"Parents and families are the first and most important teachers. If families teach a love of learning, it can make all the difference in the world to our children."

Richard W. Riley
U.S. Secretary of Education

Here are some reading, writing, math, social studies and health Home Learning Recipe activities. These have been developed by the Home and School Institute. Parents of fourth and fifth graders find them to be easy and enjoyable ways to work with the school-- using materials they have at home to build their children's skills. Many of the activities focus on talk--sharing ideas and feelings, providing information, and responding to the needs of youngsters to grow as separate and responsible individuals.

Reading Activities

A Lifetime of Reading--Encourage lifelong reading. Read with your youngsters by taking roles in stories and acting out dramatic poems. Whenever possible, tape record these sessions. Then listen to and enjoy these performances together.

Street Smarts--Put reading skills to practical use. Gather bus and subway route maps and schedules to a special place in your area--the zoo, a museum, a football stadium. Let your child plan a trip for friends or family. Figure out the travel time required, the cost, and the best time to make the trip.

TV And The World--Connect current events to TV viewing. Post a world map next to the TV set. Watch the TV news with your children and have them locate world news spots. Keep reference books such as dictionaries and the world almanac close by. In this way, children find answers to questions when their curiosity is high.

Writing Activities

Writing Instead Of Talking--Exchange notes instead of words at different times during the day--when getting up in the morning, at dinner, or at bedtime--or whenever the noise level becomes too high.

Day-by-Day Calendar--Turn a large calendar--commercial or home-made--into a personalized family communication center. Have your children fill in the blanks with morning messages, weather reports, birthdays, special activities, or notes to the family.

Math Activities

On The Move--Sharpen math skills on trips. Use even short trips around town. For example, at the gas station, ask your child how much gas you needed and the cost per gallon. On the highway, ask your children to read the signs and check the different speed limits. Then ask them to watch the speedometer readings and notice how fast or slow the car is going. Have your children estimate distances between cities and check the estimates on a road map.

Newspaper Math--Use the Weather section to check temperatures across the nation and the world. This is good geography practice, too. Discuss baseball and football scores and averages on the sports pages. Who are the high scores? What are the percentages?

Social Studies Activities

History Time Line--Record history at home. Stretch a roll of shelf paper along the floor. Use a ruler to make a line about three feet long. (Use a separate sheet for each child.) Ask your children to fill in the important dates in their own lives, starting with their birth. Those familiar with U.S. history can fill in major dates since the founding of our country. Display these finished time lines in a special place for all to see.

The Foreign Touch--Travel abroad at home. Visit ethnic shops, food stores, and restaurants in your community. Before the trip, have your children find on a map different countries you will "visit." After the trip, encourage your children to talk about what they have seen.

These activities may sound too easy to do any good. Make no mistake. They work. They build children's interest in learning and this translates into achievement both in school and beyond. Think of these as starter activities to get your ideas going. There are opportunities everywhere for teaching and learning.

Take a little time to do a lot of good!

For more information on other publications to help your children learn call:

1-800-USA-LEARN
U.S. Department of Education

These home learning "recipes" have been tested and developed by Dr. Dorothy Rich, author of MegaSkills, for the National Education Association and The Home and School Institute, 1994.