The Importance of Developing Good Study Skills

December 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

It happens to most families at one time or another.  Your child is getting good grades — not great, not terrible — and you get a teacher’s note included with his report card telling you that he is not really living up to his potential.  There may not be any specific criticism offered, and the vagueness of the comment can be almost maddening.  This comment in not uncommon with bright children who pick up things quickly.  They’re bright and usually bring home grades with a mix between “A’s” and “B’s.”  There’s really not much to complain about, but there may a problem lurking that is best resolved during their early school years.  Exactly how can you help your child better fulfill his potential?

Or perhaps your child is bringing home grades that you’re convinced just don’t match his or her abilities. They’re not skipping school, and most of their work is completed on time, but their grades just don’t seem to be what they should.  What options do you have?

This is something we see quite frequently, and the problem may well be poor study habits.

One of the disadvantages faced by bright students comes from their ability to quickly comprehend most subjects.  The problem arises when they progress to a point in their education where the sophistication of the subject cannot be comprehended immediately and needs much more disciplined study.  This time most often comes during high school when students face the rigors of trigonometry, calculus or statistics.  For virtually every student, these subjects require significant amounts of study and memorization.  And these disciplines may have never been necessary for the bright student.  For perhaps the first time, they will be faced with obstacles that simply cannot be easily grasped.

A student who is producing marginal grades may need little more than some guidance on how to maximize study time to achieve the best results. Of course, all students will struggle from time to time with new topics.  This is one reason its so vital for them to develop good study skills.

At Academic Learning Labs we have a program of tutoring designed to help your child develop the study habits that will help improve their schoolwork and better equip them for the rigors of college work.  We break down study skills into several areas that we help your child improve:

  • Organization – covers assignment tracking, binder organization and study planning.
  • Time Management – includes scheduling study time and avoiding distractions.
  • Note Taking – covers effective listening strategies, practical note taking and following directions.
  • Studying – includes how to use notes to review material, extracting the most important information from textbooks, research strategies and subject-specific study tips.
  • Test Taking Strategies – includes ways to minimize test anxiety and effective tips for a variety of test formats including multiple choice, open answer and essay.

We also break down study skills for your child’s grade level offering targeted tutoring for elementary, middle, and high school.  Please call us at 949-546-0800 for more details on our study skills tutoring.

 

Filed Under: College, Homework, Studying Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Can You See An Ivy League College In Your Child’s Future?

September 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

If you’re reading this blog, we’re fairly certain you’re already plotting a course for your child’s college education.  More than ever, a college degree helps serve as the vehicle for greater earning and your child’s overall life satisfaction.  But how about considering a reach to an even higher shelf?  Exactly what would it take to get your child on a path toward one of the country’s most prestigious universities, like Harvard, Yale or Princeton?  There are a number of things you can do to help your child work toward this opportunity.

Start Laying the Groundwork Early

Dream Big -- Start Early

There are many requirements to get into the nation’s top colleges, and there’s tremendous competition. Your child will have the best chance with preparation that starts years in advance.  You need to start early recognizing your child’s special abilities and encouraging them to grow in these areas.  Also, many of these colleges watch for students who demonstrate a balanced lifestyle with activities ranging from competitive sports to volunteering in the community.   This can be one of the most rewarding aspects of your child’s preparation.  By guiding your child to actively participate in community programs and athletics, you’ll enrich them tremendously even if they never attend an Ivy League school.

Recognize That Ivy League Colleges Are A Viable Option For A Select Few

Increasingly, Ivy League recruiters are attempting to discern the true standouts academically.  They’re looking for students who operate at an intellectual level that will be challenged, but not overwhelmed by the rigor of their coursework.  Here’s some advice from the website, TheIvyCoach.com:

Highly selective colleges like the universities that comprise the Ivy League seek overachieving students with great intellectual curiosity. They want students for whom learning and intellect come naturally. They’re not after the student who has to work really hard to earn that A. They’re not after the grade grubber. They’re after the student who goes home, reads a book for pleasure, and aces his history exam because he loves history…not because he pulled an all-nighter studying. And this kind of information is often conveyed in the letters of recommendation from teachers.

There’s No Avoiding Hard Work

Entrance to top notch colleges is not easy, and it will require academic performance well beyond what comes naturally to many children.  Excellent grades are expected, and a record of consistent achievement in Advanced Placement Courses is certainly part of this.   For a truly gifted child, the biggest challenge may come in the area of discipline, not learning.  They may well have a gift that is best unleashed through a more disciplined lifestyle, rather than hard hours of rote studying.   Unlike most of their peers, their biggest challenge may be developing a consistent use of their skills, rather than struggling to achieve basic performance.

Make Sure It’s Truly Their Dream

Helping Your Child Dream Big

As parents we always have high aspirations for our children.  This is natural, and certainly a normal part of the parent-child relationship.  But we need to watch our children to learn the things that they become passionate about.  We do our best parenting by making sure we expose our children to the widest variety of options, and then encourage them to pursue those things that interest them.  As your child starts to evaluate their path toward college, the choice of which college to attend will come to the forefront.  And it’s perfectly appropriate to encourage your child to strive for the absolute best available.   But we create a recipe for disaster when we push our children into options that are the product of our aspirations and not theirs.

Capitalize On Your Child’s Abilities

One of the most gratifying elements of our tutoring at Academic Learning Labs is when we can help a child to develop their natural abilities.  We consistently see that many children with tremendous abilities have their talents burdened by a world of boredom and poor study habits.  It’s remarkable to see the freedom that comes to these children when we can teach them simple methods of organization and discipline that serve to unleash their innate abilities.  Sometimes we serve more as facilitators than actual instructors.  With some students our best work is simply to help them develop the ability to harness their potential.  And with some, this will lead them to positions of great leadership as they progress to the nation’s finest colleges.

Call us at 949-546-0800, and we’ll be happy to discuss with your family the many ways we can help your student realize the dream of a college education — perhaps even at an Ivy League college.

Filed Under: College, Preparing for College Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Preparing For The New School Year

August 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Summer is drawing to a close, and we’re getting ready for the new school year.  Returning to the classroom presents your child with both challenges and opportunities.  There are several things you can do to help your child get off to a good start.

Make sure your child is familiarized with the school before the first day of classes

Meet Your Teacher!

Each year children graduate from one grade level to the next and many families move during the summer.  The stress of going to a new school can weigh heavily on some children, so it’s a good idea to plan ahead and visit the school before classes start.  If the campus is open, visit the office and meet the staff.  Walk the hallways with your child and visit the playground.  A short trip like this can make a real difference in the ease with which your child will settle into the new routine at a new school.  Many schools offer an orientation for incoming students, so be sure to contact your school for details.

If possible, arrange a meeting with your child’s new teacher

Many teachers spend the last couple of weeks of summer preparing their classrooms for the new school year.  During this time, they may be available for you to drop by the school and meet with them.  This is a great opportunity for both you and your child to start the new school term off on the right foot.  Having your child walk into the first day of class and seeing a smile of recognition from his or her teacher is a definite plus.  Help to foster a good relationship between your child and their new teacher.  Younger children can draw a picture or create a small craft to give to the teacher on the first day.  Make it a fun project, and your child will associate the fun activity with their new teacher.  The more fun elements you can introduce into the learning process, the more likely your child will get excited about learning.

Help your child build relationships with other children

Studying With Friends is Fun

If you’ve moved to a new area, it’s vital to help your child build new friendships.  An evening walk through the neighborhood after dinner can be a great opportunity to meet neighbor children and start to build new friendships.  Make sure you do what you can to have your house open to new friends.  There’s a real benefit when starting at a new school if your child has already made friends with some of the other students.  It’s one more element of comfort to help your child ease into a new environment.

Start early helping your child excel in school

If your child’s previous teachers have alerted  you to subjects needing more work, be sure you take a pro-active approach to those areas.  The sooner your child gets a boost with a difficult subject, the easier it will be for them to get caught up and even excel in that subject.  That’s where Academic Learning Labs can be a great resource.  We have support tutoring for all areas of your child’s needs.  If they’re struggling to keep up with homework, our tutors can help them get organized and take charge of the work.  We also offer individualized help to equip your child to better tackle whatever challenges face them at school.  We have programs designed to provide reading enrichment, improve math skills, and enhance writing skills.  Our tutors have a real knack for making learning fun.  One thing you’ll notice when you visit us is how much laughter can be heard during our tutoring.  Call us at 949-546-0800 and we’ll be happy to show you how we can help your child excel at school — and have fun doing so!

Filed Under: Education Changes, stress, Studying, Tutoring Tagged With: , , , , ,

Homework and Test Prep Study Tips

November 16, 2011 By 1 Comment
Homework and Test Prep Study Tips

Studying for an upcoming test is a part of every student’s life but the question becomes “Does your child know how to study?”

The most important skills your child needs are to get organized, learn to take good notes and study effectively. The key for parents in this is to encourage them to take responsibility for their work, monitor homework, asking questions and understanding what works for your child.

The best ways to help your child get organized is to provide a place to study such as a desk or table where your child can spread out all the papers and books along with their essential supplies (pens, paper and calculators), help your child develop a system which helps them create an organization method that sticks with them.

Encourage your child to learn to estimate how long each assignment will take, which will teach them to plan realistic schedules.

Test Prep

The key is to teach them that rereading the information is not the same thing as learning. Rather than simply reading the information over and over again, they can try applying the concepts allows for active learning.

Help your child make the most of his time by taking advantage of study times. A car ride or when they are waiting to be picked up after school can be an opportunity to study.

Look for other sources of support. Whether it be a tutor, or a “study buddy” or study group, sometimes these sources of support can help by filling in the gaps of how their study techniques and help test their understanding of the material.

Be sure to take note of what study techniques and styles work for you so that you can use them in the future.

One of the most important things you can do for your child is to help them destress. Learning the right skills can really help reduce anxiety as can physical activity and other relaxation exercises. If your child seems stressed out about a test, make sure to talk to him about it so that you can evaluate the situation, and their workload. If you have concerns be sure to contact the school and discuss some options.

Filed Under: Studying, Tutoring, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , ,