Parents -- do u supplement your kids' academics? (home, neighborhood)

[joyinthejourney]

If so, how? I just feel like the overall educational system is lacking quite a bit. We've done workbooks but want some other ideas of what other parents do.

[RVD90277]

Of course. Don't all Asian parents?

We just buy workbooks from Costco and typically work 1 grade level higher than the current grade. Sometimes we use books from Kumon.

For books, we just stick to the classics.

[joyinthejourney]

lol... i honestly didn't consider myself a typical asian tiger mom but seriously, the schoolwork is pretty dull...kids need to compete w/ the rest of the world and the US system is falling behind.

[flyingsaucermom]

Kumon is big in my neighborhood, but there are quite a few options.

[analogkid84]

I think workbooks can be a reasonable approach to supplementary work, especially over the summer, but it also just seems like busy work, which they get enough of during the school year. I have little appreciation for Kumon, Sylvan, and other such businesses as I think the parents could fill many of the roles with which they are just willing to schlep their kids off to yet another place after school and pay for it. This is lazy. There are many viable resources available on the internet for helping yourself help your kids; Khan Academy is a great one. As we home schooled for several years, we understand that learning things all over again as adults is often required. But if we''re not willing to put in the work, then it's hard to expect them to do the same. Tutoring on occasion is one thing, as our son used tutoring last year to help get through physics. I understand that not everyone is still well versed in, or remembers such topics. I actually did a Calculus I and Physics I course through Coursera, and tried to work ahead, just so I could be a better resource at home for him. It has been 20+ years since I've had to deal with most of that type of coursework, so reinforcing the topics helped a great deal.

Alternatively, we try to have discussions at home on the various subjects they are in at school. We keep it very informal and open, and allow to tangent off sometimes. Our son is taking calculus as a HS senior and we discussed the derivative and its applications for 20 minutes last week. He is also very much a history buff, so he really likes to talk about that. As it is a midterm election year, he just registered to vote as he turns 18 in a couple of weeks, so his government class is well placed this semester as well.

My daughter is taking environmental science as a freshman, so there are myriad opportunities for discussion there. Maybe it doesn't necessarily help her answer that multiple choice problem on a test, but I'd rather they have an overall deeper understanding of the concepts that are, understandably, covered at a very shallow level.

There's a lot we can do to help augment their education and be involved. It doesn't come without a lot of time and work though - but time is short with them.

[Kayela]

A fantastic teacher once told me - "Just read to them. Whatever else you do, making them lifelong readers makes them lifelong learners. Teach them to love reading."

[Transmition]

If they like to read then all you need to do is give them access to a load of encyclopedia on everything. That takes care of science, history, geography, etc. It will also greatly improve their writing. That really only leaves math, for which you are better off just helping them understand what they are currently doing in school.

[RVD90277]

i will say that i taught my son a lot of math so he's in 3rd grade but knows most of the 4th grade math (and beyond) so we did his times tables (until 12x12), division, long division, and fractions. however, with common core math he has had to re-learn a lot of it since 3x5 != 5x3 depending on the wording of the question.

btw, i think common core math is stupid but oh well...

[flyingsaucermom]

I am teaching my kids Spanish at home. I bought three different lesson plan/workbooks and I'm making flashcard, making conversation scripts and tailoring everything to my children's learning style....

We are also having them do IXL online for math outside of their assignments.

[sean98125]

Instill a love of reading for fun. Nothing is better for a kid than a passion for books. The more they read, the better their grasp of the world and people around them.