Being a featured writer here on the FresYes blog is a joyful job that continually keeps me exploring the great city that I live in, staying on top of local event and business opening news, and meeting cool people who are doing big things on a regular basis. In addition to writing here, I also hold a full-time position as the CEO of a non-profit called Success Together that is focused on supporting parents through their journey of raising children through the schooling years.
One of the most important things I do there is learn about parents’ greatest needs, and work to design classes and programs to help with those specific needs. This school year, a big focus area has been finding ways for parents to help their children with their schoolwork, even if they themselves are not familiar with the content or method in which something is being taught. As a parent myself, I know how frustrating it can be when my son asks me for help with his homework, and I feel nothing but the internal panic of knowing I no longer remember how to solve that type of problem, or worse yet, I don’t even really understand what’s being asked in the problem.
After a lot of hard work and research over the summer, I’m happy to share that local families will now have access to a free class offered through Success Together and local partnering school called “How to Help Your Kids with Their Schoolwork – Even when you’re stuck too!” Knowing how important this information is to so many, especially as students wrap up the part of their school year that is comprised of review, and enter the portion in which they must learn and master new skills, I wanted to share a few of the resources I learned about that are available at no-cost to families to help all local families who may need this centralized resource list.
How to Find Help Specific to Your Child’s School/Text Books/School District
- Google the name of your child’s textbook, and see if the publisher offers study guides, an interactive glossary, supporting videos or other online resources to help illustrate or clarify things for students (most do!)
- Visit your child’s school district website and look for the Tools or Resources section. Often there are multiple tools and even live, one-one-one online tutoring service options available that are paid for by the district, but free to families.
- Fresno Unified offers Tutor.com (use it here – includes how-to videos!)
- Central Unified offers Paper.com (access it through this webpage)
- Clovis Unified offers Tutor.com for grades 7-12 (login to Clever.com to access)
Free Website-Based Resources for All
For additional instruction, videos, visual examples, practice assignments, and even self-paced assessments to check for understanding gained, in almost any subject area and at every grade level, students can use the free website Khan Academy. This site is incredibly robust, and a great way to get help with a skill that is not sticking.
This service is both an app and a website that offers peer-to-peer answers to student questions that are then checked and verified by volunteer teachers. (This is best to use when students have time to wait for an answer if they need to ask a very specific question.)
Get live online tutoring, get help with writing, build study guides and flashcard desks, browse video libraries of specific skills, and even practice learning a new language entirely for free through the State and local library system’s online resource hub. (There are so many great services located on this one hub site!)
App-Based Resources for All
This popular service allows students to write or ask questions using their voice, and the app will find the best possible educational resources to answer their questions! It’s also great for students who want to double check if the answer they came to on their own was correct.
This mobile app offers help in over 60 subjects and provides step-by-step walkthroughs and explanations. It also offers an interactive flashcard feature that students can use to get ready for tests. This app is so useful and popular, that one in every 3 US students use it to help gain understanding in areas they need more help with.
This camera-equipped app allows students to snap a picture of their math problem, and be walked through how to solve it, step-by-step!
Save this list of resources, maybe even print it and stick it to your fridge for easy reference the next time your child needs help with an assignment. I hope that you find them helpful and that they free you and your family from the frustration of being stuck without an idea as to where to turn for help.
By making these valuable resources readily available, we can all work together to ensure our children have the support they need to succeed academically. Remember, you’re not alone in this journey, and there are plenty of tools and experts out there to help your child thrive in school. Happy learning!
Note: Free parent classes on this topic and many others are available through Success Together at participating schools in Fresno, Central, Madera, Selma, Fowler and Washington Unified School Districts. For a list of available classes, locations, times and to sign up, click here.
FIND “SUCCESS TOGETHER“
Website: https://www.successtogetherk12.org/
Email: info@successtogetherk12.org
Phone: 559-492-0802
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/successtogetherinc/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/successtogetherinc/
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