Working with your child to help with their school work does not have to be difficult, it can be lots of fun!  When reading with your child it is important to take turns reading every other page. Echo read together. Have older children read to their younger brothers or sisters. If it is difficult to inspire your child to read for enjoyment, ask them what they would be interested in reading. Help them look up interesting things about their favorite sports star or actress online. Find magazines that spark their interest (who doesn't love a good People Magazine?). To help your child improve their reading comprehension ask them about what they are reading. While reading together, stop your child and ask them to give you a quick summary about what they have been reading.  Preview what they are reading and ask them questions before they read. Give them a purpose for reading.  When doing reading homework, always read the questions before reading the story.  Make reading fun again.

Learning math facts doesn't always have to be just skill and drill with flash cards. There are many websites that have fun math games your child will love to play. You can also play math facts war games with a deck of cards. One game you can play is math war.  First, you need to decide which operation you are going to choose (addition, subtraction, multiplication). Next, each player puts a card down and the first person to answer the problem using the designated opertion wins the cards. Finally, The person with the most cards at the end of the game wins.

Making learning fun will take a lot of the stress out of learning to read and math skills.