How to Build a Commitment to Learning

Achieve Motivation

Young person is motivated to do well in school.

1. Info:  Ways You Can Help Your Child Succeed
2. Info:  Preparing For Middle School
3. Info:  Great Expectations: What's the Best Way for Parents to Help Children Be Their Best
4. Info:  Schoolwork Responsibility: How to Instill It
5. Info:  Teen Secrets to Staying Motivated
6. Info:  Helping Your Teen Deal With "Senioritis"
7. Idea:  Identify ways to publicly acknowledge types of school achievement (i.e., ribbons, medals, mentions in a newsletter, bulletin boards, award ceremonies, etc.)

School Engagement

Young person is actively engaged in learning.

1. Activity:  An Internet Information Scavenger Hunt
2. Activity:  The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
3. Activity:  Science Fair Project Resource Guide
4. Activity:  Generate maps of world climates, population and more...
5. Activity:  Find Articles - Linked to journals nationwide
6. Activity:  Kid's Learning Activities
7. Activity:  A Fun Place For Kids to Learn About Money & Banking
8. Activity:  Places of Interest in New Jersey

Museum

1. Info:  Helen Keller's Kid Museum
2. Activity: Red Mill Village Museum
3. Activity: New Jersey Children's Museum
4. Activity: Insectropolis: A Bug Museum
5. Activity: Cape May Whale Watch and Resource Center
6. Activity:  Sighted Children Learn About Braille
7. Activity:  National Museum of American Jewish History
8. Activity:  Independence Hall/Liberty Bell Museums
9. Activity:  South Street Seaport
10. Activity:  Empire State Building
11. Activity:  Crayola Factory
12. Activity:  Schiff Nature Programs For Kids
13. Activity:  Imagine That!  Interactive Museum
14. Activity:  Garden State Discovery Museum
15. Activity:  Medieval Times - Dining and Show
16. Activity:  Great Swamp Education Centers
17. Activity:  Tuckerton Seaport
18. Activity:  Whippany Railway Museum
19. Activity:  Museum of Early Trades & Crafts
20. Activity:  Fosterfield's Living Historical Farm
21. Activity:  Mystic Seaport
22. Activity:  Franklin Institute Science Museum
23. Activity:  Cooper Mill - Chester, NJ
24. Activity:  American Museum of Natural History
25. Activity:  NJ Museum of Agriculture
26. Activity:  Liberty Science Center

Zoos & Aquariums

1. Activity:  Space Farms Zoo
2. Activity:  The Bronx Zoo
3. Activity:  The Popcorn Zoo
4. Activity:  The Philadelphia Zoo
5. Activity:  Central Park Zoo
6. Activity:  Mystic Aquarium
7. Activity:  NJ Adventure Aquarium
8. Activity:  NY Aquarium
9. Idea:  Find ways to stimulate your child's thinking.  Expose them to different ways of learning (documentaries, tapes, new books).
10. Idea:  Encourage young people to start each day prepared, as if school is their job.  This means getting enough sleep, eating breakfast and having homework done.

Homework

Young person reports doing at least one hour of homework every school day.

1. Info:  American Library Association
2. Info:  Ask Dr. Math
3. Info:  Bartleby - Help with Literature
4. Info:  Discovery School's Homework Helper
5. Info:  Encarta Homework Helper
6. Info:  Fact Monster Desk Reference
7. Info:  History Information
8. Info:  Homework Heaven
9. Info:  Info Please Homework Center
10. Info:  Merriam-Webster Dictionary
11. Info:  On Developing Homework Habits
12. Info:  Reference Desk Homework Helper
13. Info:  Searchable Database of Biographies of Famous People
14. Info:  The Homework Spot
15. Info:  Thesaurus
16. Info:  Picture Dictionary
17. Info:  Grammar Now! Info on Grammar, Usage, Composition & Editing
18. Info:  Word Detective - Answers Questions About Words and Language
19. Info: Link To Every Major Reference Tool Online (dictionary, encyclopedia, atlases, almanacs)
20. Info:  Help With Math Problems
21. Activity and Info:  Kid's Science
22. Activity:  Easy to Find Images on the Web
23. Idea:  Establish homework routines that are practical – and work!
24. Idea:  Talk with your neighbors and find out their areas of “expertise”.  Establish a “homework network” in your neighborhood.

Bonding to School

Young person cares about her or his school.

1. Info:  Energize Your School
2. Info:  School Spirit
3. Activity:  Create School Spirit - Celebrate Wacky Holidays
4. Idea:  Set up a school bulletin board at home to keep track of events and assignments.

Reading for Pleasure

Young person reads for pleasure three or more hours per week.

Local Libraries

1. Bernards Township Library - Children's Section
2. Bernards Township Library - Teen Services
3. Bedminster Library - Clarence Dillon
4. Bernardsville Public Library

Information, Ideas, and Activities

1. Info:  Tips For Encouraging Reading At Home
2. Info:  Ten Ways to Get Your Kid to Read
3. Info:  Techniques For Encouraging Reading in Young Children
4. Info:  Talking and Reading To Baby
5. Info:  Reading Info From Birth to Eighth Grade
6. Info:  Reading Tips for Parents
7. Info:  Reading Games
8. Info:  Encouraging Reading With Middleschoolers
9. Info:  Encouraging Reading
10. Info:  A Reading Checklist: Birth through Age Six
11. Activity:  Sesame Street Workshop - Reading
12. Activity:  Make Bookmarks!
13. Activity:  Mad Libs OnLine
14. Activity:  Kid's Mystery Stories to Solve
15. Activity:  Identifying Plural Words
16. Activity: Create Word Games
17. Idea:  Organize a neighborhood book swap.  Ask neighbors to donate books they're already read and have everyone come to find “new” books.
18. Idea:  Read to children everyday.  Use puppets, reading aloud, books on tape, and other ways to make reading fun and exciting.
19. Idea:  Take regular family trips to the library.  Celebrate your child obtaining a library card.