I always tell SD that she needs to try
her best, not to look and compare herself to her friends or teacher or anything. Just herself. We are not comparing her work to her classmates' when she brings it home nor are we thinking of what the experts say she should be able to do at her age level.
We are looking at what she was doing last year and at the beginning of this year. We encourage her to learn, grow, and do better each and every year.
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So, on this paper she is promising to bring home 'good school papers.' The most important part of her promise statement though is that each paper should 'show the BEST and BRIGHTEST ME.'
We want her to be proud of herself, her work, and everything she does. We want her to think of this while she is at school, not just at home or when we are talking to her about it. So, my hope is that when she is at school she will think of this paper and be excited to come home and write in many new numbers for all the great assignments she brings home.
I left the numbers blank so that she can fill them in herself. A way for her to practice her handwriting, number writing, counting, and all the while becoming more and more proud of herself and her accomplishments.
When creating one of these contracts for your child, always:
- Encourage them to be them. Make sure they understand that you just want them to be proud of what they can do. They are very important, and they need to feel that way.
- Explain or show what is expected. Clearly identify what you mean by being their BEST. Show them work samples that they did in the past that illustrate their BEST work.
- Allow lots of participation for the child. Like how I allowed space for SD to add in her own numbers as she brings home good assignments. Hang it on the fridge and allow them to show it off when it begins filling up.
- Make sure they understand every word in the promise. I know SD may not fully understand the words 'promise' or 'brightest', and I could have used 'smartest' instead of 'brightest.' However I chose not to because I like to allow ample opportunities each day for her to grow her vocabulary. Don't underestimate what your kids can learn. Also, using the analogy of the word 'brightest' to a light bulb, SD can visually imagine herself glowing rather than stuffed into a book ('smartest').
What ways do you use to help your kids succeed in school?
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