Success from the Start: How to Help Your Child Build Great Study Skills Before the Next School Year Begins

Studying may well be the last thing on most children’s minds during summer vacation, but we adults know that a bright new school year is really just around the corner. What we don’t always remember is that now, before the hectic school year starts, is the perfect time for planning how to boost our children’s study skills for the academic year to come. “One of the primary reasons children consistently miss the mark at report card time is poor study habits,” says Cari Diaz, Club Z! Franchise Operations Director. Simply sitting down at the dinner table and hauling out the books every day for an hour isn’t likely to bring your child lasting academic success – it simply isn’t a very effective study tactic. Good study habits include a regular routine of proven methods that allow your child to get the best possible results from their study time. Unfortunately, schools tend to teach subject matter, not study skills. So how do we, as parents, teach our children these skills (especially if we never mastered them ourselves)? Never fear – we’ve outlined a few basic elements of a successful study plan. Above all else, effective study time demands organization, method, and focus. Organization “Better organization means more productive study time,” says Cari Diaz. “Organization is fundamental to creating good study behaviors that will develop into effective study habits.”

• Organization begins with having everything in the right place – before the clock starts. Pens, pencils, calculator, books, paper, the computer, and other supplies should all be brought to the study session.
• If possible, create a regular study area for your child to keep the supplies they don’t need to carry back and forth to school. By keeping these essentials available at home as well as at school, you’ll end your child’s frustration at having to scavenge through desks and drawers at homework time.
• To extend good organizational habits to in-school time as well as homework time, make sure your student has a surefire way of keeping notes and materials for separate subjects organized.

The best organizational tactics are of no use if they are too complicated to maintain. Help your child make a habit of staying organized. If the system starts slipping, consult with your child about how to re-organize. Method Ever used a pneumonic device? It’s a method for remembering something – a rhyme, an acronym, or a mental image. We use these all the time, from remembering which way to turn a screw (righty tighty, lefty loosey) to the notes on a scale (every good boy deserves fudge). Successful students find and use study methods that help them comprehend and remember what they study. Some other methods of study include:

• Writing summaries of material they have read, one chapter or section at a time. By summarizing information in their own words, students demonstrate their comprehension and also create an easy-to-read synopsis of the material.
• Creating charts to show relationships between comparative items. Charts give your child a visual picture of information, which makes remembering what they studied easier.
• Emphasizing main ideas through bullet points, highlighting and outlines. Breaking a section of text material into main points helps your child understand the main ideas and gives them a handy guide to work with in future study sessions.
• Good old-fashioned note taking, either in words or in pictures, helps your child to remember main ideas. Commenting on textbook materials allows your child to make connections to the information in a way that’s easy to understand and remember.

Each of these study methods can help your child cut large amounts of material down to a manageable size. Give each method a try. As your child becomes more familiar with each technique, using them will become second nature – a great habit they will carry forward and use every time they have new information to learn. Concentration There can be no doubt that concentration is essential to effective study. Here are a few tips you can use to boost your child’s concentration during study time:

• Choose a quiet, distraction-free location for studying.
• The study area should be well-lit and at a comfortable temperature.
• Concentration is easiest when your child is well-rested.
• Regularly scheduled, consistent study time helps train your child’s brain to learn at that time.
• Concentration is difficult if your child is hungry. A healthy snack before study time can do wonders.

“Your child’s best chance for improved academic performance is a combination of effort, dedication, and good study habits,” says Cari Diaz. By working with your child to create effective lifelong study habits, you are both more likely to see the results you want on the next report card…and on report cards for years to come. Need some extra help inspiring your kid to sharpen his study skills this summer in order to reach his true potential in the fall? Club Z! offers Learning Built to Last study skills tutors who specialize in helping children to identify their learning styles and find the study methods that best augment their strengths and address their weaknesses. Contact us anytime for more information.