Soon student’s will receive their report cards and as parent it is best to be ready for what is coming. Be prepared to keep your composure and not show your child if you are disappointed with the results. If your show anger towards the marks or the teacher your child will pick up on this and will start to feel defensive and not take responsibility for their role in the marks. At this time your child needs your support and encouragement.
When you are reviewing the marks it is important to pay close attention to the comments. Do they match what the mark is? Are they what you would expect of your child? Sometimes the teacher will provide suggestions for improvement. This information will help you to come up with plan for what you should do next.
The comments in a report card will also help you to understand your child’s social and organizational skills. Comments such as lack of preparation for class may indicate that your child needs your assistance to develop this skill. It could be as simple as they forget their pencil case at home each day. To help them you may put up a checklist where they keep their back pack to ensure that they have what they need. If the comment is that your child does not work well in a group you may want to consider a team sport that will help them to develop this skill.
Your child may get good grades in some subjects and not in others. When your child is doing well in a specific subject chances are they have an interest in this subject. This is important to remember when choosing extracurricular activities for your child. There are summer camps and clubs that cater to different subject areas. If they are struggling in an area you will want to get them help right away so they do not develop a negative attitude towards it. Scholar’s Choice’s Check and Double Check homework books are an excellent resource for the child that is struggling in math or language arts.
Report cards should not be a surprise. If you are reviewing your child’s work consistently you should know what is coming.
