Starting a new school year can be a daunting experience for many students.
A recent press release from Sylvan Learning notes that what is often lost in the back-to-school scramble for supplies is the fact that school is about learning.
Abbey Pelayo, of Sylvan Learning in North Vancouver, noted in the release that parents need to take the right steps starting now to make sure their students are prepared to tackle new academic challenges with the right habits and daily routines. The following are steps parents can take now to help their children adjust to the new school year.
1. Impose the two-week rule: With later bedtimes over the summer, children need to ease back into their school routine rather than having a sudden change their first day of school. Using the last two weeks of summer to re-introduce a bedtime routine will make waking up on that first day a lot easier.
2. Re-introduce regular meal times: During summer months, kids tend to snack throughout the day. Nutrition is an important factor in academic performance, and eating a healthy, balanced breakfast and lunch keeps kids alert throughout the day.
3. Organize a family calendar: Time management is tricky for everyone, especially kids and teens, but planning is an important way to stay on top of things. Having major deadlines, due dates, events and extracurricular activities in one place helps kids visualize their week, manage their time and stay on track.
4. Don't ditch good habits: If you and your child have established a good summer learning routine, when school starts try not to forsake all of the fun reading, writing and art activities that kept your child engaged all summer.
The following are some tips for students:
1. Organize: Organization is not overrated. Keeping notes, projects and reading materials in logical order helps students find what they need right away cutting down on time spent tracking things down, and allowing more time for actual studying.
2. Take good notes: Yes, it does matter. Students should practise picking out the "main ideas" in conversations, news reports, or magazine articles.
3. Concentrate: Students need to do their best to avoid distractions in class. Keep cell phones tucked away and speak up if a chatty classmate is too distracting.
