Welcome to "Two Red Apples," a down-to-earth website wishing to empower parents who are keen to play a positive part in their children's education.  The teaching of any young person is a partnership between school and home - hence the idea that a student has two red apples to give! 

In my experience as a teacher and a mum, parents are really keen to help their children's learning but many feel totally lost by the ever changing curriculum and assessments. The sorts of things I hear parents saying are:

"I want to help but I'm busy and I just don't know where to start." 
"I can't afford to pay a private tutor."
"I was hopeless at school, I couldn't teach him Maths."
"She's just not motivated, there's no chance she'll listen to me."
"I can barely understand the report card!"
"They teach it all differently these days."

"Two Red Apples" aims to give simple, practical ways that parents can make a big difference without needing an education degree or the patience of a saint!  It aims to show you where to start (interpreting the report card), what to teach (getting a grasp of the curriculum), and how to avoid strangling your kid in the process (some ideas of how to keep it fun and time efficient)!

The advice and help I give here is based on the New Zealand education system; however a lot of the ideas and knowledge will be applicable elsewhere.   Please note too that I use the term 'parent' loosely - it really doesn't matter if you're a grandparent, foster parent, step parent, family friend... if there's a young person whose education you wish to help out with - that's awesome and I mean you.