5 Steps That Take 5 Minutes and Can Supercharge Your Child’s Education

The quality of a child’s education can change their whole life. Unfortunately, many parents feel helpless or unequipped to be their child’s education advocate. Not only this, we don’t have a whole lot of time on our hands. Here are five things that take only five minutes and can supercharge your child’s education.

1. Research your schooling options. No two children are the same, as every parent knows. So it’s important to research your child’s education options and choose the one that works best for them. For some children, the school down the street might be the right fit, but for many, that’s not the case. Fortunately, you have options. Washington’s “Choice Law” allows students to transfer to another public school, even outside the school district. This includes 17 fully online public schools. (For more about how to research your options or make a transfer, visit our reader-friendly guide, Online Learning 101—includes questions to ask and how to enroll.) Five minutes will show you what your schooling options are and get you closer to making the decision that’s right for your family.  
2. Try an online tool or game to supplement your child’s learning. The internet is positively packed with fantastic learning tools and games that parents can use to help supplement students’ learning. One of our favorites, Khan Academy, even allows parents to track their child’s progress and serve as a well-informed learning coach. Whether it’s SAT prep, foreign language, group study, reading, math, you name it—the resources are available to help your child go above and beyond—or catch up with—what’s being covered in class. For information about online tools and games, read our “Friday Fun with Learning” series or visit our Learning Resources! page. Take five minutes, pick one, and give it a try!
3. Share your favorite online tools with your child’s teacher. If you find a great resource that helps your child succeed, make sure your teacher knows about it. The best way to get innovation in the classroom is for parents to ask for it. In only five minutes, you can make a phone call or send an email that just might change your child’s educational experience this year.
4. Connect with other parents and find out what they’re doing to help their children learn. What better way to know if something helps students succeed than to hear it from another parent? You can connect by 1) sending a message to a friend and asking them for ideas or 2) finding us on Facebook and joining the conversation there.
5. Watch a video or read a blog and learn more about the possibilities in education today. Education is changing dramatically—for the better. Take five minutes to read about those changes and broaden your understanding of the possibilities for your child. Follow us on Facebook to get quick, easy updates on the latest videos and articles from us and our favorite sites (Getting Smart’s blog, EdWeek, and eSchoolNews, among many others).

Here’s a summer challenge for parents: Take five minutes a day, try these steps, and see what happens. You’ll be amazed what 25 minutes/week can mean for your child’s education.

If you have questions or need help with any of the 5 Steps listed above, contact the iLearn Project at info@iLearnProject.com. We’re here to help! You can also post questions or comments on our Facebook page and get feedback not only from us but also from other parents!