Working Smarter not Harder
For Parents
Teach your kids how to be organized and study effectively. By doing so, you
will equip them with valuable skills that will serve them both now and later
in life. Below are some tips to help your children become more responsible
and successful academically.
Tips
1. Learn how your child studies. Does he or she focus for short periods of
time only, or can he or she work for longer intervals? Is your child a visual
or auditory learner? Or maybe a combination?
2. Require your child to keep an assignment notebook. Sit down with him
or her and review what is expected for homework.
3. Ask your child to bring home all homework, even if it was finished
during the school day. Then, help him or her organize the work for easy
access in class the following day.
4. Set a routine each evening to organize backpack, books, etc. for the
following day. Avoid the chaos of the rush off to school (and those trips to
school to deliver a forgotten book or project).
5. There is no such thing as "no homework." Establish a routine of study
time each evening. It never hurts to clean out a binder, review notes, or
read ahead in English class.
6. Designate a special study space in your home. This location may vary
from student to student depending upon how they learn. Some students may
study easily with music playing, others may be very distracted with a lot of
noise.
7. Teach your child to prioritize. Encourage him or her to make a list
of things to do and then rewrite it in order of importance.
8. Help your student break large projects into small steps. Utilize a
large calendar to plot out when upcoming projects are due, tests are
scheduled, etc.
9. Schedule special needs in advance. You don’t want to be driving to
the corner store at midnight to get poster board for that science project!
10. If your child can’t stay focused for long periods, use a kitchen
timer to allocate minutes for study and minutes for break.
11. Let your children know that you are there for help, but it is not
your job to do their work. Encourage them to try on their own and ask for
help when needed.
12. Limit phone and e-mail time. Those are earned privileges and should
only occur on "break" or when homework is completed.
Resources
• Positive Discipline A-Z, Jane Nelsen, Lynn Lott, and H. Stephen Glenn
• Help Me, I Have a Teenager, Annie Drake
• Positive Discipline for Teenagers, Jane Nelsen & Lynn Lott
• The Roller Coaster Years, Charlene C. Giannetti & Margaret Sagarese
• How to Say It to Teens, Richard Heyman
• Parenting 911, Charlene C Giannetti & Margaret Sagarese
Web sites
Parent Institute- www.parent-institute.com
Great resource for all types of parenting issues.
How To Study- www.how-to-study.com
This site provides good tips on study skills.
Teachers & Families- www.teachersandfamilies.com
This site has specific links for middle school information and parent tips.
AIE's Homework Help Intenet Resources Page-
www.aie.org/Links/Homework/index.xfm
AIE provides dozens of links to Web sites that can help students with
homework.
For Students
Summer is over and school is in full swing. Are you as organized as you hoped
to be? Are things starting to pile up? Remember, you have a lot of control
over how things go at school. Take charge of your academic life! Here are a
few tips and resources for you to try.
Tips
1. Be sure to have a regular time to study each day. It is much easier
to do your homework daily than to let it pile up and try and do it all at
once.
2. Find a good place to study. Try and find a place that is free from
distractions. Be sure that you have all your materials at your fingertips.
4. Make a list of what you need to do. Rewrite the list in the order of
importance. Then, as you complete each task, check it off.
5. Enlist the help of your parents if you get stuck, but don’t expect
them to do your work.
6. Keep an assignment notebook and write in it each day. Check your
assignment notebook before you leave school every day so you are sure to
bring home the books and information you need to get your work done. (Parents
hate having to drive back to school to pick up that forgotten math book!)
7. Be a good listener in class. Sometimes teachers change or alter the
assignment during class. Make a note of any change in your notebook.
8. When studying for a test, be sure you know what will be covered on
the test. Is it going to be a quiz or a test? Ask the teacher how the test
will be graded.
9. In each class, be sure you understand the grading system. Some
teachers put more emphasis on certain things than others. Understand what
each teacher expects.
10. Keep track of your grades. Average your grades often so you know
where you stand in class. If you feel your grade is low, ask your teacher how
you can bring your grade up.
11. ASK FOR HELP! Teachers can answer your questions. Never hesitate to
ask for clarification or additional information.
12. Make your own flash cards for vocabulary words, important dates,
definitions, etc.
13. If you are absent from school, take the initiative and ask your
teacher what work needs to be made up. Teachers want you to learn to take
responsibility for your assignments and will appreciate that you are checking
in.
14. Form a study group or find a study partner. It is easier and more fun
to learn and study with a friend.
Web sites
How To Study
This site provides good tips on study skills.
www.how-to-study.com
Study Skills Checklist
Good "test" for you to rate your study skills. Sponsored by Virginia Tech
Division of Student Affairs.
www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/checklis.html
Teachers & Families
This site has specific links for middle school students. Just click on k-12
and find great links to all subject areas.
www.teachersandfamilies.com
AIE's Homework Help Intenet Resources Page
AIE provides dozens of links to Web sites that can help students with
homework.
This listing of community agencies and services is extensive and
covers many
different types of assistance from basic needs such as food and
shelter to
specialized resources. It was created in 2006 and with agencies
cutting
budgets some services listed may no longer be available.
https://www.roundrockisd.org/docs/112182892006revised_resource_guide06-07.pdf
As our economy changes there may be some resources that our
community can
utilize. For more information please visit the following link:
http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/Help/Food/FoodStamps/index.html
Tips For Parents | References All Stories
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Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 | CWK Producer
“There’s about 30 kids in there, and only 10 can make it.”
– Glenn, Age 13
The start of the school year means the start of sports try-outs.
Kids will
run and jump and throw and catch as hard as they can and then
some find out
they didn’t make it. They didn’t get chosen for the team. How
can you help
your child cope with rejection?
Fourteen-year-old Chelsea and 13-year-old Glenn are trying out
for their
middle school basketball teams. “[It’s been] pretty hard, for a
try-out,”
Glenn says. “I’ve been working hard doing push ups, sit-ups,
running a mile,
doing different drills,” Chelsea adds.
It’s a competitive program, so they might make the program and
they might not.
Those who don’t, experts say, will go home a little angry, and
very
disappointed. “A lot of negative emotions, unfortunately,” says
sport
psychologist Rick Van Haveren. “Sadness, disappointment, perhaps
confusion
about why they didn’t make the team. Maybe some feelings of low
self-worth,
self-esteem.”
The good news, he says, is that for most kids the sadness won’t
last.
They’ll play another sport, find another hobby, or will practice
a little
harder and try again next year. “For example, classic story,
Michael Jordan
got cut from his high school basketball team. And viewed that
really as a
challenge, and worked even harder, and eventually made the team
and of course
went on to be the athlete that he was,” Van Haveren says.
Still, some teens may need help seeing rejection as an invitation
to work
harder. There are things parents can do to avoid the small, but
real chance
of serious depression. “You know you can always praise a student
for
effort,” Van Haveren says. “And sometimes that can help to
build up
positive feelings about their self-esteem or self-worth, and
allow them to go
back and try out for that team again.”
Tips for Parents
Not making the team isn’t the end of the world, but for a child
that has been
cut from a sports team, it can be a very difficult time. “A lot
of negative
emotions” are typical, according to sports psychologist Rick Van
Haveren. “Sadness, disappointment, perhaps confusion about why
they didn’t
make the team…maybe some feelings of low self-worth, self-
esteem.” But sports
history is filled with stories of athletes, like Michael Jordan
and Wilma
Rudolph, who failed first, before moving on to greatness.
Van Haveren says it’s helpful for parents to praise children for
their
effort. “Reward them for other areas where they have relative
strengths,”
Haveren suggests. “And sometimes that can help to build up
positive feelings
about their self-esteem, and allow them to go back and try out
for that team
again.”
There is a phrase often used by coaches during training: “No
pain, no gain.”
Remind children that sometimes it is impossible to succeed
without failing
along the way. “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose,” Van
Haveren
says. “Losing, or getting cut (from the team) can be a part of
life. But it
can be a learning experience, and in reality, can end up being a
positive
experience because it makes you a stronger person, able to take
on and deal
with the challenges of life.”
Sports are not about winning at all costs. According to the
American Academy
of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, sports can help
children “develop
physical skills, get exercise, make friends, have fun, learn to
play as a
member of a team, learn to play fair, and improve self-esteem.”
Attitudes and
behavior taught to children in sports carry over to adult life.
Parents
should take an active role in helping their child develop good
sportsmanship.
To help your child get the most out of sports, the AACAP says you
need to be
actively involved. This includes:
Providing emotional support and positive feedback.
Attending some games and talking about them afterward.
Having realistic expectations for your child.
Learning the sport and supporting your child’s involvement.
Helping you child talk with you about experiences with the coach
and other
team members.
Helping your child handle disappointments and losing.
Modeling respectful spectator behavior.
Not making the team***from Connect with Kids
Should 12 year olds take the SAT?
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 Emily Halevy | CWK Producer
“I think that is probably one of the key issues - is their expectation from
having taken the PSAT or the SAT, is for them to understand that there's a
lot of material on the SAT that they haven't covered yet, because they're not
in high school”
– Erin Mason, 8th Grade Counselor
Would you like to know what profession best suits your 12 or 13 year old
child? According to the Journal Psychology Science, one way is to have your
kids take the SAT test. If they do well in the math portion, the study
suggests they think about becoming an engineer or scientist. In fact, if they
score 700 or better, it is likely that one day they'll get a Ph.D. But, for
most kids, is taking the SAT in middle school too much too soon?
Middle schoolers like 13-year-old Madison Bajc are already thinking about the
future. "I've really looked into Michigan University 'cause that's where my
mother went," she says, "and I'm interested in law."
She's already taken the PSAT and plans to take the SAT next year.
Experts say that for some younger kids, a college entrance exam gets them
thinking about college – and, in turn, they take school a little more
seriously.
"There are signs everywhere that the bar is being raised," says eighth grade
counselor Erin Mason, "and I don't think that that is necessarily a bad
thing, because I think that there are a lot of students who are very capable
and just need to be pushed."
She says taking the test can help middle schoolers in a number of ways. Some
magnet high schools or programs for gifted students, for example, require it.
It's also a way to get middle school students ready for the next few
years. "If you're taking it because you just want the experience of taking
it, and you kind of want a sneak preview of what's going to be ahead when
they get to high school," says Mason, "I think that's a perfectly good intent
for taking the SAT."
On the other hand, she says, some 12-year-olds take the test for the wrong
reasons.
"And those kinds of reasons would be things like, you know, just wanting to
take it to try to rev up the score, to improve the score, to compare
themselves to other students – or, you know, if mom and dad feel like they
have something to prove."
Experts say young kids need to be reminded that their scores will probably be
low -because they haven't studied most of what's on the test. And they need
to relax.
As Madison says, "don't stress out about it, just be well prepared - and I
know that they always say 'have a good morning breakfast,' but that really
does help."
According to Duke's Talent Identification Program (TIP), many gifted children
simply do not reach their full potential because they hide their talents,
underachieve or exhibit behavioral problems. The behavior problems are
sometimes due to what is known as "asynchronous development." (Asynchrony
means being out of sync, both internally and externally.) Gifted children
develop cognitively much faster than they do physically and emotionally,
which poses some interesting problems for parents. The Educational Resources
Information Center (ERIC) Clearinghouse says it is important for parents to
become aware of the inherent developmental differences of their gifted
children so they can prepare themselves to act as their children's "advocate."
Unfortunately, just identifying whether or not your child is gifted can be
difficult. ERIC offers these early signs of giftedness:
Unusual alertness in infancy
Less need for sleep in infancy
Long attention span
High activity level
Smile or early recognition of caretakers
Intense reactions to noise, pain, frustration, etc.
Advanced progression through the developmental milestones
Extraordinary memory
Enjoyment and speed of learning
Early and extensive language development
Fascination with books
Curiosity
Excellent sense of humor
Abstract reasoning and problem-solving skills
Vivid imagination (e.g., imaginary companions)
Sensitivity and compassion
If you notice a majority of these characteristics in your child, you may wish
to have him or her assessed by an experienced examiner to find out if he or
she is gifted. Early identification is recommended (ages 3 through 8) because
it allows for early intervention, which is as important for gifted children
as it is for any other children with special needs.
Tips for Parents
If your child is planning to take a college-level entrance exam at an early
age, preparation is essential. Superkids, a publication that reviews and
rates educational software, recommends taking these steps to help your child
tackle the SAT:
Encourage your child to read. This will pay off on the SAT verbal section and
help your child throughout college.
Use the free guide from the Educational Training Service. The guide is free,
and it is written by the same people who wrote the test.
Buy an SAT preparation book or software. The practice tests and explanations
will increase your child's familiarity with the test, help him or her save
time on the test and reduce anxiety. Choose software if your child needs a
more attention-grabbing study tool, or choose a book if your child lacks the
necessary computer skills or just likes to learn by reading.
Use vocabulary flashcards. Whether you make or buy these is irrelevant. If
your child doesn't know the words, there's a limit to how far a great
guessing strategy will carry him or her. There's no downside to this
activity; the worst thing that can happen is that your child will have a
better vocabulary!
References
Duke University
Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) Clearinghouse
Journal Psychology Science
Superkids
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