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In this day and age, the number and variety of after-school activities seem only to grow, making it easy to get overwhelmed by the choices or not know where to begin in narrowing down the options. Here are five tips to help you choose the right after-school activities for your child.

1. Identify your child’s interests

When researching after-school activities, start with your child’s interests. What subjects does she enjoy at school? What does she like to do outside of school? There may be a community class, school club, or team that directly or indirectly supports each interest. Your child may have ideas about what this is already, or she may not know the range of after-school options. Ask around—start with your child’s teacher or other parents. Sometimes, there are options to “try out” a class or club, for free or for a nominal fee. This can be a great way to gauge your child’s interest in person. Whether or not you’re able to try out an activity, involving your child as much as possible in the decision-making process will help give her ownership and agency over the decision—and may increase the possibility that she will enjoy the activity (this is not always the case, of course).  

2. Consider your child’s strengths and weaknesses

After-school activities are great for both leaning into strengths and overcoming weaknesses—so there is no one right way to make the decision. The following are aspects to consider: your child’s academic abilities, social skills, behavioral skills, self-esteem, focus and attention, and gross and fine motor skills. You can also weigh different styles of learning—for instance, visual, aural, verbal, and physical—and whether your child does better with solitary or group activities. Again, it’s good to lean into your child’s strengths, and, if possible and desired, to participate in activities that will stretch your child’s skills.

3. Determine what you and your child hope to get out of the activity

When choosing an after-school activity, it’s important to identify what you and your child hope to gain. Examples include having fun, making new friends, building leadership skills, encouraging self-esteem, and providing exercise. This can help you narrow down a search for activities. Then, once you have a shorter list, consider what the process and end goals are for each activity, and if they match what you and your child are looking for. Don’t forget: It can sometimes be easy to see your child’s activities through your own expectations. It’s normal to have some mismatch between expectations and outcomes. But to lessen stress for your whole family, it’s important to keep in mind an action plan—a way to be open—when these mismatches occur.

4. Prioritize balance and time management

With so many options available, children can get overscheduled in terms of homework, after-school activities, and family time. Decide whether an after-school activity is great to do in conjunction with—or after—planning out a daily and weekly schedule for your family. Make sure the chosen activity/activities give your child enough time to complete homework and eat and rest well.

5. Review costs and time commitment

After-school activities range widely in terms of costs. They may also involve rental fees for instruments or sports equipment. What is realistic for your family? Consider the time commitment of the activity too. Don’t forget to factor in transportation—how to get your child to and from the activity. If you aren’t available, is there a trusted person who could help your child get to and from the location?

Whatever activities your child partakes in this year, encourage him toward both a range of activities over the years and depth in one activity, if possible. He may build an unexpected friendship or mentorship, or discover an unexpected talent or interest. This may lead to a lifelong passion or career option, and even if not, it will help your child develop as a student and person.

With the excitement of the new school year often come many changes for your child: a different teacher, classroom, and classmates, for example. Getting on the same page as your child’s teacher—whether through a conference or back-to-school night meeting—is a great way to support your child. Here are five questions to ask your child’s teacher this month.

1. What can my child and I expect regarding homework?

While homework can vary on a daily or weekly basis, asking your child’s teacher about the typical amount can help you and your child begin to develop a time-management plan for the after-school hours—one that includes extracurricular activities and relaxation. Sometimes there will be more or less homework depending on the day of the week (e.g., more on weekdays vs. weekends). It may also be helpful to understand what homework may consist of (e.g., answering questions or reading a text), if there are any subjects/types of homework to prioritize over others, and how homework may be graded (e.g., for completion or correctness). If you’d like, ask the teacher how she sees homework fitting into the overall picture of your child’s education. The answers to these questions can help you create a routine and environment in which your child can best flourish.

2. Are there any major projects or ongoing due dates?

Besides daily homework, many teachers assign large or recurring projects, like book reports, reading logs, and spelling tests. Knowing what larger projects are to come—such as a science-fair project in the spring—can help you figure out the rhythm of the school year. Likewise, understanding regular due dates will allow you and your child to plan around sick days or days you take off for vacation. Keep an eye out for updated due dates because teachers may need to shift dates around to adjust for pacing.

3. What are your classroom values and policies?

Asking your child’s teacher about classroom values and policies will help you understand the environment in which your child is spending time daily. In terms of policies, don’t be afraid to ask about the nitty-gritty—like the late homework policy, for instance.  Knowing what to do if your child needs to miss school or gets a bit off track is crucial. Will points be deducted from late assignments, and if so, how many? What happens if your child misses a test? Can it be made up? Your child will have a better chance of success once he knows the ins and outs of these classroom policies.

4. How can I best support my child outside of school?

Speak with your child’s teacher about tips and strategies for supporting your child outside of school. How can you best help with homework or preparing for tests? What outside resources (e.g., online/library resources or educational games) or book recommendations does the teacher have—specifically for your child’s strengths and weaknesses? You probably already know some, but also ask about community events or real-world activities that your child can get involved in, like those at libraries or museums. The teacher may come up with more as the year goes on and as she gets to know your child better.

5. What is the best way for a parent to reach the teacher, and vice versa?

Since you and your child’s teacher are working together to help your child best succeed at school, keeping communication lines open is key. Find out what the teacher’s preferred mode of communication is: email, telephone, a message through the school’s online portal, or a handwritten note. If you’d like, and from time to time, consider scheduling an in-person meeting outside of conferences to check in with your child’s teacher. Also, don’t forget to ask how you can expect to hear from the teacher, whether that’s also through online or other means.

As soon as you can, get in touch with your child’s teacher, whether that’s a simple hello and introduction during back-to-school night or at a sit-down meeting. This will help you and your family begin to create a plan for the year to best help your child succeed.

By Caroline Knorr, Parenting Editor, Common Sense Media 

Some schools use a little technology: a few educational apps to mix things up, maybe a weekly trip to the computer lab. Some use a lot: one-to-one device programs, class management systems, and automated grade-reporting. Many districts are even adopting schoolwide networks with names you'll recognize, such as Google Classroom and the Facebook-engineered Summit Learning System. Time will tell if all this technology better prepares students for a digital world. But one thing is true: If it's digital, it uses data, and that means your kid's information is more valuable -- and more vulnerable -- than ever. Schools need to safeguard student privacy as fiercely as a mama bear -- and you, as the parent, need to know how they're doing it. Here are the right questions to ask, and the answers you should expect, to make sure any tech your kid uses at school is protecting your kid's privacy.

How does the school decide if the educational software or apps it uses protect my kid's privacy?

Your kid's school should review the privacy policies of any software or device that requires your kid to log in with a screen name and password. You can ask for a copy of the product's privacy policy, or you can talk to the teacher or your principal to get assurances that they know what they're doing.

What you should hear in the school's answer:

• Stored data is encrypted, password protected, and only available to certain administrators who need it for educational purposes. Ask who that person is.
• Companies don't collect more information than they need for educational purposes -- and those reasons are clearly and narrowly defined. Keep an eye out for requests for personal information that don't seem relevant to education (for example, your religious beliefs).
• Companies don't trade or sell student info to others. If you suspect your kid's information has been sold (because you're receiving ads in the mail, etc.), notify your school administrator.
• More than one person (for example, a teacher, administrator, and an IT professional) reviews the companies' policies. Ask for their names in case you need them.

Even better: The company supplying the software has undergone some sort of third-party vetting or evaluation process -- such as the evaluation offered by Common Sense Media's Privacy Initiative. The list of companies and software used is frequently updated and accessible to parents and students. Find out where the list is.

What information does the school collect and how is it stored? 

Schools need to offer a clear educational purpose for any personal information it asks for. (Social Security numbers are an example of information many schools have collected in the past, but not any longer because they couldn't justify the educational purpose of collecting that data.)

What you should hear in the school's answer:

• The school asks for basic identification only -- for example, name, address, and phone number.
• The school encrypts any information it receives and uses security procedures to protect any data in transit. That means no one can read the information without authorized security clearance and a password. Ask how they do this.

Even better: The school restricts access to information solely to those who need to know it -- for example, only a school nurse has access to medical information, via passwords, technical controls, or other physical safeguards. The school deletes information once it is no longer needed for your kid's education or required to be kept by state or federal law. Ask exactly when your kid’s information will be deleted.

Who can get access to the school's list of students and their contact information?

Federal law limits who can get access to a school's directory of basic stuff like your kid's name, address, telephone number, and other general information.

What you should hear in the school's answer:

• Schools comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) by notifying parents of any information that they collect and what directory information includes, as well as providing parents the choice to to opt out.
• The method of notification is up to the school, so ideally they should use methods that will get your attention, such as a letter sent home that you have to sign. Ask how they notify parents: by email, a letter home, etc.?
• Ideally, schools offer easily accessible and flexible opt-in and opt-out consent options -- not merely one blanket form that opts you into, or out of, everything.
• Some schools offer a checklist that lets you choose which information to share with which third parties. For example, you may feel comfortable sharing your student's name and address with the developer of your kid's reading software application, but you may not feel comfortable sharing your student’s dates of attendance.
• Or even though the school is allowed to share directory information with your kid's after-school program, it gives you the option not to. Ask how your school manages distributing this information.

Even better: Under FERPA, schools are actually allowed to disclose certain directory information without your consent. A yearbook publisher, a class-ring manufacturer, and military recruiters are a few examples of outside organizations to which the school can send directory information. But some of this information is fairly personal, including place of birth, honors, awards, and dates of attendance. A school that's being careful will ask for consent before disclosing this or any other information. Ask if your school does this.

When do I need to provide consent for my student to use software at school?

Schools are allowed to provide consent on behalf of parents when they're using an app that collects information solely for educational purposes, such as an app that helps teachers take attendance. The school, the district, or an authorized teacher should ask parents to provide consent if any software or applications used in the classroom will collect information from students that's not for an exclusively educational purpose. When parental consent is requested the notice to parents should include how they can provide consent and what practices they are consenting to.

What you should hear in the school's answer:

• Schools should notify parents, for example as a list on their webpage, of all educational software that the school has consented to students using, what data it's collecting, how the data is used, and how the data is protected.
• Schools should generally not ask for parental consent as a way to limit their own liability. When schools ask for consent, the school should have verified beforehand that the software is safe and that there is no safer or non-commerical alternative that could substitute for that software.

Even better: Schools ask for consent when they use educational products that are not essential. For example, if a student could learn a concept using an existing math worksheet rather than playing a digital math game -- and the teacher wouldn't have to create a worksheet specifically for that student -- the game is likely not essential. In that case it's nice if schools want to give parents the option to consent or not.

What's the school's policy on Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)?

BYOD programs are a lower-cost way for schools to integrate technology into the classroom. But tablets and laptops store a lot of sensitive information, including personal data (name, address, etc.), raw data such as performance reports, and "cookies" -- the personal identifiers that track your student’s path around the internet. Also, many students may not have reliable broadband internet access at home in which to complete online assignments, so BYOD should be used in conjunction with other programs at school.

What you should hear in the school's answer:

• The school vets the privacy policies of all third-party programs installed on your student’s devices and makes sure that they comply with the Children's Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA). Look up any app the school recommends on Common Sense Media or Common Sense Education to double-check its practices.

Even better: The school has a written process about device searches (which includes notifying you before the device is searched). Schools should ideally not install monitoring software, track the device's location, or remotely access the camera on a student's personal device. Be aware though that schools are required to monitor their internet networks under federal law, and some student data may be collected through that monitoring. Ask who within the school and district can access any device-specific tracking information and when this information is deleted.

Your elementary school-aged child may not yet have encountered intensive studying or lengthy projects. However, this is a great time to begin instilling good study habits in your child. At this impressionable age, children can begin to grasp the importance of structured study and its long-term educational benefits. Older students, such as those in grades four and five, can benefit from guidance when it comes to implementing positive study habits, and younger students can begin absorbing the basics of these good habits.

Looking to help your student head back to school on the right foot? Here are three study habits to teach your child this fall.

1. Encourage a regular homework routine.

Elementary-school students often participate in a number of after-school activities. Even though your schedule may be busy once the school day ends, it’s crucial to create and execute a consistent homework routine at home. Set aside a designated amount of time each afternoon or evening for your child to tackle any homework. At the beginning of homework time, have her review what assignments she’ll be working on that day. Next, help her prioritize tasks in an order that suits her best. If your student has little or no homework one day, fill the remaining time with reading or another educational activity. Establishing a homework routine teaches students the importance of staying on top of assigned tasks.

Additionally, encourage productivity by creating a positive study environment. Eliminate obstacles, like technology, that can hinder your student’s concentration. Ensure there are minimal distractions in her study space so she can have the best chance of success.

2. Foster independent work habits.

While forming a structured study routine is vital, it’s most successful when your student engages in independent study during this time. Remain present with your younger student in order to provide support when needed, but encourage him to seek out answers on his own before stepping in to help. For an older student, motivate him to work through problems himself as opposed to giving him the answers. If he is unsure of a math solution, for example, prompt him to walk you through how he thinks the problem should be executed. This will allow you to understand where he may be confused and illustrate to him how verbalizing concerns can help solve problems.

Encouraging independent study in your student allows him to learn to work through issues on his own and strengthens problem-solving skills. Regardless of age, establish semester goals with your student, and identify with him specific ways he can work to accomplish them. This may be as simple as getting good grades on spelling tests. Have him note ways he can practice his spelling each week leading up to tests in order to reach his goal. Independent study habits boil down to your child feeling ownership of his education—therefore, these habits can look different for each student and each age group. Assess your student’s workload and current study habits so you can successfully establish the right type of independent work for him.

3. Promote essential skills.

Vital skills—such as organization and time management—play directly into productive study habits. When encouraging good habits at home, discuss with your child the importance of these skills and how educational productivity stems directly from them.

It’s important for students to keep school items organized and in an easily accessible place. With students facing weekly, monthly, and quarterly deadlines, it can be helpful to keep a planner or calendar to identify these commitments. Have your child help with this so she will be able to understand how her deadlines work. At the start of each week, review what will be expected of her in the coming days, and address any questions or concerns she may have. Motivating your student to stay organized, both with assignments and supplies, can help her to understand the importance of this skill to her ultimate educational success.

Older students can practice time management through a variety of techniques. Have your child create homework timelines each night to help her learn to prioritize important tasks and spend the appropriate amount of time on each. Though younger students can’t compose study timelines, they can learn and execute basic time-management skills. Explain to her the importance of working through tasks in a timely manner and not getting sidetracked by outside distractions.

When teaching your student good study habits this fall, have an open conversation about areas where she may benefit from more structured practice. Instilling positive study habits in students at a young age can set them up for overall academic success.

Taking a test can be unnerving for many students, but especially so for younger children. Whether your student will soon take his first classroom reading exam or a statewide standardized test, fear and uncertainty can impact his performance. Luckily, there are ways to prepare your student for testing that can help him feel more confident and capable. Here are four strategies you can implement when preparing your elementary student for an exam in any subject.

1. Review what she can expect

If this is your child’s first time taking a test, help her understand what it entails. Explain the types of questions that she will face, such as fill in the blank, multiple choice, and matching. If possible, practice answering these question types at home. It can also be useful to discuss which sections of the exam will be timed (if applicable) as well as how to approach them—for example, if there is a question she is unsure of, it may be best to come back to it after she has finished the rest of the test.

2. Find creative ways to build his vocabulary

A great way to help your child prepare for a test is to incorporate vocabulary strengthening into study time. Generally, if your student feels confident in his vocabulary skills, this will help in many academic subjects—including math and science. To do this, encourage him to read often. Read texts with him from a variety of age-appropriate sources, including magazines and newspapers. This will broaden his exposure to new words and their definitions.

Certain games like Jeopardy can also help your student learn new vocabulary words and practice concepts in a fun, stress-free environment. Identify vocabulary areas or subject-specific concepts that he would benefit from improvement in, and incorporate these into your own DIY version of the game.

3. Discuss relaxation techniques with her

Positive testing habits and opinions start early. For this reason, having positive early testing experiences is key. If her first memory of taking a test is stressful, this might be difficult to shake as she progresses through her education. When discussing assessments with your student, talk about coping strategies that can help her relax during this experience. Perhaps she is worried about feeling overwhelmed when she doesn’t know the correct answer to a question. If this is the case, encourage her to take a few deep breaths, count to five, and consider coming back to the question later.

4. Listen to his concerns

If your student has concerns about an assessment, address them directly. As previously discussed, test anxiety can influence performance on an exam, so understand what parts of testing make your child uncomfortable. For instance, perhaps time constraints make him nervous. If so, set aside several hours to practice timed exams, and utilize relaxation techniques if he becomes overwhelmed. After speaking with your child, communicate with his teacher (if necessary) to form a plan for test days.

Taking a test can be intimidating for young students, but gentle support can see your child through the process. 

At Highlights, our core value is the idea that “Children are the world’s most important people.” We keep this idea front and center as we create magazines, books, and digital products that are “Fun with a Purpose.” 

We hope you have fond memories of Highlights—reading Goofus and Gallant, searching for small objects in our Hidden Pictures puzzles, and enjoying stories and articles chosen to help readers aspire to be their best selves. 

Although you have certainly outgrown us, we want you to know that you are on our minds, and we are proud as we see you present as your best selves. 

These past few weeks, we have watched as you passionately, bravely, and persistently tell your stories of survival, insisting that your voices be heard. We’ve been listening as you share your dreams for a better world where children can again feel safe in school and teachers can focus on teaching students and not defending them. We’ve watched you stand up to trolls, politicians, lobbyists, and naysayers of every ilk—respectful but resolute, confident that you are on the right side of history. 

We are watching and listening—and we share your vision for a better world. A world where children can focus on learning and teachers can focus on teaching without fear of tragedy. A world where people who need mental health care can more easily find it. 

It’s a long road to this better world, but you’ve already traveled quite a distance. 

Thank you for demonstrating what it means to be a caring, concerned citizen; for your clarion call to action; and for highlighting for your generation the importance of exercising the right to vote. You are the Gallants we hope all Highlights readers will grow up to be.