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Thoughts from Jim Perkins (Archive)
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Welcome Back to School
Students come back to school and most of them are starting a new grade. My wife is a teacher and she notices a great difference between the students that have parents, guardians, or relatives helping them from those that do not. But what should you do as that adult in your child's life to help? Scholastic.com offers these ideas and more:

• Kindergarten - Set aside plenty of reading time! Have conversations about books. Read together every day. Make frequent trips to the library and get your child her own card. Lay the groundwork for a lifelong love of reading.
• 1st Grade - Allow for time to run around. Your child still needs plenty of time to be active. Make sure he has free-play time in a park, playground, or backyard. Set limits on TV and computer time.
• 2nd Grade - Provide practical math materials. Put an analog clock in your child's bedroom. Use measuring cups to make a favorite recipe together. Supply a ruler and a measuring tape to explore the home environment.
• 3rd Grade - Give your child a good children's dictionary that will be useful for a few years. Show him how to look up a word he isn't sure how to spell and what information each definition offers: parts of speech, pronunciation guide, and multiple definitions.
• 4th Grade - Make use of organizational tools. Create a quiet and dedicated study area — a desk or special nook — for your child. Stock it with a container for pens and pencils, a small pencil sharpener, and a nice set of markers. Set her up for success with a homework notebook or other organizer.
• 5th Grade - Provide practical writing practice. Give your child a diary, help him find a pen pal, or even encourage supervised e-mail correspondence. The more your child writes, the more comfortable he'll become with this all-important skill. Let him whip up the grocery list or create a restaurant-style menu for dinner at home.
• Middle School - Provide the opportunity to explore. Is your child a budding thespian or the world's next Picasso? Give him the chance to really delve into an interest with an extracurricular class at a local art center or even a community college.

• Our teacher talks to herself; does yours? Yes, but she doesn't realise it; she thinks we're actually listening!
• PUPIL: Teacher, would you punish me for something I didn't do? TEACHER: Of course not. PUPIL: Good, because I didn't do my homework.
• I'm going to lead a long life. That's the only way I'll ever get caught up on all my homework.
• A teacher took her class on a nature trail through the woods. She stopped by a tree and said, `Brian, can you tell me what the outer part of a tree is called?' `I don't know, sir,' said Brian. `Bark, boy, bark!' said the teacher. `OK, sir,' said Brian. `Woof! Woof!'
• Teacher: How can you make so many mistakes in just one day ? Pupil: I get up early !
• Mother: How did you find school today ? Daughter: I just got off the bus and there it was !
• Mother: How do you like your new teacher ? Son: I don't. She told me to sit up front for the present and then she didn't give me one !
• I didn't do the homework because I didn't want the other kids in the class to look bad.
• I'm very smart in school. I have a photographic memory. That means any time I want to know anything, I drop my brain off at Fotomat and it takes a week to ten days to get it back .. . . It usually comes back blurry.