What should you do if your child is struggling in school?
Your child may have started the year on a positive note. Perhaps they were excited to bring their new supplies to school, reconnect with their friends after a long summer, and begin classes with a new teacher. Now that the school year is well underway, however, you may be noticing some struggles. Your child might have difficulty learning new reading, writing, or math concepts; they may express negativity towards school; or perhaps they are spending an excruciatingly long time completing their homework. If your child is showing challenges at school, be proactive and take action before these struggles become even greater. Try some of the ideas below.
Reading
Younger children in kindergarten and early elementary school need to learn how to decode, or sound out, words accurately and with fluency. As children move towards upper elementary school, there is typically a shift from learning to read to reading to learn, where the emphasis on comprehension becomes even greater. Try to have your child read out loud to you as much as possible at home so you can gauge their reading progress. When kids are very young, you should read aloud to them to expose them to books and language. Once they begin reading, have them read basic decodable books out loud to you, at least one per night. You can even alternate reading, where your child reads a basic book on their reading level out loud to you and you read a more complex, engaging book out loud to them, then discuss both books. As your child gets older, perhaps set up family reading time, where you designate a half hour or hour each night to reading together as a family. During this time, every family member chooses a book or any type of reading material to read, and together you gather in a comfortable space and quietly read. The more exposure to books and language, the better!
Writing
Young children start by learning how to write lower and upper case letters using proper top-to-bottom formations. As they got older, they move onto writing words, sentences, stories, paragraphs, and essays. Writing involves many components, including handwriting, spelling, sentence structure, grammar, organization, and more. If you notice your child is struggling with any aspect of writing, speak to their teacher about what you can do at home to reinforce their writing and see if there is any extra support their teacher or school can provide. At home, you may want to encourage your child to keep a journal and free write every night about their day, with no concerns about spelling, punctuation, grammar, or any formal aspects of writing. The more writing they do at home, the less intimidating the skill will feel to them, and the more you can observe their writing growth.
Math
Some children thrive with reading and writing but struggle with math. They may have difficulty with foundational concepts, like addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. Others have trouble with the organizational aspects of math, like lining up numbers properly which, if not done correctly, can lead to incorrect answers. Many kids struggle with multi-step word problems, where they must grasp what the problem is asking for and figure out a way to come up with the answer. If your child is struggling with any aspect of math, speak to their teacher about giving you extra worksheets or materials you can do at home with your child to reinforce these skills.
Assessment & Tutoring
If your child continues to struggle in school and you notice these struggles are becoming greater, set up a meeting with their teacher, even if it’s not time for parent-teacher conferences. Explain to their teacher what you are noticing at home and see if the teacher is noticing any challenges in class. If the struggles persist, you may want to consider having your child evaluated to see if perhaps they have a learning disability, like dyslexia, dysgraphia, or dyscalculia. If so, they should be entitled to services at school to help with their areas of challenge. Outside tutoring may help them as well to build their core reading, writing, or math skills.
If your child is struggling in school, take action! Don’t wait until the struggles continue; be proactive rather than reactive. In doing so, you will set your child up to feel confident and successful in school.