At Rebounderz Trampoline Park, we’re passionate about providing a fun and safe environment for children to exercise and play. While our focus is on fitness, your child’s development at school is equally important. With that in mind, we’ve gathered some of the best ways you can help your child succeed in school. When you’re looking for a great way to let your little one decompress after a long day of school, bring them into Rebounderz here in Edison! We know they’ll love our foam pit and Ninja Warrior course.

-Meet With Your Child’s Teacher

Typically, the best time to do this is at the beginning of the school year. Meeting with your child’s teacher will help you get an idea of what will be covered through the year. Let the teacher know you want to help your child succeed. Ask them to contact you if any problems develop with your child so you can get involved. When you create a strong partnership with your child’s teacher, you can work together to help your child find success and a love of education. Don’t stop with just the teacher though; get to know as much of the staff at the school as you can. That will also help you be more comfortable with the learning environment they will be spending every day in.

-Attend Parent-Teacher Conferences

After you’ve built a partnership with your child’s teacher, it’s important you attend parent-teacher conferences to touch base and get an idea of how your child is progressing. This is also a great opportunity to speak to your child in conjunction with their teacher, which can help them understand what they’re doing well with and what they need to work on. Take this chance to gauge your child’s comfort level with different subjects they are working and what they’re finding the most interesting. When you know what is connecting with your child, you and their teacher can help foster that interest.

-Visit the School and Its Website

When you know what the layout of your child’s school looks like, you’re able to connect with your child as they tell you about the events of the day. Most schools or school districts have consistently updated websites with information regarding lunch schedules, testing dates, days without school, and upcoming events like class field trips. That will help you keep track of what’s going on in the day-to-day of school, which means you can remind your child of important events they need to prepare for. Many teachers have begun to update websites with homework information and supplemental learning, so it can be a very valuable resource for both you and your child.

-Set and Support Homework Expectations

When your child is going through elementary school, they are learning study habits that they will need to succeed throughout their schooling. Additionally, this teaches them a sense of responsibility and work ethic that can extend past the classroom. Ensure your child knows the importance of their homework and that they should make it a priority. Provide them with a well-lit, quiet, distraction-free space to study in. It’s recommended you set a start and end time to work on homework every night so they have a defined schedule to get their work done during.

When your child gets in the practice of handling their homework every night, they’re less likely to fall behind in school. It’s important that you’re available to them during their study time to provide advice, interpret assignment instructions, and review the completed work. However, you will need to resist the urge to give them the correct answers or complete the assignments yourself. Help them reach the correct answers on their own. Not only does that give them the knowledge to handle a test where you won’t be present, they’ll gain a sense of accomplishment when they’re able to answer correctly. They’ll also learn the value of making mistakes and how to correct them.

-Send Your Child to School Ready to Learn

One of the most important pieces when it comes to helping your child be successful is starting off the day with a nutritious breakfast. When a kid has a good breakfast in the morning, they will have more energy and be more attentive in school. This is absolutely vital to helping them do well in school, as they will be ready to listen and apply what they are learning without a rumbling stomach to distract them. Your child will also have better health, which means fewer trips to the nurse’s office and fewer days spent absent from school.

The other factor you need to consider is how much sleep your child is getting on a nightly basis. School-age kids typically need somewhere between ten and twelve hours of sleep a night in order to have enough energy to get through the school day. When a child doesn’t get enough sleep, they can become irritable or hyper, which makes it difficult for them to properly pay attention to what is being taught in class. Establish a consistent bedtime routine and remove tempting diversions like TV, video games, and internet access to help them fall asleep on time.

-Develop Organizational Skills

Something that both kids and adults struggle with is staying organized. Help your child develop these skills early on and they’ll carry them on into adulthood. When your child is organized, they’ll have their homework in order, understand what needs to be accomplished for the day, and overall have a better grasp on their surroundings and responsibilities. That will ensure papers that need to come home don’t get left at school.

Teach your child how to use a calendar or daily planner so they can lay out what needs to be done on a daily basis. Show them how to make a to-do list so they can prioritize activities in the proper order. Nobody was born with great organizational skills; they have to be taught, practiced, and refined to fit what works for each person. Set up a box for papers that need to be signed or reviewed, another for graded papers and report cards, and one for papers that can be recycled or are otherwise no longer needed.

-Familiarize Yourself With the School Code of Conduct

The school will detail their code of conduct and disciplinary policies within the student handbook. Included will be information about attendance, cheating, violence, and bullying. When you have an exact frame of reference for what the school’s policies are, you’ll be able to provide advice to your child when a strange situation comes up. It will also help you keep them on a well-behaved path to avoid getting into trouble. Review the code of conduct with your child so you’re both on the same page regarding what is expected of them in school.

-Get Involved

Throughout the school year, there will be many opportunities to volunteer for school events. When your child attends one of these events that you’re volunteering at, it can make them more comfortable with a potentially strange and new activity they haven’t encountered before. However, not every child appreciates having their parents around, as they can feel embarrassed about it. If that’s the case, you can take a more behind-the-scenes approach to your volunteering. Let them know you’re not trying to spy on them and that you’re just trying to do your part to help the school community. Whether you’re being a classroom helper, chaperoning a field trip, or attending school board meetings, getting involved will be a great help to your child, their teacher, and the school as a whole. The school website will usually have a list of volunteering opportunities that you can reference. Ask your child what they would be comfortable with you helping with so they have some input in this activity.

There are so many ways that you can help your child succeed in school, but we hope these help you get started on the right pathway. You’re giving your kid the tools to succeed not only right now in elementary school but through college and adulthood. Organization, work ethic, and getting proper nutrition and sleep can help no matter what age you are. If you want a great, safe place to get your kids active and moving, bring them into Rebounderz here in Edison! Whether they’re bouncing around in the trampoline park, safely diving into the foam pit, or running and jumping on the Ninja Warrior course, we know there’s something for everyone to enjoy. We hope to see you here soon!