Help Your Child with Study Skills at Home
Adapted from: GreatSchools Staff | June 3, 2019
Provide a place to study.
It does not have to be a desk. A kitchen counter is a great place, especially if a parent is in the kitchen cooking. Ideally the space should be big enough so that your child can spread out papers and books. Provide supplies such as pens, pencils, paper and a calculator.
Help your child develop a system to keep track of important papers.
If your child tends to forget to turn in homework or cannot quite keep track of how he’s doing in a class, it might help to get him a folder to bring completed work to school.
Make sure your child uses a planner to keep track of assignments.
Help your child get in the habit of writing down each daily assignment in each subject and checking it off when it is complete. Liberty provides a planner to all students. If lost, a replacement planner can be purchased in the main office for $6.
Encourage your child to estimate how long each assignment will take.
She can then plan a realistic schedule, building in study breaks after subjects that are most challenging, and allowing for time for after school activities. Helping your child keep track of time spent studying will help her think about how she is using her time. If she is spending too much time on a subject that might be a signal that she needs extra help during Lion Time or after school.
Help your child break big projects into smaller ones.
A big research project will seem less overwhelming and will be less likely to be left until the last minute if it is done in manageable chunks, each with its own deadline.
Communicate with your child’s teachers.
If your child is struggling with organizational skills, talk to your child’s school counselor or her teachers about what might be causing the problems and brainstorm approaches to solve them.
Communicate with your child.
Communicate with your child beyond the basic “Did you finish your homework?” Parents can support their child by monitoring homework completion but remember it is your child’s homework, not yours. You can help by asking questions that help your child to find his own solutions. Some examples of questions to ask include:
- What information do you need to do this assignment?
- Where are you going to look for it?
- Where do you think you should begin?
- What do you need to do next?
- Can you describe how you are going to solve this problem?
- How did you solve this problem?
- What did you try that did not work?
- Why does this answer seem right to you?
- Tell me more about this part?
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