DOES YOUR CHILD HAVE ENOUGH EDUCATIONAL OUTLETS? K-3 Your home is a place where you can lay back, relax and forget about what awaits you the next day at work. But don’t let this be the case for your child—learning shouldn’t stop once the final bell rings. As a parent, you play an important role in expanding your child’s education outside of the classroom. 1. Do you encourage creativity? Creativity is an essential part of intelligence and often is used as a gauge for measuring IQ. Below are several things to have around to keep creativity on the forefront at home. Art supplies. Any page can come alive with magic markers, a glue stick and scissors. Sidewalk chalk also is a great way to get your child outside and illustrate hard-to-learn concepts. A journal or diary. Keeping a journal encourages your child to write about the things he knows best—his own experiences. It also promotes written expression that often translates into the classroom. “Cool” pens and pencils. The idea behind this is to make writing fun. Plain, old yellow pencils are dull and boring. Spruce up your child’s desk at home with colorful gel pens or highlighters. 2. Do you encourage your child to write at home? One of the most essential parts of knowing how to write well is to feel comfortable doing it. Here are several ways to practice writing at home. Calendar. Create a calendar where he can record special events such as holidays, birthdays and play dates with friends. Hang the calendar in his room and read the next day’s events every night. Storytelling. An old science fiction book can set the stage. Start the story and have youngsters write or sketch their own endings and read them aloud. Letters. Set up a pen pal system with friends or family who live in a different part of the world. Or help your child locate a writing friend from World Pen Pals, www.world-pen-pals.com/request.htm. In addition, buy your child her own stationery or thank-you cards to encourage writing. Lists. Before your next trip to the grocery store, ask your child to write down the items you need. This encourages writing and helps your child realize the importance of organization. 3. Do you take advantage of online and library resources? The World Wide Web and the library have more than enough information to keep your child reading, writing and creating. The library. Your local library is a great place to introduce your child to books. It most likely offers reading programs and activities that enhance reading skills and keep it fun. And it probably has a website where you can keep up-to-date on activities, hours, new books and services. Visit http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Libweb to see if your library has a site. Book Adventure. Visit www.bookadventure.org, a free Sylvan Learning Center-sponsored interactive reading motivation program where children choose their own books, take short comprehension quizzes and redeem their accumulated points for small prizes. American Library Association (ALA). Visit www.ala.org/parents, the ALA’s Great Web Sites For Kids site. The site includes links to hundreds of recommended sites for children of all ages. By Lauren Strandquist