Advice You Can Give Parents To Support Students at Home

As a former classroom teacher in the public school system, I know first hand that teachers want to provide their students with the most support possible, and I also know that what happens at home is just as impactful as what's done in the classroom. But while teachers can’t be in their students’ living rooms, they can equip their caregivers with the tools they need to extend learning beyond the classroom walls.
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Many parents want to help but simply don’t know how. By providing strategies, teachers can empower families to become active participants in their children’s education. They can help them create an environment that fosters curiosity, responsibility, resilience, and a love for learning. Here is some practical advice you can give parents to support students at home.

Some Scheduling Structure at Home Is Important

In the classroom, educators rely on schedules to maintain order and maximize instructional time. The same principle applies at home. Encourage parents to create a daily schedule that includes dedicated time for homework, reading, play, and rest.

It doesn’t have to be rigid, but having a general flow to after-school hours is helpful. This structure can also help children transition from school mode to home mode. Furthermore, consistency builds habits. When homework happens at the same time every day and is always followed by play, it becomes an expected, smoothed-out part of the routine rather than a daily battle of wills.

A Clean, Neat Home Is Best for Learning

Teachers spend hours designing our classrooms to be optimal learning spaces. They consider lighting, seating arrangements, and organization to create the best possible scenario for students.

While we can’t expect parents to replicate a classroom setting exactly, classroom teachers can advise them on how to set up a dedicated homework station. This space should be quiet, well-lit, and free from distractions like television or video games. It doesn’t need to be a separate office; a corner of the kitchen table works perfectly fine if it’s clutter-free during homework time.

But it’s also important to have parents think beyond a dedicated study station. The state of the home as a whole also affects a child’s ability to focus on homework. So you can suggest that parents involve their kids in cleaning up around the home. This does two things:
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1. It keeps the home clean and organized, which benefits everyone living there. The parents get to enjoy a more relaxing living space, and kids get to experience an environment that is conducive to learning and studying.
2. It teaches kids the essential life skill of cleaning up.

Tell parents to involve their children in simple ways. That could be something like packing and storing their stuffed animals or sweeping the floors after dinner. Essentially, kids should have a few manageable, age-appropriate chores to perform that will contribute to a clean, focus-worthy home.

A Growth Mindset Should Be Encouraged and Modeled

Preach growth mindsets in your classrooms daily. Teach students that mistakes are opportunities for learning and that intelligence is malleable. However, this message needs reinforcement at home to truly stick. And parents sometimes inadvertently promote a fixed mindset by praising intelligence (“You’re so smart!”) rather than effort (“Good job working really hard on that problem!”).

Guide parents to shift their language. Instead of focusing on the grade, encourage them to ask about the process. Suggest questions like these:
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• How did you figure that out?
• What strategy did you use?
• What part was challenging for you?
• What will you do differently next time?

Furthermore, parents should model this mindset themselves. When they struggle with a task, whether it’s a household repair or a complex recipe, they should verbalize their thought process. Letting their children hear them say, “This is hard, but I’m going to try a different way,” is powerful modeling. It shows students that adults struggle too and that giving up isn’t the answer. This resilience is a critical component of social-emotional learning and will serve students well throughout their academic careers.

Kids Should Be Reading at Home (Even if It’s Audibly)

Literacy is the foundation of all learning, and students who read well perform better across all subjects. If parents can get their kids to read outside of the classroom, then these lucky students can show up to school even sharper and more prepared to perform well.
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The trick is to get at-home reading to feel fun, not like another homework assignment. One method is to have parents read aloud to their children, even after they can read independently. This exposes students to higher-level vocabulary, complex sentence structures, varying genres, and fluent reading prosody with very little effort on their end.

Audiobooks are another fantastic resource. They allow students to access texts that might be above their decoding level but are appropriate for their comprehension level.

And make sure to remind parents that literacy isn’t developed solely through books. Kids can become stronger readers by practicing with recipes, street signs, cereal boxes, instructions for board games, and other everyday texts.

Playing With Kids Is Actually Essential

In our push for academic rigor, we sometimes forget that play is the work of the child. It is largely through play that children develop social skills, creativity, problem-solving abilities, and emotional regulation. Parents might feel pressure to fill every free moment with structured enrichment activities, but unstructured play is just as vital.

Therefore, advise parents to carve out time for screen-free play. Building blocks, dramatic play, outdoor exploration, and board games all offer rich opportunities for learning. For instance, board games teach turn-taking, following rules, strategy, and sportsmanship. Outdoor play develops gross motor skills and encourages scientific observation.

And let parents know that conversation is a critical component of play. As families engage in activities together, the dialogue that emerges supports oral language development. Overall, we want parents to improve their kids’ learning through conversation and play in any way that works for their family. These don’t constitute a break from learning; they are learning in its purest form.

You Need Them To Trust and Partner With You

Finally, the bridge between home and school is built on communication. Parents need to know that we are on the same team. So encourage them to reach out with questions or concerns before they become major issues.

Additionally, transparency about what’s happening at home helps teachers. If a family is going through a difficult time, knowing that context allows them to provide the necessary support in the classroom. When parents and teachers share information, they can create a wrap-around support system that meets the unique needs of each learner.
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Use this advice to empower parents to support students at home, and remember that it’s an ongoing process that depends on meeting families where they are. Not every caregiver is as involved in their child’s education as we would like, and some might feel a bit too involved. Likewise, every family has different resources, responsibilities, and capabilities. As a teacher, the best you can do is approach every student’s situation with openness, flexibility, and tailored input.

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What is one simple routine parents can start at home to better support learning?

How can teachers help parents understand the importance of play in child development?

Which at-home literacy activity do you think has the biggest impact on students?

How can teachers encourage a growth mindset beyond the classroom?

What communication strategies help strengthen trust between teachers and families?

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​Please leave your comments below.  
Your feedback is always appreciated.

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