Give your child a plan for handling mistakes: Admit them, fix them, learn from them, and figure out how to avoid repeating them.
Brainstorm together about where you’d go on a dream vacation.
Ask your child: “Do you think honesty is always the best policy? Why or why not?”
Go on a nature walk with your child. Can you each find things you have never seen before?
Ask your child to guess which ingredients or vitamins are in a food. Then check the label.
Give your child a history lesson. What was life like 30 years ago?
Do you have to drive your child to activities? Use car time to talk.
Point out the position of the sun. See if your child knows what it can tell you.
Ask how many two-scoop combinations your child can make with three flavors of ice cream. Try one together.
Listen to your child’s concerns and acknowledge his or her feelings, but discourage whining.
Remind your child that school is his or her job. It comes before sports, hobbies, and recreational screen time.
Ask your child to tell you how to get from one place to another. Follow his or her directions together to see if they are accurate.
Write your child notes and ask him or her to write back.
Send your child on a “fraction search” through the news. What kinds of articles have the most fractions?
Suggest that your child keep paper and pencil handy while reading. He or she can use it to jot down unknown words and look them up later.
Check out two copies of the same book from the library so you and your child can read together.
Help your child bake cookies today. Review math skills by doubling the recipe.
Celebrate Earth Day coming up by doing something good for the environment, such as mending or repurposing an item rather than throwing it out.
Let your child overhear you saying something positive about him or her to someone else.
Ask your child to estimate the length of something. Then have him or her measure to see if they're right.