August
Positive After School Hours
What does your child like to do in her spare time? Does he like to paint? Or read? Maybe she likes to play video games or practice soccer techniques.
How your child fills his after-school hours can impact how he learns in school in both negative and positive ways.
Your child’s after school activities can also help you tap into what really motivates your child, and can give you insight in to how to encourage her in school when her drive to succeed is waning.
Help children discover their inner motivation based on their after-school activities. This is a perfect tool to use when you hear the, “Do I have to?” complaint.
If your child’s after-school activity is—
- Reading—The more time spent reading, the easier it is to build vocabulary. Emphasize this by making connections to vocabulary tests in school.
- Video games—practice makes perfect! Persistence helps students to learn from mistakes, make the necessary adjustments, and then get it right the next time.
- Bike riding—physical fitness can elevate mood and concentration levels in the classroom.
- Building with Legos or other toys—can help develop math skills such as depth, measurement, and perception.
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Help Your Child Develop Confidence
Techniques to help students succeed in the classroom
These strategies help children of all ages develop the confidence they need to succeed, both in and out of the classroom.
Set a Routine. School is a routine. The sooner that young children are familiar with a routine, the sooner they will feel comfortable and confident. Even if school hasn’t started yet, you can begin to emulate school routines by establishing schedules around eating breakfast, getting up and getting dressed, and bedtimes.
Set Goals. Practice setting goals by working together towards clear, achievable, and measurable goals. When children work toward an objective, they build confidence in their abilities. This confidence transfers from one area of life to another.
Give Them an ‘A’ for Effort. Children who consistently give their best effort are more likely to persist and succeed. Whether it’s working on a project, studying for a test, practicing for a game—children should always be giving their best effort.
Don’t Praise Their Intelligence. Intelligence is innate and not something that children can control. If children are consistently praised for something that they essentially have no control over, they will feel powerless and unable to find a solution when they don’t succeed. Instead of saying, “you are so smart,” try “you worked really hard. Awesome job!”
It’s Okay to Fail. Students with little confidence are afraid to fail, so they don’t try. This is a protection mechanism. Teach them that’s it’s OK to fail. Everyone who tries will fail at one point or another—it’s part of the process. Tell them not to worry about the mistakes and help them to focus on failure as a learning experience.
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Back to School Tip #5
For a Better Start to the School Year
While it may still be summer, school will be back in session before you know it! Help your child beat the summer brain drain and start the new school year off right with a few small tweaks to your family’s summer routine and help from Oxford Learning.
Have a Successful Back-To-School Season!
Back to School Tip #5:
5. Read everyday. One of the simplest (and most enjoyable) ways to keep the brain active all summer and to prevent losing summer learning momentum is to read everyday. Whether its comic books, magazines, or novels, reading everyday helps to maintain active learning and prepares young minds for back-to-school.
Read back-to-school tip #1, tip #2, tip #3, and tip #4
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Back to School Tip #4
For a Better Start to the School Year
While it may still be summer, school will be back in session before you know it! Help your child beat the summer brain drain and start the new school year off right with a few small tweaks to your family’s summer routine and help from Oxford Learning.
Have a Successful Back-To-School Season!
Back to School Tip #4:
4. Use a calendar or an agenda. Throughout the school year, students use an agenda to stay on top of homework and assignments. But using an agenda or wall calendar to keep track of activities is just as beneficial in the summer, especially since the days have a tendency to blend into one another. Keeping track of play dates, swimming lessons, camp schedules, or picnics ensures that no important summer activity is forgotten and keeps children in the habit of organizing their time—a must-have skill for the return to the classroom.
Read back-to-school tip #1, tip #2, and tip #3
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Back to School Tip #3
For a Better Start to the School Year
While it may still be summer, school will be back in session before you know it! Help your child beat the summer brain drain and start the new school year off right with a few small tweaks to your family’s summer routine and help from Oxford Learning.
Have a Successful Back-To-School Season!
Back to School Tip #3:
3. Get supplies ready the night before. Getting ready for school in the morning can turn your normally happy house into a mad house. There are usually lots of last-minute scrambles to find the needed supplies. From binders to running shoes to lunch bags, locating a needed item when there’s a time crunch can be a source of stress. Families can practice refining their morning routine by organizing the night before. Whether it’s the summer or school year, picking out clothing, preparing lunches, or bringing sports equipment and supplies to the front door the night before makes morning routines run much smoother.
Read back-to-school tip #1 and tip #2
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Back to School Tip #2
For a Better Start to the School Year
While it may still be summer, school will be back in session before you know it! Help your child beat the summer brain drain and start the new school year off right with a few small tweaks to your family’s summer routine and help from Oxford Learning.
Have a Successful Back-To-School Season!
Back to School Tip #2:
2. Eat regular meals, regularly. Mealtimes are among the primary markers that divide up the day, both at home and at school. During the school year, eating a healthy breakfast in the morning requires a reliable routine. Why let that routine slip just because school is out? Kids still need the energy that breakfast supplies to be mentally alert, even during playtime. Growing bodies can become dependent on a set meal schedule during the school year and it’s important to maintain set meal times to keep brains functioning optimally. Regular meal times mean that when students head back to school in the fall, they are focused on the teacher, not on their growling bellies.
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