The bond between a parent and child flourishes when there is trust, basic needs being met and a sense of security in the home. However, with the stresses of everyday life; whether it’s layoff week at work or that morning coffee maker that just wont turn on again, it can be easy to forget about your child’s education after they get home from preschool.

A child learns by repetition, so even if the child learned to raise their hand when they would like to speak instead of just calling out, practicing this at home gives the child the impression of its importance and you would be more likely to see consistent results.

Parents need to stay informed about what their children are learning in school and what they may have been having trouble with so they can work on it at home. Doing this will make the child feel much more confident and eager to get to school.

The best way to keep your child interested and eager to learn is by play. Children learn a lot through playing with cars (to learn how things work), dolls (to learn communication and enhance identifying feelings), coloring (creativity and self expression), blocks (to create new things) and even puppets (to model positive behaviors).

There are many benefits to setting aside time in the day for learning. Not only does it build routine, but children retain more information during this stage of development than any other. A child who is read to at night before bed tends to have better dreams, identify words and build vocabulary.

Parents need to be proactive in their child’s education, but schools need to reach out to parents about what would benefit the child as well. Between flyers, fundraisers (getting parents involved), social gatherings, parent conferences, emails, phone calls or even creating a schedule for at home learning.

Also, keep in mind that parents have a lot going on in their busy lives sometimes so it’s important before the first day of school to work out a good routine for open communication. Promote a positive attitude by telling parents, “help me, help your child… learn.”