5 Tips To Create The (Near) Perfect Homework Environment

The mind of a child is like a sponge. Children absorb what is around them. Sometimes this is good, and sometimes this is not so good. When children are learning and taking in everything around them, it is understandable that they need to have a near-perfect environment to have an optimal learning experience.

I use the phrase near-perfect environment because what may be the perfect environment for one child may not be the perfect environment for another child. We are all different people with different personalities and different learning styles. The following suggestions may be used in part or in whole. I’ve found these tips to be helpful in creating the near-perfect homework environment.

• Create the atmosphere – Having a child who is very easily distracted has made us realize the importance of having an optimal homework environment. Our daughter has her own special homework space. It is a simple, well-lit area with no distractions. When she puts her head down to work, she is more inclined to “get in the zone.” There is no noise, no toys and no activities around her, which often translates into no homework problems.

• Allow for space/breaks – When my daughter gets off the bus, she is DONE. She needs a break.  And why not? She has just completed a half-hour bus ride home and has had to stay focused all day at school. Our routine is to allow her to rest before she does anything. If she is rested, she is more inclined to stay focused and more likely to enjoy her homework. A rested brain means the brain is ready to work and is in “absorption” mode, not recovery-and-spent mode.

• Make sure the child is well fed – Food is something we all need. Having a child who is well fed will help the child work better. The human body simply cannot function properly without proper nutrition. Healthy meals and snacks help a child’s learning go a long way.

• Be organized – Being well organized is a sure way to have your child succeed in his or her studies. Have a homework caddy easily accessible so when the child is ready to start working, everything is ready to go, and there is no need to search for anything, which may cause a child to become distracted.

• Be available – Children may not want an adult right next to them while they are working, but it is important for them to know that you are available if they need you. Using phrases like, “It looks like you have worked really hard on that sentence” instead of empty praise such as, “You are the best at writing sentences” will help them realize their work is important.

These are just a few tips to help you create the near-perfect homework environment for your child. Start with these tips, and then observe doing his or her homework. You may also want to spark up a casual conversation with your child about what he or she does and doesn’t like about homework. Based on the answers, try to accommodate, and make homework something your child enjoys. How do you keep your child focused on doing homework?

- Jody A

The Highs and Lows of Report Card Day

Your child’s first report card of the school year, and each one thereafter, can bring feelings of excitement, bliss and pride; it can also cause disappointment, frustration and concern. In either scenario, each reporting period is a time to reflect on the good, and/or not so good, and prepare your child for a fresh start! Here are some tips to get the conversation going:

• Make it a game of high-low! Ask your kids what they feel is the “high” of their report cards, and let them know you are proud of their hard work. Secondly, ask what they feel is the “low” of their report card and have a discussion about how that grade was earned.Then discuss ways to improve on the “low.”
• Talk to your kids about their work habits, goals and challenging subjects. From there, try setting short-term goals for the next quarter and long-term goals for the end of the school year.
• Stay positive! Be careful not to overreact to low grades or grades you deem unacceptable. It can be damaging to children’s confidence and have adverse effects of improvement. Find something to praise, even if it is just perfect attendance or a small improvement in a certain area.
• Have an open dialogue with your children and let them tell you how they think they did. This gives them an opportunity to be transparent and sets the tone for parents. By talking openly, you can identify the issues and determine the best steps to create solutions.

During report card time, the most important thing for parents to do is to keep the lines of communication open with your children, as well as their teachers, to create a plan to further your children’s academic success. Remember that a report card is only a snapshot of how your child is performing in school and does not speak to all of their potential. Progress is key, and if you keep that in mind, you will be able to offer the support your child needs to be successful in all of his or her academic endeavors.

How to Get Kids To Open Up About Their Day

All parents know that at the end of the day the last thing their children want to do is talk about their day at school. However, it’s important for parents to know what their kids are doing at school and how they feel about school. It’s also important for kids to talk about their day and share their feelings. These tips can help you get your kids to open up about their school day.

• Avoid asking “How was school today?”— If you want to start a conversation, quit asking this boring and expected question. Ask more specific questions, such as “Who did you sit with at lunch today?” These types of questions will help your children focus on one aspect of their day, rather than their day as a whole.
• Use Artwork or Schoolwork as Conversation Starters— When kids bring home their masterpieces from art class or a completed assignment, take the time to look them over and make observations about them to your child. Simple comments or questions will encourage your child to share more details with you.
• Talk About Your Day— Do you want to hear what your child’s favorite part of his or her day was? Start by talking about your day and modeling what you want to hear. After hearing your stories, your child will better be able to relate to you and share a similar story.
• Stop to Actually Listen— It’s important to actually put everything else aside to listen to your child without any distractions. Stop cleaning the dishes and sit down with your child to have a real one-on-one conversation. This time will show your children that what they are saying is important to you. When you’re not distracted, you will also be more aware of your children’s feelings and how they really feel about school, giving you the chance to extend the conversation and dialogue.
• Stay In-the-Know— Read the school newsletters and everything else your children bring home from school. Stay updated on what’s going on in their daily lives and what’s on their schedules. Being involved will help you better understand your child’s life and therefore help you stay connected to your child.

Each child is different and will respond in different ways. Learn what helps your children open up and what causes them to shut down. When does your child talk the most about his or her day, and how do you fuel the conversation?

How to Get a Early Start on the College Search

Now that I have successfully sent one child off to college, my friends tend to ask me for college prep and selection advice. Top question — how many schools did you visit, and how did you work it into their busy schedules?

I love watching their faces when I tell them, “Twenty-six schools, seriously.”I know they are thinking, “Isn’t that really overdoing it?” Look, in true mama-says-so fashion, I only do this stuff if it’s going to work out well for me.

“College search” was the single best excuse I have found so far to travel and hangout with my kids.  And because it was all about them, they totally went along with it. (Suckers!) Now, we didn’t wait to start the college visit odyssey in the 11th grade.

Over the last few years, we worked campus visits into vacations, so both of our kids could start to get a mental picture of how big schools differed from small schools. It gave me the opportunity to see what some of these schools, that I only hear about during March Madness, actually look like. We saw Stanford on a San Francisco vacation when my son was in eighth grade, the University of Arizona while we visited Phoenix, and so on. I even managed a spring break business trip in L.A. where I had both kids fly out and we hit USC and UCLA.

It wasn’t until 10th grade Christmas break when we started working in specific college visits, where we officially signed up and listened to the pitches. I made my son do all of the online pre-work to register us for every visit. It proved to be an effective way to gradually transfer his enrollment responsibility from me to him. When we went to visit my family in Dayton for the holiday, we drove from Chicago so we could hit the University of Illinois, University of Dayton, Ohio State and Vanderbilt. Seeing several schools in a short spread was interesting because we could compare the schools and start identifying what “lit” him up and what turned him off.

We also got much better at asking useful questions by listening to other families at the early campus visits.My son went from asking, “Where do you go for good pizza here?” to “Do you offer merit scholarships?” and “How important is Greek life at the university?” Practice does make perfect.

During the spring of his junior year, on long weekends, he and I would cash in my frequent flyer tickets and hit some schools that were high on his list. I also extended an NYC business trip so he could join me to tour Columbia and NYU. He didn’t end up attending either, but we have an epic memory of running the Central Park loop together.

In that critical summer between junior and senior years of high school, I planned a vacation to see multiple schools during one trip. My kids and I went to the Boston area and hit five schools and crushed the Freedom Trail. We visited old friends, learned the train system, ran the St. Charles jogging route and did Boston like crazed tourists. We threw in New Haven and Providence just to round the trip out. On another trip, we took our French exchange student with us to explore the Washington, D.C., Virginia and North Carolina schools.

Ultimately, my son sorted out that he liked schools with a defined campus, an accessible big city and a sports tradition. Oh yes, and he then sorted out the schools that offered the majors and programs that were of interest to him. In the end, he chose based on the major and a well-informed “gut feel” for the school.

Sure, there was a lot of online research that went into the college planning, but nothing — and I mean nothing — beats a good ole road trip to a campus. J Fitzgerald