Help your child maintain focus on
schoolwork until year’s end
Some kids act like summer vacation has already started.
They “forget” their homework at school. They avoid anything difficult or
challenging—and that includes just about everything!
But the school year has not yet ended. Kids need to stay
focused on learning until the last day of school. Here’s how to help your
child:
- Review old homework
papers, quizzes and tests. Use them to talk with your child about how
much he has learned this year. Having these papers close at hand will
also be useful as he studies for end-of-year tests!
- Shape year-end
learning around some of your child’s interests. If he has one more book
report due, choose a book on a topic he loves. If he has a social
studies project, try to focus on something he is interested in learning.
- Help your child
manage end-of-the-year projects. Long-range assignments can overwhelm
any child. So in addition to helping your child break the big project
down into smaller steps, here’s a great rule of thumb: Move the deadline
for finishing any big project back by two days. If the diorama is due on
Friday, aim to get it finished by Wednesday. That way, he’ll have a
cushion if (okay, when) something comes up!
Reprinted with permission from the May 2008 issue of
Parents make the difference!® (Elementary School Edition) newsletter.
Copyright © 2008 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source:
Donna Goldberg, The Organized Student, ISBN: 978-0-7432-7020-5
(Fireside Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, 1-800-456-6798,
www.simonsays.com).
Elementary School Parents
Middle
School Parents
High School Parents
Middle
School Parents
Studies show that too much TV can lead
to learning problems
As the parent of a middle schooler, you should be aware
that too much TV may harm your preteen.
Researchers agree that preteens should watch no more
than two hours of television a day. And with summer right around the
corner, now is a great time to set limits on screen time.
Here are specifics from a recent study, published in a
medical journal about child and teen health. The doctors who published the
study researched a group of teens for many years. The study began when the
teens were 14 and ended when they were adults in their mid-30s.
The doctors found that:
- Teens who watched TV
for three hours or more each day were more likely to develop learning
and attention problems.
- Teen problems
included not doing homework, not liking school, being bored in school
and getting poor grades.
- Video games have a
similar effect as TV.
- Some teens dropped
out of high school. Others finished but did not go on to other
education. This was not true of every teen in the study.
- It didn’t matter
whether the teens grew up in rich, poor or middle-class families.
Watching a lot of TV put teens from all of these types of families at
risk for learning and attention problems.
Reprinted with permission from the May 2008 issue of
Parents Still make the difference!® (Middle School Edition)
newsletter. Copyright © 2008 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS,
Inc. Source: Jeffrey G. Johnson, Ph.D. and others, “Extensive Television
Viewing and the Development of Attention and Learning Difficulties During
Adolescence,” Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine,
http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/161/5/480.
Elementary School Parents
Middle
School Parents
High School Parents
High
School Parents
Motivate your teen to stay focused as
school year ends
The end of the school year is in sight—and many teens
might already be mentally checked out, spending more time daydreaming
about afternoons at the pool than learning pre-calculus.
Help your teen remain focused throughout these last
weeks of school—especially for important end-of-year exams. Here’s how you
can help your teen stay engaged in school:
- Offer to help your
teen study. She can’t slack off on memorizing the dates of important
Civil War battles if you’re the one holding the flashcards. You don’t
have to be a trained teacher to help your teen study—ask to see her
class notes and then together use them to make up questions for review.
- Keep asking about
school. Just hearing you talk about it will remind your teen that school
should be as important to her as it is to you. Your interest could be
the boost she needs to keep her motivation high.
- Tell your teen
you’re proud of her. Talk about how much she has accomplished so far
this year—and how you’re confident that she’ll be able to finish out the
year in the same way.
- Ask your teen’s
school for the final exam schedule (if you haven’t already). Make sure
your teen gets a good night’s sleep before test days and has a
nutritious breakfast in the morning. Be sure to bake her a special treat
to celebrate her hard work.
Reprinted with permission from the May
2008 issue of Parents Still make the difference!® (High School
Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2008 The Parent Institute®, a division of
NIS, Inc.
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