How to Teach Children Effective Time Management?

Too often kids and parents feel dissatisfied and disillusioned in the educational process. Parents might get frustrated in their efforts to help their children succeed, whereas a child might get frustrated getting up to his parent’s expectations. Now the question arises, how can parents help their children to be successful and find joy in learning? Parents can help their children thrive in school, and in life, by having pragmatic expectations of their children’s abilities and by helping them to develop independent work habits.

Working successfully with a child on school assignment needs understanding of the child’s developmental abilities. It is quite usual for parents to expect a child to remain quiet and still while doing learning activities, but research has proven that brains function better when movement is part of the learning process. Most children require some movement every fifteen or twenty minutes or so to concentrate. Making movement, a part of the activity is an immense way to inspire most advantageous learning and also interest and joy in learning.

If parents try to put movement into the activity and had also made an attempt to capitalize upon child’s natural gift for wonder and fun, they can present the activity to child as a game. By doing so he would not only have been overjoyed to practice his spelling words, he would also learn them more speedily and parents can have had a good time too. For instance, parents can keep the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle in different places around the room and each time a child wrote the correct spelling of a word, he would have been allowed to get a piece of the puzzle. When all of the pieces were collected this way, he could put the puzzle together. The time he would spend assembling the puzzle would not only be his reward for learning and writing the correct spelling, it would be a rest break for him before starting the next learning activity.

Parents can persuade child’s efforts to work without help. Most often, in their aspiration to help their child achieve good education and relatively best scoring in the schools, parents set the bar too high, anticipating more from their children than their capability is reasonable under the circumstances. If expectations are unrealistic, children practice failure more than they carry out success. They learn to avoid learning lessons rather than to take pleasure in their achievements. Parents can easily help children to draw a plan for how to learn and remember the spelling words. The plan can comprise writing each word five times while spelling it out loud as the child walked around the room, mobilizing his whole brain for learning by integrating movement into the activity. The next step in the plan could be a test of the words while the child balanced on one foot (weird as it sounds, research reasserts that students devote better attention when engaging in balancing activities). And the plan can also include a five to ten minute break (maybe to compose a puzzle) after finishing the test. Similar exercises and plans can be formulated for making children learn other things like mathematics, science or general knowledge.

Developing independent work habits sets aside a child to feel like a flourishing learner. The feeling of success advocates more focus and commitment towards the studies in the children. Parents can help their child mainly by evidently showing confidence in their ability to succeed. Children who are motivated to believe in success are much more liable to persist when the going gets sturdy. They do not become deterred by minor setbacks. They understand and find it easier to control the situation, and get over from the setbacks if any, in shorter times and they have in their educational experience.

One characteristic of independent work habit is learning effective time management skills. Helping children develop effective time management skills improves their grades and gives them the chance to spend more time with their family and friends. Parents could supervise the amount of time a child gives to each task. For instance, a mother can tell her child that he has thirty minutes to practice spelling words, and if he gets at least 90 percent in the practice test, then he can use two hours for an activity of his choice like reading story books, solving puzzles, or any sports activity, this way a child will feel rejuvenated and he will easily accept and complete the task you want him to do.

Parents can work more successfully with children by integrating movement and fun into homework activities and by formulating strategies and procedures for management of homework. When parents take a child’s leanings into consideration in teaching independent work habits to him, the environment of the home is improved and both parents and kids have fun and get pleasure in doing schoolwork and homework.

Teachers and parents both need to work together to assist children in pursuing a well-balanced lifestyle. The matter of school performance should be kept separate from other activities of a child’s life. If teachers and parents both, promote quality education, a strong sense of involvement with the kids, and encourage their performance with positive reinforcement, a well-balanced lifestyle can be maintained.

EFFECTIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR STUDENTS

Every student aims at achieving their level best to perform well during their tenure of  educational studies, yet the number who knows the tactics to learn more by studying less , which can further get  them good grades is very low. These few students who make it happen successfully are not only the smarter ones; rather they are the students who accurately know how to learn things in a better way and how to get better grades by understanding them. Learning is a severe task and if you are in a class with a lot of other students, learning can also turn into a competitive job. Our wish for being at top doesn't let us feel happy with simple success in school examinations only, To a certain extent we all try to reach at the top and get best possible grades or the things we want from our life.

Any child can easily get better marks in his or her school examination by undertaking the better learning strategies that enables them to optimize their learning capacities and make the most beneficial use of their hard work / labour / energy. It is not necessary that a student should become a bookworm, in order to succeed at school. A lot of students who constantly keep in touch with their books to memorize the formulae, theories and problem solving methods often fail to get better marks in the exams. This is for the reason that they keep on trying to memorize, too many things behind the different topics and subjects, devoid of interconnecting the ideas which restricts them to learn and understand the things practically.

A student might score average marks if he or she try hard to memorize things.  However, if any student really wants to excel in his studies and to earn the highest marks in his exams, he needs to play smart and intelligent. Memorizing things is not the right procedure; instead one should try to make his or her mind active enough to make learning process simpler than, it is for the majority of the students. With better learning strategy, one can save more time and gain confidence. This will let students participate in his or her social life and to get pleasure from other streams of learning like sports and leisure activities.

Proper Learning Strategy

In lieu of putting away yourself with books like a bookworm and attempting to memorize every word of the book devoid of in reality understanding it, you need to pursue the holistic approach of learning. Rather than wasting your energies in attempting to rote memorizes everything referred in your curriculum; you should begin making association between the ideas. There are several definite strategies to learn things in a simple way.

Where to Study? The conventional or standard perception has it that one should continue with one study place, which is not right. Cognitive researchers have laid down that shifting locations for study purposes makes better retention in the students.

Focus: It is broadly assumed that one should focus strongly on a single topic, research points, contrarily, that changing the type of material studied in single sitting ensues in far better learning results than does concentrating on just one subject at a time.  Mix and match with your subjects, as if you constrict your focus of study too much, you will never develop the mental hooks that the brain requires to solve the problems.

Tests are good for learning: Tests are immense learning tool. Libraries, teachers or professors generally have copies of past tests question papers in a subject matter. Try to find them and start practicing with them, practicing in this way will give you knowledge about the type of questions asked in the examination and the pattern of examination. It will really help you solve your question paper easily and will save much of your time in examination hall.  Complicated tests are even more efficient learning tools. Researchers call this learning outcome "desirable difficulty".

Explicate hard concepts to yourself or somebody else. While trying to getting mastery over something it often helps if you explain it to somebody else, which will make the topic clearer to you.

Don't solve problems on your own for the first time, study problems that already have been solved.

Can Exercise Make Kids Smarter? The answer is yes. Being fit increases neurocognition. To do well on tests, one should always keep fit, as the saying goes “a healthy mind dwells in a healthy body.” Kids could play healthy games – puzzles, educational toys or even a twenty minute walk prior to a test will help bring up test scores.

HOW TO PREPARE YOUR CHILD FOR FIRST TIME TO SCHOOL

So your little one got admission in the best preschool of your choice. You made all the preparations for the coming day, you sent your child early to bed so that he would wake up early and get ready for the school. You kept a backpack stuffed with all the essential school supplies for the preschool like crayons, paper and glue sticks by the front door. First day of school outfit is hanging ready in the closet, and the lunch box you have prepared is packed, shoes are polished and ready to go. The first day of preschool has arrived and it’s time for your child to start his educational journey that will last about for next twenty years. Don’t you feel that you should make this monumental first day a great experience for you and your child?

It’s quite easy and you can do it right, you just need to have a few things in mind while doing this.

The Crying Game

First, be prepared for some tears. Separation anxiety is very common among preschoolers, particularly those who are going to school for the first time. It is quite innate for children to cry, whine, and cling to their parents during the first few days of school. They are, after all, being put in a new environment with strange faces.

Despite the fact that it may be difficult for some parents not to give in to their child's heart-wrenching howls, it is significant that you make your child realize that you cannot be with him all the time. To bring down the stress levels both for you and your child you can do as follows:

• Prepare your child for the separation: On the breakfast table, you can say that you are leaving for office and your child is such a big bravo and he/she will be fine in school with other kids when you go to office, and for being in the school you will give him some gifts.
• Tell your child what you will be doing while you are away: This reassures him that you are not going away for the reason that you don't want to be with him, but because you have to get a few things done.

• Describe to your child what he will be doing in school in your absence: Explain him about the fun things he will be doing in school with his teachers and other kids, like all those fun activities that often take place in a classroom of a preschool. A child accustomed to scribbling with paper and crayons at home, for example, will find it comforting to discover the same crayons and paper in his or her preschool classroom.
• Reassure your child that you will be coming back: Promise him that you will be returning - and prove to him that he can trust what you told him or her by returning on the appropriate time. And in no way, under any situation, threaten to leave your child when he "misbehaves." This will make him more fearful, and he will cling to you even more.
• Prepare yourself: When you have done all the best things you could have done and you still find yourself with a sticking vine, keep in mind that the crying will only lessen, once your child learns the important lesson that he can carry on without you for a few hours in the preschool. Don't make an upheaval or rebuke your child for sticking to you; motivate and reassure him instead lovingly. Holding, hugging or pampering him while saying him to go into the classroom by himself, may puzzle him about whether he or she should stay or go, so be firm.
• Praise your child while separation: Say a few words of appreciation while separating him or her like, "I'm so proud of you for being such a big boy/girl in school" to make him/her feel proud of his/her "accomplishment." Besides this you can also give him some gifts related to his schooling and education for instance, your kid’s favorite cartoon character’s schooling stuff like ben 10, mickey mouse, Hannah Montana, Winnie the pooh, Tom and Jerry, Ninja Hattori, Superman, and Disney etc.
• Give him articles similar to preschool in home play and learn: You should give him some puzzles, colors, crayons, books, toys at home to play similar to the preschool classroom so that he can enjoy doing things and don’t make excuses or cry for going to school next day.

In any case, children’s crying loudly on their first day in the preschool is nothing new to a preschool teacher. They are used to of such situations and they have tact’s to deal with this very situation. You also should follow it. Mostly, they will say you to leave it and probably it will be the most difficult thing you will have to do, but it genuinely does work. Nine out of ten times, the child stops weeping within five to ten minutes of the parent leaving the school premises. But, when you will return back to classroom a few hours later to pick up your child you will find him happy and content with a pile of artwork he or she cannot wait to show you and tell the stories his/her teacher has told him/her in the classroom.

How to Study Faster and Remember More in Less Time?

With the everyday increasing availability of information to people at present, there is a real dire need for speed reading to keep oneself abreast. There are a number of techniques and methods that help in increasing your speed of reading and that too without really dropping your retention and comprehension capabilities. This helps students save time and get extra marks in the exams. This is advantageous for students because through this skill they can cover more chapters than their social group in less given time. Even in the corporate world, employees with this skill are able to comprehend different reports, newspapers, emails, correspondence and other technical papers much faster to excel in their careers. Therefore, it betters the efficiency and productivity of the person along with providing him more time to take care of other facets of life.

Speed Reading Techniques

Discovering to read speedily does not assist in enhancing the I.Q. level of a person, although, it does help in growing the brain’s ability to understand several new concepts in lesser time than ever. Moreover, one should build up his or her grasp on the language and vocabulary to master this skill entirely. A few very common and basic techniques that can be used are as follows:

• Avoid Reading Word by Word: Unluckily, most of us are instructed to read anything especially our course books word by word since our childhoods. This is a characteristically general poor reading habit, which makes the person contemplate more on the words more willingly than the concept delivered by the consummate text. For speedier reading, one requires reading in lumps and blocks while comprehending the basic heart and soul of these groups.
• Avoiding Sub Vocalization: This method is considered to be one of the most important speed reading techniques,  one should avoid sounding out each word when reading as it cuts down the comprehension ability and the pace of reading of the individual. One should practice on a regular basis to get out of this reading speed decelerating habit.

• Focus on Reading: There are a lot of people who believe in multi tasking. Nevertheless, one should avoid mixing any other work during reading and try to just sit and read with concentration. Avoiding maximum possible distractions and disturbances will help tremendously in improving the reading speed of the individual.
• Skimming the Content for Main Ideas: Reading is not an additive practice. It is not necessary that one take in the sentences and paragraphs sequentially and in order. One should develop the habit of scanning the whole content in the minimum possible time so that they can and focus more on the significant content, which are mostly marked in bold or are in bulleted points. This will help a person in avoiding the ruffle and focusing more on the very important material.

• Take Regular Breaks: Regular studying for hours at a stretch dissembles the efficiency of the person while decelerating the retention process. One should take regular breaks to refresh him or herself, which also helps in deflecting much strain on the eyes.

• Switch on to learn through digital media: In the breaks while reading one can also switch on to learn differently through the CDs and DVDs which are intended for better learning and comprehension. This method is pretty useful for the students aspiring for competitive exams like IIT-JEE and AIEEE which demands a lot of learning in shorter span of time. This method of learning is also useful for the students appearing in the board exams.

•     Using Interactive Media: People get bored reading the books. Especially during the exam preparation time many a student feel bored mugging up the lessons, they can use interactive media for preparing their courses which are designed and developed to cover the whole course in easy understandable manner.
•    By continual practice of these speedy reading methods, one will notice a substantial amount of change in his or her own interpretation style in a few months. Despite the fact that a large number of people are blessed with speedy reading by nature, there are a whole lot of courses and CDs/DVDs available online that help people in learning this proficiency. One just needs to keep in mind that speedy reading is not magic rather the regular practice and steady concentration are the only two ways that will help a person master this truly important art of speedy learning. 

How Can You Make Your Child Concentrate on Studies?

Studying or simply concentrating in studies can be a boring job for the majority of children, particularly if the children have little or altogether no interest in the books or learning material at hand. This automatically brings down concentration levels and brings on a sense of helplessness in the child.

The trouble, nevertheless, is not as serious as it may seem and a few simple steps can do in assisting one nurture good relations with their textbooks and formulate efficacious concentration spans.

• Make a Timetable: First, it is essential to plan a proper timetable where not only study hours but also breaks are included. Little breaks in between long study hours are essential to give a child relief from a tedious study schedule.
• Make Study Sessions Engaging: It is also significant to make study sessions more engaging and interesting so that children do not lose their interest while studying. You can also give them extra information related to the subject and topic your kid is reading.
• Make Chapters short and Easy: Try to make chapters easy in the form of small little quizzes.

• Fun and Rewards: A little reward like a simple toffee or a 10 minute break to play or watch cartoon on TV at every answer is not a bad idea to keep your kid’s excitement on. Also, try to integrate little jokes and anecdotes in the middle of lessons so that kids do not get bored.
• Write down main ideas: Encourage your children to take notes. This valuable study habit is quite beneficial to children. When the child take the time to record what he is reading, it reinforces new facts, helping him concentrate on his studies.

• Apply what you learn: Besides just learning fact, show your children how they can recount what they've learned. For instance, rather than just making them learn the formula for finding the area of a triangle (area= 1/2bh), have them measure something in their room that's has a triangular shape, for this activity they can measure their birthday cone cap or any other triangular thing. This will make learning math more sensible to them. In addition, explain how knowing math will help them in practical areas of their lives, such as calculating how much carpets they need to buy for their room, etc.
• Do Not Force: If a kid don’t feel like finishing a chapter or a lesson after long hours of study, then he/she should not be forced to study on. Study overload should not be imposed on the children when they are not able to pay attention in the studies for that time.

• Set aside time for distracting thoughts: Tell your kids to get out a blank sheet of paper and make a note of any distracting thoughts. Then tell them to pick out a specific time and place to think about them-but not while studying and doing homework.
• Let Them Stay Healthy: Lastly, make sure that kids get ample amount of rest each night, with an average of 8-9 hours of sleep. Furthermore, take care of their diet and give them enough and appropriate stuff to eat well because it will help them stay fit. Also, ask your children to spare some time for fitness activities such as sports, as it will finally help them concentrate on things in a more effective way.

Concentrating on studying is not by a blame sight an unfeasible task and all it takes is a bit of fortitude. Anyone who is committed to following the aforesaid steps is bound to realize a marked difference in their execution and learning within shorter time span.