Supporting Your Child

Community of Learning

Check out details about opportunities in our Community of Learning by visiting the Nelson City Community of Learning website.

How to Help your Child Progress at School

Children progress at different rates through the school and no two children are the same. There are many ways in which parents/caregivers can assist their children at each developmental stage.

Health

  • School can be physically demanding and children require regular bedtimes, allow 8-10 hours sleep a night.

  • Lunches and playtime snacks should be high in energy to help them concentrate during the day.

  • Don’t forget, even though the children are busy at school, encouraging regular exercise is important.

Language

  • Take time to listen to your child. Through prompting encourage him/her to tell you what happened at school.

  • Only talk to your child when you have his/her attention.

  • Ask your child to repeat requests you have made to check he/she understands.

  • Discuss new places and experiences as they occur.

  • Hear your child read regularly.

  • Encourage a book environment by joining the local library and discussing the chosen books.

  • Draw your child’s attention to the spelling of words in his/her environment.

Mathematics

  • Encourage your child to become a problem solver through posing simple household or shopping problems.

  • Revise regularly the basic facts and times-tables, giving plenty of positive reinforcement for progress.

  • Encourage the use of technology in daily situations.

Topic Study

  • Develop an awareness of the world around him/her through current events.

  • Discuss similarities and differences between his/her lifestyles and those seen on television.

  • Assist your child’s research skills by helping to locate information.

  • Supervise your children as they search the internet for information.

  • Share your feelings on local issues.

General

  • Keep in touch with the class teacher and Principal. Let your child know you are interested in his/her education and believe it to be important.

  • Always talk positively about school in front of your child – save the problems to discuss with the teacher or Principal.

  • Make a point of telling the class teacher of any celebrations or times of upset and unhappiness in the family, as they will directly affect your child’s behaviour.

Internet Safety

  • The first step to safety is ensuring that your computer is secure. For information on computer security and the basic requirements go to www.netbasics.org.nz/

  • Make sure you know what your children are doing on your home computer.

  • Talk to them about keeping safe on the Internet.

  • Get them to use safe search engines www.wicked.org.nz/ and supervise searching if you can.

  • Check out your computer’s search history regularly so you know what sites your computer has been visiting.

  • Ensure your children are not downloading programmes/material/music by themselves as this is often a way unsafe material/viruses end up on computers.

The whole family can help…

Parents, caregivers, grandparents and older siblings all have crucial roles in effective cybersafety education for very young children. One can explore the Hector’s World website alongside a child, watch the episodes together, and help reinforce the key messages. Installing the Hector’s World Safety Button™ on the home computer, printing out the storybooks, playing with the puzzles, doing learning activities etc., can further reinforce these important harm prevention messages.
This information was taken from www.netsafe.org.nz