06 Mar How to help your child prepare for June exams – NOW!
Report cards have just been distributed and it’s March break– the perfect time to start thinking about…. (wait for it)…. (take a deep breath!)…. (here it comes)… EXAMS!
That’s right, it’s time to start thinking about how your child will be preparing for exams.
Although June seems like a long way out, it’s really just around the corner and the time to prepare is NOW!
Here is a list of issues to address before the end of March:
- Is your child up to date with their work? If your child is not on top of their course work and/or does not understand the materials being covered, then the time to start helping him/her catch up is now! Talk to your kids about their classes and feel free to contact their teachers to find out about their progress. If a child has outstanding assignments or is struggling to understand, then you can give them the gift of help and time together! You can arrange for them to go to afterschool tutorials or homework help, or find them a tutor or coach if necessary. Taking action NOW sets your child up to succeed instead of fail!
- Help your child learn the study skills needed for success! On the first day of my study skills group sessions, I always begin by asking the students how they study for exams. Their reply: “I re-read my textbook and notes a million times.” THIS IS NOT STUDYING! I call these non-study, study skills. It seems that non-study, study skills are very popular amongst the high school crowd. Students need to learn how to study in order to be successful at exams. It is important to remember that just because your child is smart does not mean that they will ace their exams! Make sure that your child has the study skills they need in order to succeed!
- Help your child develop coping strategies to manage stress. Exam time is very stressful for students and we need to help them learn to calm down. Helping them stay calm also increases their ability to focus, stay on task, pay attention to details and remember what they are studying.
- It’s time to schedule AGAIN— Making a personal study calendar is the best way to ensure that all studying will be completed properly and completely. The schedule should be prepared one month before exams begin. So make sure to take a look back at how to prepare the calendar properly!
Extra tip: When preparing a personal study calendar, it is also a good time to organize and sort through all of the work for each course. This way, it will be much easier to break the tasks down into smaller sections to study each day!
Happy studying!
Robin
P.S. Is your child struggling in a particular area? Are you interested in learning more about a topic within the education area? My next blog topic will be up to you! In the comment boxes below, please help me brainstorm topics for my next blog post!
Didi
Posted at 16:47h, 06 MarchYour tips are very timely and very helpful!