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Learning Essentials, LLC
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Family Tips to Improve Learning Success in Grades K-12
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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Are you teaching your child how to solve problems?
Children need to know how to solve problems for themselves. Answer yes or no to the questions below to find out if you are helping your child develop problem-solving skills: ___1. Do you try to teach your child that problems always offer opportunities for solutions? ___2. Do you look for low-tech toys for your child to play with? The best toys let children invent how to use them. ___3. Do you encourage your child to learn more about topics she is interested in? Kids often ask the best questions--and then try to find their answers--in subjects they like. ___4. Do you encourage your child to brainstorm her own solutions. "How could you fix that problem?" ___5. Do you let your child try the solution she selects if it is reasonable? Even if it doesn't work, she'll still learn something. How well are you doing? Each yes means you are helping your child solve problems on her own. For no answers, try those ideas. Reprinted with permission from the February 2012 issue of Parents make the difference!® (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2012 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc.
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MIDDLE SCHOOLToo much stress can decrease your child's ability to learn
 Middle school students often have a lot on their plates--and on their minds. They can easily become overwhelmed, and the results aren't good. As anxiety goes up, grades go down. If your child seems stressed, suggest ways he can relax. He could: - Enjoy time with a friend. Suggest they do something that makes them laugh, such as watching a favorite funny movie.
- Participate in a hobby (other than playing video games). Hobbyists --people who paint, read, collect, do puzzles, you name it--usually "lose themselves" in what they are doing for a while. Focusing on these pleasant thoughts helps to defeat stress.
- Breathe deeply. Research shows this truly works. A few minutes of slow deep breathing can calm your child when he is feeling overwhelmed. Practicing it for a brief time each day can lower your child's overall stress levels.
- Stretch. Doing yoga is linked to lower stress levels. Tell your child to try a few minutes of relaxing music and slow, gentle stretches.
Source: "12 Healthy Ways to Relax," WebMD, http://fit.webmd.com/teen/recharge/slideshow/slideshow-teen-relax.
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HIGH SCHOOL
Encourage your teen to take responsibility for learning
Your teen earned a bad grade--actually, a terrible grade--in Spanish last marking period. What should you do? Perhaps the most useful thing you can do is to help him "own" it. Most teens have quite a knack for placing the blame elsewhere--on the teacher, on the "stupid" test. Instead, help your high schooler figure out exactly what he did to earn the bad grade. Until your teen takes responsibility for what he did, he's not going to be able to make the changes he needs to make. Here are some questions he should consider: - Did he invest the time he needed? How much time did he actually spend working on his Spanish? Did he review the new vocabulary he learned in class? Did he turn in his homework? Did he study for tests? He is responsible for how he uses his time.
- Does he know how to study? Sometimes, teens think that if they just skim the chapter, they have "studied." Teens need to learn that studying is an active process. If he doesn't know how, encourage him to ask his teacher how to study. He can also search the Internet for college study sites.
- Did he assume he is just "not smart" in the class? Remind your teen that nearly any subject can be learned with effort.
Source: J.B. Bader, Dean's List: 11 Habits of Highly Successful College Students, Johns Hopkins University Press.
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