Single parenting also means you will not be dealing exclusively with the members of your immediate nuclear family, but also the social, societal and family networks and contexts around you.
As parents, we can easily push too hard, or not hard enough. Finding the right balance between encouragement and performance-driven motivation is important. You can foster a love for learning, reading and inquiry right in your home. Taking the time to do some homework, show interest in schoolwork, after-school activities and the like, will all help you rise to the challenge. Embrace both challenge and reward gladly and proudly.
Recognition, praise, ,reward, expectations all work together in a dynamic way. Celebrating achievement is important and even when failure occurs, kids need to know that they are still accepted and loved and that if they need help, they can ask and will get it! You have to be there for your kids. Not just obsess about your own competence and the achievements of your kids. There are more to kids that their grades! The role and importance of learning, self-discovery and exploration has to be fostered in the home as well. This role can not just be abdicated to the school. As a single parent you have to take interest in the schooling and development of your child. Read together, go to the library, work on projects, ask and support any outdoor, sports or extra-curricular activity your kids partake in. Support, love and care, show interest and develop a good partnership with the educators and role-models in your kid's/children's' lives.
Learning asks for brave steps and curiosity. You need to be able to make mistakes, look foolish, ,ask question without feeling dumb, stupid or left out, slow, ignorant. Kids need to know that they matter and that it is not the grades that you love! BUT THAT IT IS THEM! And that you want them to succeed. Performance pressure can be a very negative and de-motivating force for children. Try and make learning fund and reward good performance (within bounds and in moderation of course!).
Positive encouragement is always good. Let your child/children know:
It is OK NOT to know something, everything. We all have to start somewhere and can not possibly have all the knowledge in the world!
Effort is good and keeping on trying encouraged (good for you, you tried, now do it again, let us see if you can do it)
No-one wants to feel 'stupid' in any way, admire their willingness to abandon, risk and ask! Encourage inquiry. Be and keep things positive. If you are really worried about grades slipping or learning difficulties, get professional help, tutoring and keep on encouraging as your go along.