A few of my favorite tips and tools for parents helping their kids at home. I’ll keep adding to this page as I find new gems.
Reading at home
- Read aloud, every day, at every age. Even older elementary kids benefit from being read to. It builds vocabulary, comprehension, and a love of stories.
- Let them re-read favorites. It builds fluency and confidence. The 47th reading of Pete the Cat is doing more than you think.
- Make the library a habit. Five books a visit, no pressure to finish them all.
Writing at home
- Mailbox letters. Have your child write a note to a grandparent or friend, mail it, and watch them light up when a response comes back.
- Journals are gold. No prompts needed. Just a notebook and a few minutes a day.
- Skip the spelling police. When kids are first writing, focus on getting ideas down. Spelling can come on a second pass.
Math at home
- Cook together. Measuring is fraction practice. Doubling a recipe is multiplication. Setting a timer is time.
- Play board games and card games. Tons of math under the surface — counting, strategy, probability.
- Talk about money. Letting kids handle real coins and bills builds number sense fast.
Useful links
A placeholder list — Andrea will swap in her favorite trusted resources. Some good starting points for parents:
- Reading A-Z and similar leveled reading sites
- Khan Academy Kids (free, ages 2–8)
- Bedtime Math (free, fun word problems for the whole family)
- Your local library’s homework help portal
Have a resource you love? Send it my way — I’m always collecting good ones.