Just before your little sweetie tosses that bookbag across the floor when they get home ask them to grab a sheet of paper and pencil as soon as they get home. You want to ask them to show and tell you two. 

We’re going to use this strategy as a quick way for your child to review, recall, and retell you what they learned today . Either you can choose two subjects or they can but they need to show you two things that they learned today academically and tell you two things that they learned (any lesson will do). 

There’s so much that happens within a school day and mini-lessons can be lost if they don’t realize that they were lessons. Maybe your child will show you a reading strategy, how to multiply fractions, don’t share secrets with a friend after a disappointing event in the lunch room and don’t EVER try to whisper answers during a test because two classmates got detention.

Doing this allows you to share in a bit of your child’s day as well as get a glimpse into how attentive they are in their school environment. It will also let you know what’s challenging for them if they can’t reteach it to you and where they may need some additional support academically. It’s also a nice segway into some deeper conversations without feeling like you’re preaching to your kids but participating in some real-life experiences that are important to them. 

There are so many benefits to this strategy and it only takes five minutes or less to make a huge impact in your child’s day. Keep these sheets in a composition notebook for some sweet memories to look back on later.