Participate in your child's education… by sharing artistic or culinary skills in the classroom, joining a committee, or just talking to your child about her day. Here are some excellent ways to understand her experiences, to show interest in her discoveries, and to contribute to her classroom. How can you make the time you spend learning about or being at day care or school Comfort, Play & Teach™ time?

Comfort

Visit the classroom, and lead a cooking activity, share a special tradition or even read a picture book. It gives your child a chance to feel great pride and helps him to know how much you value the things you do together as a family. It also helps transform his classroom into a warmer community of caring.

Talk to your child about what is happening to her at day care or school. If she has any concerns, reassure her that you are there to help. Speak to your child’s teacher regularly, in order to know about and address issues as they arise. Your child will feel secure knowing that you support her.

Play

Let your child be the teacher! Ask her about what he is learning. Is it an activity you can try at home? Go out with your child to get needed materials and then invite your child to show you how to do it. Role-play being a student and ask lots of questions, allowing your child to really demonstrate what he has learned.

Get to know your child’s friends, and meet their parents. Set up play dates so that you can spend quality time together outside of the classroom. These children and families may be important to your child for years to come. Help your child build her lasting friendships by caring about the people she plays with.

Teach

Do you have a special skill like cooking, storytelling or playing a musical instrument? Consider sharing your talent and knowledge with the teachers and children. You may not realize how enriching the things you do in the classroom are for the children, or how much your example encourages their learning.

Participate in family and fundraising events. While this supports the efforts of the school or day care, it also teaches your child values like community, caring and volunteerism. You set a very powerful example for your child. If you show how much you care about what goes on your child’s world, then he will care too.