Learning Partners

We know from education research that children from families who are involved in and supportive of their education tend to perform well in school.

To help spark family involvement, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement has consolidated its Learning Partners series into one booklet called Learning Partners: A Guide to Educational Activities for Families. It is designed primarily for families with preschool and elementary school-age children, although some of the material is useful for older children.

The Learning Partners series covers a lot of topics: reading, math, science, geography, history, writing, responsible behavior, and many more. For each topic, there are activities that you can do with your children to reinforce learning. Most are simple, everyday activities. For instance, you and your children may want to:

1. read aloud together-there is no more effective way to encourage children to love books and reading than by reading aloud to them;
2. sort the socks on laundry day-sorting is a major function in math; or
3. discuss how you think the clock works, why birds build nests, how electricity helps us-science is everywhere and it's important to share the knowledge we have.

We hope your family has fun doing the activities and develops many more of its own. We've heard from a number of schools across the country saying that they pass out Learning Partners sheets at "Family Night," reprint them in newsletters, and send them home with children. As you know, by doing things together, you can show your children that learning is fun and important.

Ramon C. Cortines
Acting Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement

The Partnership for Family Involvement in Education