Parent Talk

Each week, our Parents Council of experts takes your questions, gives advice and shares solutions.

Moms, dads, grandparents and the diverse families who make up our community will have a new resource for questions about local neighborhood schools, the best pediatricians, 24-hour pharmacies and the thousands of other issues that arise while raising children.

This week’s question is:

How can I keep my child engaged in the lessons he/she is learning at school and foster creativity?

Judy Vincent:
In regards to my 6-year-old first grader, it’s hard for her to do homework.  It’s a long exhausting day followed by a bus trip home. I make sure she has a snack when she gets home to refuel and I find that frequent breaks work better than trying to do it all in one sitting. Children need to unwind before tackling all this homework. Also, a good homework night equals a nice dessert after dinner.

Safia Sattaur:
I try to reinforce whatever my child learns in his toddler classes by repeating the activity or similar activities at home with him. I display his artwork at home, so he can remember the experience and see that mommy is proud of what he did. This encourages him to want to do it again.

Jacqueline Montgomery:
Preventing summer learning loss is one thing, but even trying to get your kids to remember what they did during the week at school is another.

Every night, at dinner, everyone takes a turn discussing the day. It is important for your children to know that you are listening, even if it was he who threw the sandwich at the other kid! So during that time, there are many ways to elicit information on what they learned. One way is to repeat what they said, engage in the topic and make plans for something that is similar to it.

For example, if your young child learned about transportation, make a date to go on a local Long Island Rail Road from one point to another. They will never forget. The other way is to take turns reading. They will remember exponentially.