March Momentum: How to Support Your Child This Month
- Mar 3
- 4 min read
What Early Elementary School Parents Can Look Forward to During the Month of March
Welcome back! Lexi here, founder of Open Door Learning. Each month, I share a simple, parent-friendly guide to help you know what to expect in school.
March is often when parents start wondering:
“Is my child on track?”
“Should reading feel easier by now?”
“Are we doing enough at home?”
The school year is well underway. Expectations are increasing. Progress reports and spring conferences are beginning. And at the same time, spring energy is starting to build. If you’re feeling a mix of pride, questions, and curiosity — that’s completely normal.
Here’s what you can expect in March — and how to support your child with confidence.
📚March is Reading Month
Many elementary schools celebrate March as a special month dedicated to reading. You might see:
Spirit days
Guest readers
Reading challenges
Book-themed activities
Author studies
At this stage, students are still mastering decoding — sounding out words and blending sounds — but they’re also starting to focus on reading with more fluency and confidence.
Teachers are looking for students to:
Decode words accurately
Retell what happened
Talk about characters’ feelings
Read for longer stretches of time
How You Can Support at Home:
Read together daily, 10-15 minutes is great!
Let your child choose the books they want to read
Reread favorite books to practice decoding and fluency
Ask simple questions like:
“What happened first?”
“How is the character feeling?”
“What do you think will happen next?”
For more strategies on supporting decoding and reading growth, check out one of my recent blog posts that talks about how to support your reader at home with strategies and tips that are backed by the Science of Reading.
Reading growth in March is about beginning to build fluency, comprehension, and confidence, while still strengthening decoding skills.
📝 Mid-Year Check-Ins:
Conferences & Report Cards Reports
Many schools hold spring conferences and send home report cards this month. These report focus on:
Academic growth
Work habits
Social development
Progress since the beginning of the year
Early elementary learning builds layer by layer — growth is rarely perfectly linear.
Remind yourself that you may see:
Strong growth in some areas
Skills still marked “in progress”
Areas where your child needs continued practice
Skills that were once simple may feel more challenging as expectations rise or concepts deepen
How to Prepare or Reflect:
Ask your child how they feel about school
Write down questions before going into a conference
Ask the teacher:
“What is my child doing well?”
“What should we focus on at home?”
“Is my child on track for the end of the year?”
If you’re leaving conferences with lingering questions or you want to go through the report card with a certified elementary teacher, let's talk!
🌱 A Shift Toward Independence
By March, teachers often increase expectations.
Students are:
Reading more independently
Writing longer pieces
Solving more complex math problems
Managing routines with less support
This can feel exciting, but sometimes challenging. When learning feels harder, it often means growth is happening.
At Home:
Encourage your child to try before stepping in
Praise persistence and effort
Say: “I love how you kept trying.”
Let them explain their thinking
Confidence grows when children feel capable.
🌎 Women’s History Month
March is also Women’s History Month. In early elementary classrooms, the focus is on big ideas:
Courage
Leadership
Determination
Using your voice
Students may learn about influential women who made a difference in history and in their communities.
At Home:
Read books about inspiring women
Share stories about strong women in your own family
Ask: “What kind of leader do you want to be?”
Click here to watch these PBS short videos about famous women in history!
Simple conversations plant powerful seeds for later.
🧠 March SEL Tip: Growth Mindset Moments
By this point in the year, it’s common to hear your child say things like:
“This is too hard.”
“I’m not good at this.”
“I can’t do it.”
These moments often happen because expectations are higher and tasks are more challenging — and that’s completely normal.
One way to turn these challenges into learning opportunities is with a fun family activity that builds a growth mindset:
Family Activity: Mistake Gallery Wall
Materials:
A small wall, bulletin board, or even the fridge
Paper, sticky notes, or index cards
Markers or crayons
Steps:
Celebrate Mistakes: Explain to your child that mistakes are a sign of learning.
Add to the Wall: Whenever your child (or anyone in the family) tries something challenging and makes a mistake, write or draw it on a note and post it on the wall. Include what they learned or what they’ll try differently next time.
Review Together: At the end of the week, look at the wall as a family and celebrate the effort, problem-solving, and lessons learned.
This activity:
Normalizes mistakes
Encourages reflection and problem-solving
Turns challenges into visible learning milestones
You can pair this activity with phrases like:
“You can’t do it… yet.”
“What strategy could you try?”
“Remember how far you’ve come since September?”
This activity makes growth mindset tangible, visual, and fun — perfect for families to do together.
🌟 Looking Ahead & Support
Many families wait until June to think about summer learning, but even small, intentional steps now can make a big difference.
As the school year continues, you may notice:
Your child is mastering some skills while others feel more challenging
Certain subjects are moving faster or becoming more complex
Confidence may fluctuate depending on the topic
All of this is completely normal as learning is rarely perfectly linear.
March is the perfect time to take stock of progress, celebrate growth, and start thinking ahead. Even small actions now, like supporting reading practice, tackling tricky math concepts, or encouraging persistence, can make summer feel calm and productive if that is what you are looking for.
If you’re noticing areas where your child could use extra support, or if you’d like guidance to help them finish the school year strong, I’m here to help. Through 1:1 parent coaching and simple, customized at-home learning plans, I support busy families in feeling confident and connected to their child’s learning — during the school year and now into summer.
Small steps now can lead to big growth by June and beyond.
Until next time,
Lexi :)
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