Madison Public Schools
Lee S. Nittel, Director of Curriculum
December 2012
Daily Learning Planner: Ideas Parents Can Use to Help
o 1. Start a good habit with your child.
o 2. Does your child ride a bike? Review the rules of bicycle safety today.
o 3. Ask your child to go through her room and pick out items she can
donate to a charity.
o 4. Allow your child to subscribe to a magazine he’d enjoy, as long as it’s
age-appropriate and high-quality.
o 5. Ask your child to make greeting cards for nursing
home residents.
o 6. Ask your child what she likes most about her classes.
o 7. Tell a story with your child. Take turns adding sentences.
o 8. Ask each family member to select two items that have special meaning.
Put them in a family time capsule and plan to open it in 10 years.
o 9. Test your child’s observation skills. Can he describe someone that just
passed you on the street? Challenge each other.
o 10. Do a taste test with your child. Try different brands of a food you like.
o 11. Suggest you and your child exchange “special surprises.” Do something unexpected for each other.
o 12. Watch a TV show with your child. Notice how men and women are
portrayed. Are the characters realistic?
o 13. React calmly if your child brings home a bad grade.
o 14. Teach your child a memory trick, such as “Columbus sailed the ocean
Students Do Better in School—Try a New Idea Every Day!
o 17. Bake cookies with your child. Decorate them creatively.
o 18. Ask your child what three autographs she would like to collect if she
could.
o 19. Give your child a camera and ask him to record “A day in the life of
our family.”
o 20. When you’re with your child, don’t feel the need to fill every minute
with talk. Silence can speak louder than words.
o 21. Provide some “personal space” for your child.
o 22. Take your child to the library and research her dream career.
o 23. Teach your child to read the utility meters and help determine the
amount of water, gas and/or electricity you use.
o 24. See if your child can list the other planets besides Earth.
o 25. Write your child a letter about how wonderful you think he is.
o 26. Play a game of Scrabble® with your child to build word skills.
o 27. Talk with your child about her priorities.
o 28. Let your child “overhear” you talking positively about him.
o 29. Help your child organize her room.
o 30. Review the first half of the school year with your child.
o 31. Help your child set—and write down—goals for the coming year. Set
some goals for yourself as well.
blue in 1492.”
o 15. Give your child stress-relieving tips, such as counting to 10 silently
when angry.
o 16. Have one person call out names of famous people. Another person
can guess what that person did. Then look it up.
Copyright © 2012 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. • May be reproduced only as licensed by Helping Students Learn® newsletter • 1-800-756-5525