Next week, bells and buzzers will sound the start of another school year. In the second part of our back-to-school feature, Shane Gilchrist explores the role of communication between parents and children - and, equally importantly, parents and schools.
What do skateboarding and swimming have to do with a child's education?
Answer: both are deemed by (most) youngsters to be fun. And fun activities can offer children a window into learning.
It's important to encourage your child to have fun learning, emphasises Roseanna Bourke, academic group director of educational psychology at Victoria University, Wellington.
The registered psychologist and teacher, who has recently published a book on learning titled The Chameleonic Learner: Learning and self-assessment in context, says learning doesn't start and stop with the school bell.
For young children starting back for the school year, the key to successful experiences is to understand their own learning.
Parents can help greatly in this regard by getting children to talk about their learning once they are outside school.
"This might involve skateboarding, dance, swimming, learning to dive for the first time. It is exciting learning, and inherently motivating. This is how we want learning at school to feel, even when the going gets tough," Dr Bourke says.
"Instead of asking 'what did you do at school today?', try other questions such as 'did you have fun today? What did you learn from that? Did anything excite you today? '.
Then move on to some of their possible worries, such as, 'Who will be my friend? Who is in my class? What is my teacher like? Will I be liked?'"
Young children have plenty to say if you focus on what they think learning is. Simple questions to start could be: 'Tell me something you learned today. How did you know you learned this?'
Encourage self-assessment as this builds up a strong identity for your child as a confident, competent and successful learner."
Parents should encourage and celebrate all aspects of a child's learning, Dr Bourke says.
If your child brings home a piece of written work, focus on aspects the child has done well before making a more challenging comment about an aspect of spelling or grammar.
"If your child feels the work is valued and understood, the attention to other details (such as spelling) can be tackled."
Help your child understand what learning is. Talk about learning in general, and really listen to them in order to understand learning from their perspective.
"Children have unique beliefs about how they learn. For example, does she think learning is about filling her brain, or does she believe learning is about understanding what she already knows?
"Does he think learning means remembering facts or does he try to understand how to work out or solve a problem in maths or science?"
Building your child's ability to self-assess their own learning, both in and out of school, is crucial, according to Dr Bourke.
"This is one of the most important, and also the most difficult, skills a child and their parents can learn. Research has shown that children have more sophisticated conceptions of self-assessment in out-of-school settings so draw on these occasions when they have actively set their own goal, worked out their own criteria for their success and self-assessed their learning towards their goal."
Another "tactic" is to link out-of-school learning success to school contexts, especially when your child is struggling at school. For example, talk about the tenacity, perseverance, motivation that a child brings to out-of-school activities, and explain how these can be used to understand difficult aspects in school. If problem-solving in maths becomes an issue, find other examples in your child's life where he or she has shown these skills; draw on other contexts, she says.
"Also, find ways your child can relax and become a confident learner," Dr Bourke says.
"Stressed children find concentrating and learning a challenge. If your child is worried about an aspect of school, he will be less likely to achieve to his potential. Every child can and will learn, so help your child to expect more from their learning experiences, and to believe they can do it. Build up their confidence in themselves as a learner."
Relationships and friendships are important, too.
The importance of establishing friendships is critical to a child's happiness at school.
Where you can, support your child's ability to make and sustain valuable friendships.
"In an inclusive school setting, diverse friendships will be made and every child contributes something to the learning of others," Dr Bourke says.
"Children learn a great deal from their peers, and often act as 'interpreters' for each other on what the teacher expects from an activity."
Clear communication is not limited to children either.
The relationship between parents and schools is an important component in the overall picture of education.
Doug White, principal of Clyde School, likens the relationship to a "three-legged stool".
"There is the school and the child, obviously. But parents are an essential part of the picture. Their willingness to engage with learning and their support is crucial."
Communication between parties should be respectful and supportive, Mr White says.
"You don't want one party undermining another one or getting into the blame game. There needs to be clear communication if things aren't going right, and the primary reason a school would contact parents would be to move things forward as opposed to having an inquisition into something that hasn't gone right."
In an era of electronic communication, it is not uncommon for parents to contact teachers or other school staff via text message or email.
Although many schools encourage that, a phone conversation or a face-to-face meeting is best.
"It helps to remove any ambiguity," Mr White says.
"An email can be misinterpreted. It is a good way to initiate contact but I'd suggest parents keep them brief as opposed to having too much detail in them; then they can discuss the issues.
"Parents should generally address their concerns to the teacher first. Should they go further up the chain - say, to management - well, we'd have to refer the complaint back to the teacher anyway. If things aren't working out, then school management does become involved, but in 90% of cases a conversation with the teacher is the best way to resolve it.
"The pattern of human nature is such that parents sometimes 'sit' on problems too long. The schools are there to help; we are a service industry and we'd rather address problems early, before they become larger issues.
"I would hope most schools aren't defensive and would see the resolution of issues as part of their job. It's not an add-on; it's a really important part of our role.
"Free, frank, honest communication but also respectful, is the key."
"Usually most schools send out a summary report at the end of the year and it's good idea to think about that over the break and initiate contact early in the year. A lot of schools have early term interviews, which are a time to set goals on a child's needs.
"With the introduction of National Standards, I think there is a perception that learning happens in a straight line but the nature of child development is that some things happen before others."
It should be stressed that those scheduled parent-teacher interviews are not the only chance for mutual discussion of a child's progress (or otherwise) at school. However, should you wish to raise concerns, schedule a meeting or even just have a brief conversation with a teacher, then pick your moment wisely.
There are certain times of the day - and school year - that are better than others.
Attempting to pin down a teacher while he or she is wrangling a dozen or more children as the morning bell sounds is not ideal.
"Parents sometimes want to talk about a weighty issue first thing in the morning. It is quite a busy time," Mr White says.
"Morning is a good time to communicate in a short, sharp manner: let the teacher know if someone in the family is sick or if the cat has died or the child is struggling with their reading book.
"But if you really want to have a good yak, then after school is probably the best time."
