How Is My First Grader Doing in School? What to Expect and How to Help

It may surprise parents to realize that the best way to support a child's education is not to spend extra time teaching them new information. Toss the home workbooks and flashcards, suggests educator and author Jennifer Richard Jacobson. Instead, spend your "teaching" time learning about your child. What are your child's weaknesses, strengths, and passions? What are the academic expectations of a first grader? What are they supposed to be doing socially at this stage of development?

With all this crucial information in hand, Jacobson then helps parents figure out simple and spontaneous home activities that will foster strengths, boost areas of weakness, and recognize innate interests. A child who is struggling with phonics may benefit from writing a grocery list with a parent. "Let's see, how should we spell macaroni?" a father might ask. A child who loves math will blossom when offered a chance to work with patterned beading projects, or play a game of Mancala with mom, or go on a scavenger hunt for items with specific numbers written on them. Each book in the series contains a teacher-approved assessment booklet, so parents can evaluate their children's skills in a low-stress home situation. Whether your child attends public or private school, How Is My First Grader Doing? is an excellent (and smoothly written) resource for parents and their children. --Gail Hudson