Because August and September are school-starting months, our posts in these months will focus on things that help students get a good start at school.

Watch for boredom.

Children who are bored at school can get in trouble or just be unhappy at school. Make sure your child’s special talents are being used at school. If you think they are not, talk to a teacher or administrator. Some schools are afraid that zeroing in on a kid’s special talents will hurt the school’s overall scores in reading, writing, and mathematics. Suggest to the school that your child would read better if he was reading something he is interested in. And, he would get excited about science and math if it were connected to his interests. (See Your Child’s Special Talents, Part 3.)

Connect school to your child’s dreams.

Make sure your child has the type of education she will need to follow her dreams. For example, you can’t be an architect without math skills, can’t be a writer without Language Arts skills, and can’t be a scientist without scientific knowledge. When kids realize these school subjects apply to their special interests, school becomes much more important to them. (See Your Child’s Special Talents, Part 2.)