ORGANIZATION BEGINS AT HOME

They may have your brains and winning personality by virtue of genetics but it’s a good idea to be proactive in helping your child develop good study habits and organization. Get together and map out consistent study and meal times.  Carve out a special place where your child can study each day.  Help your child learn to keep organized class notes and materials by getting involved in choosing school supplies. Here are a few proven tactics that can help get you started on the right track:
  1. Make sure they go to class. It’s the most important way for them to learn the material. Try to keep unnecessary absences and tardiness to a minimum. 
  2. Organization is key.  Studying is easier when kids keep organized notes.  Choose a system that works well for them — some students need only a simple two-pocket folder and spiral notebook, while others use a zipper binder with compartments and pockets for each class.  When you go to the store to buy school supplies, remember that whatever you choose should last all year.  Look for notebooks with plastic covers, sturdy nylon binders, and for those who don’t like it when filler paper tears out, Mead® now offers three-hole punched reinforced notebook paper.
  3. Be disciplined.  Sticking to a consistent study schedule is their responsibility but you have a lot of influence too.  Encourage them to break homework into manageable chunks and attainable goals and include a 10-minute break every 50 minutes.  Studying works best in a non-cluttered, organized environment.
  4. Don’t let them rely on all-nighters.  You may have fond memories of them in college but truly effective studying is like training for a marathon: most of the work happens up front, well before the race, er, test.  The last several days before the test, should concentrate on reviewing, not learning, the material. And the night before the test should be for, you guessed it, sleep!