Praise generously, yet honestly. Praise will lose its effectiveness if used indiscriminately. And a child can usually tell when you re not being sincere. Direct praise to the ask at hand. Saying You spelled 8 out of 10 words right.
Specific praise guides future behavior.
Try not to show disappointment if your child doesn t do as well as you d like. Look for your child s strengths. Starting every homework session with the Star Wars theme might be going overboard. But it doesn t hurt to smile and say, I like spending this time with you. And you don t have to be deadly serious about it.