a space where students feel nurtured, valued, safe.