How Is My Second Grader Doing in School?: What to Expect and How to Help - Hardcover

Although parents tend to assume that second grade is a time when children know the ropes of school and are ready to be handed over to the system, "nothing could be farther from the truth," according to author and educator Jennifer Richard Jacobson. "You were your child's first teacher," she writes in How Is My Second Grader Doing?. "You are still your child's most important teacher. There is no time to hand over your child to the system." Chapter by chapter, Jacobson helps parents understand what the social and academic expectations are of second graders, and how important it is that parents support their children's academic success. Parents may be surprised (and relieved) to learn that support comes in the form of spontaneous playful interactions that advance skills, rather than stressful "tutoring" sessions with mom or dad.

A simple assessment booklet (enclosed inside the book) allows parents to evaluate where their children's strengths and passions lie and where they need support. Then Jacobson delves into numerous chapters on second grade expectations in reading, writing, and math. Each chapter offers dozens of manageable and relaxed parent-child activities that enhance important skills, such as how to "map" a story plot on a child's fingertips at bedtime, or how to play phonics games with restaurant menus. Math skills can be taught in almost any daily situation, even packaging leftovers. ("Do you think all these noodles will fit into this container?") She also devotes a chapter to helping parents learn how to best work with a child's teacher. --Gail Hudson