For most families, the arrival of the mid-term report provides a great opportunity for parents and children to reflect on the past and plan for a successful conclusion to the school year. Here are a few ways you can help your child look forward to the end of the year.

Take stock of progress so far

Your child’s report card is a reflection of past performance, indicating your child’s strengths and weaknesses. It is an opportunity to celebrate the strengths and determine what additional steps can be taken to strengthen the weaknesses.

Assess study habits and home environment

Many parents start the school year with strict schedules for homework. By mid-year, extracurricular and family activities make these schedules difficult to follow. This is a good time for children and their parents to take a good look at how, where, and when homework is being done. Is enough time being spent on homework or is it squeezed in between other activities? Is it a priority or an afterthought? Parents need to consider their role in homework completion. Are you helping to maintain a quiet environment? Have you made sure your child has an adequate workspace and the tools to work with? Does your child have the necessary study skills to be successful?

Help your child set goals

Like adults, children feel successful when they achieve their goals. Sit with your child and read the report card together. Celebrate successes with your child. Listen to your child’s comments about the weaker areas. Ask about what he or she would like to see on the next report card. Then, help your child to set some clear, achievable, short term goals. Make sure the goals are specific. For example, getting an A in English or Math is too vague, too far away and possibly not reasonable. Encourage your child to work in small steps. Improving paragraph writing for the next assignment or mastering three more multiplication tables are examples of short term goals. Once the goals are determined, the next step is making a plan to achieve them. An important part of this step is talking to the teacher. Schedule a meeting with you, your child and the teacher. Ask for specific details. For example, “What skills does my child need to develop in order to write better paragraphs? Are there any academic skill gaps that need to be addressed? Can you suggest a strategy we can work on together to improve success.” Make sure your child is a part of this conversation.

Remember the power of praise

Parents should be their child’s greatest cheerleader. Make sure your child knows that you believe in him or her. Acknowledge all of the special skills and qualities that make your child unique. Find ways to honestly praise your child for things both great and small. Small steps are the beginning of big gains. “I really liked your positive attitude when you edited your story.” “Thank you for helping to clear the table.” “Your handwriting is really improving!” “I like the way created a schedule to share the computer with your brother.”

A good report card doesn’t happen in isolation. It’s a team effort involving parents, children and teachers. Working as a team allows your child to strive for the best he or she can do without undue pressure or fear of failing.

Many of us make New Year’s Resolutions to improve ourselves by losing weight or quitting smoking or exercising more. But what about resolutions to improve your mind? Here are a few learning resolutions, some small and easy, some a little more difficult. Whether you’re six years old or 60 years old, doing just one of these resolutions will leave smarter at the end of 2006 and you are at the start. Doing more than one will definitely make your mind stronger and your life richer and more interesting.

• Learn one new word every week.
• Learn one new skill every month (a massage technique, how to can your own produce, how to program your VCR – the opportunities are endless).
• Start a diary and keep it going daily or weekly for one year.
• Learn a new computer program every few months. Or at least make an effort every week to learn something more about a program you already use (either a short cut to use it more effectively, or a new command or option that you’ve never used before).
• If there’s a subject, topic, current event, company, product or country you’d like to know more about, make it your goal to become an expert. Whether it’s the Middle East or composting, in only 12 months, if you put your mind to it, you can become the most knowledgeable person on a specific subject within your peer group.

Remember, the keys to achieving your New Year’s learning resolutions are to start right away, and to make a simple plan for achieving the goals you set. If your goal is to learn a new word each week, figure out interesting ways to do it. Do a crossword puzzle, read a magazine you’ve never read before, pick up a thesaurus or visit one online and search out a new word.

You may even discover that with some resolutions, simply devising a process to achieve the goal you’ve chosen will teach you more than the goal itself.

Good luck with your New Year’s learning resolutions. Have a safe, happy 2006.

Setting goals helps motivate students, give purpose to their work, and better plan their time. Oxford Learning recommends that parents and children set goals for success together because “we decisions” are better than “me decisions”. By collaborating during goal setting, parents and kids can open the lines of communication.

To begin, simply sit down with your child. Based on a review of last year, let him/her tell you about the goals he/she would like to set for the new school year. Listen carefully to what your child would like to strive for and achieve. Be supportive, be respectful and be encouraging.

Achievable, Measurable, Believable Goals

Work with your child to develop and set goals that are relevant, but most importantly the goals must be achievable, measurable and believable. This is critical and the underlying key to setting successful goals. Once the goals are set, the time is right to build a reasonable, realistic plan to achieve them and measure success. Periodic reviews between you and your child about how he/she is doing will keep the positive momentum going.

As a parent, it’s important for you to know that it’s never too early or too late to teach your child the fundamentals to help him/her succeed. It’s also important to remember that Oxford Learning is here to help your child develop the right habits and skills so that he/she can achieve goals with confidence and success.

The new school year is an exhilarating time for both parents and children. Everyone is filled with high hopes and big expectations for academic success and achievement. But how do you ensure this feeling remains throughout the entire year, and doesn’t just fall flat after the first few weeks? How do you keep up the learning momentum and your child’s motivation? Start talking and set goals together.

The education experts at Oxford Learning, Canada’s leaders in preparing children for lifelong success, offer the following top ten tips for parents to help their children set goals for learning success for the school year and for a lifetime. By incorporating these tips into your family’s day-to-day routine, any child at any age can achieve greater confidence, self-esteem and success!

Top Ten Tips for Parents

Tip #1: Act Now and Set Goals Early

• Before school begins, sit down with your child and review last year’s report card. Discuss successes and areas that need improvement and set goals in each subject area.
• By setting goals early, you’ll ensure your child is happy and confident and has the ability to succeed from September through June.
• Don’t wait until the first report card – children can fall too far behind and be left playing catch up for the rest of the year. Remember, children who start strong, stay ahead.

Tip #2: Take the Time and Listen Carefully

• Listen carefully to the goals they would like to set for the year. But, don’t limit them to academics; include extra curricular activities such as clubs or sports as well.
• Be calm and show your children that they have your undivided attention. You just may find out more from them than you ever expected they would share. Ask what they are concerned about. Are they anxious about anything in particular? What were the biggest challenges they faced last year?

Tip #3: Set Goals That Are Achievable, Measurable and Believable

• Successful goal setting means that goals are achievable, measurable and believable.
• Achievable: Goals need to be set at a level that is more advanced than the level the child is currently working at, but not so advanced that it is unachievable or beyond reach.
• Measurable: Goals need to be measurable so that both parents and students are able to track progress and success.
• Believable: Children must believe in the goal and believe in their ability to achieve it for success.

Tip #4: Set Goals That Are Relevant To Your Child

• Children must be motivated, otherwise nothing can be accomplished. It’s essential that they perceive the goal as being of value to them, positive and beneficial in order for them to want to act on it. Positive thinking is a very powerful thing, so if they feel as though they can meet the challenge, they will.
• Remember, goals are very personal and individual so make sure they truly reflect your child and who he/she is.

Tip #5: It’s Never Too Early or Too Late to Set Goals

• No matter what your child’s age or level of ability, it’s never too early or too late to teach them the fundamentals to help them succeed, and this includes setting goals.

Tip #6: Make Goal Setting a Family Affair

• Be part of the solution – sit down with your child and set goals together.
• Once these lines of communication are open and you have a dialogue going with your child, make a point of keeping it up.
• Share your goals with family members (e.g., over dinner, in the car ride to school) so that everyone knows and can support your child as they work towards achieving these goals.

Tip #7: Be Supportive, Respectful and Encouraging

• Show your child your respect by talking with them about their goals, as opposed to at them – let them take the lead.
• Express to them your support of what they are trying to achieve and let them know that you are there to help them and encourage them every step of the way. This will help increase their confidence.
• Be proud of your child’s efforts as well as accomplishments.

Tip #8: Meet with a Third Party to Build a Plan for Success

• Communicating with children can be difficult for parents, particularly when it concerns issues about school and grades. That’s where Oxford Learning can help.
• Once you and your child have sat down together to identify their goals, make an appointment with one of the experts at your local Oxford Learning centre. They’ll help you and your child build a reasonable and realistic plan for achieving these goals with confidence, ease and success.

Tip #9: Incorporate Frequent Check-Ins

• Monthly reviews of how your child stands against their goals are a great way to keep the momentum moving forward. It’s also a great way to measure your child’s success and progress in achieving their goals because it gives them a timeline to work towards.
• Monthly check-ins will also let you know when the original goal has been achieved and that it’s time to set a new one.

Tip #10: Reinforce and Celebrate When Goals are Achieved

• When goals are met, celebrate! Positive re-enforcement will help to encourage your child to set new goals and continue on the path to success.
• Limit the rewards you give your child on an ongoing basis, otherwise the rewards will become the motivator. Remember, the achievement of their goal is a reward in and of itself.
• Look back on your child’s accomplishments together to re-enforce progress and capabilities.

Dr. Nick Whitehead, co-founder and President, Oxford Learning, and Ms. Kelley McGregor, Director of Training and Operation, Oxford Learning, are available for interviews.

It’s back to school time again! Certainly, we have enjoyed the company of our children for the summer. We have enjoyed our progeny for 9 1/2 weeks or 63 days or 1,512 hours or 90,720 minutes or ’if you are really a masochist’ 5,443,200 seconds!

As happy as we may be to have them back at their studies, our fondest wishes are reserved for their feelings. We want them to want to return to school. To want to succeed. To enjoy the quest. To work hard, perhaps even harder, this year.

What can we do to help? Three rules of motivation

1. We cannot motivate children. We can create lots of stress for them (and us); we can complicate their lives; we can insist; we can punish; we can see that the homework gets done. But motivation comes from inside.
2. Children motivate themselves when they discover we are offering them something they want. This means that our job is to lead them to understand why they should motivate themselves.
3. Your child is already motivated to do those things that they feel are important or of value to them. They lose motivation when they are expected to do things they do not understand and that do not appear to be important to them.

So what happens when our kids start back to school seemingly motivated and then lose that momentum? Where does their motivation go?

No matter how hard it is to believe, our kids are capable of logical and rational thought. How they are acting is a direct result of some conclusion or feeling they have – usually not consciously held – about themselves. If they don’t appear motivated, it’s because, deep down, they have concluded that giving the appearance of trying is not in their best interest. If I can’t succeed – don’t try! Or something like that.

The trick for us, as parents, is to make sure that our expectations are properly understood at our child’s level, not just at ours. Ask me why you should learn to succeed in school and I will tell you stuff about success, self-esteem, graduation, university or college, getting a good job and so on. Good answer, but what if you are 10 years old? What does that answer mean? Nothing! It has absolutely no motivating power to the child at all. It must mean something at your own child’s level or it is just rain being shed off a duck’s back.

The Last True Secret

And finally, here is the last, true secret. Motivation is a result of the action you take to achieve your values and goals! Action comes first; motivation follows. For the first few months of every new school year, help your kids devise a study time, help them get and stay organized and make sure they know how to start every assignment or homework piece. Enrolling in a good study program will help.

Help them get started! That’s the key “starting” action! Action first, feelings later. Don’t expect deep feelings of motivation to arrive before action. Start the engines first. The celebration comes later!

By R. N. Whitehead