Three Steps to Get Your Student Using a Planner

“I didn’t know I had a test.” 

“I forgot to bring that book home.”

“The teacher didn’t say I needed the paper signed.”

If these are common utterances in your home, it is likely that your student needs to learn how to effectively use a planner.   Some well-intentioned students already have a planner, but have no earthly idea what to do with it.   They end up keeping it in their backpacks and writing a few token assignments in it every once in a while.    Now is the time to step in and make sure that your student is using a planner well.

1.  Choose a Good Planner

ü  Make sure that it is a good size for your student.

ü  Check to see that it has a weekly view.

ü  See that it has enough space to write each subject.

2.  Teach Your Student HOW To Use the Planner

ü  Write every subject on every day.   If a class has no homework that day, simply write “nothing” for that subject.

ü  Bring the planner to each class and have it out on the desk.  When the teacher announces an assignment or quiz in the middle of class, the student doesn’t have to try to remember to write it in the planner at the end of class because it is out and ready.

ü  Use the planner at the end of the day to determine what materials and books need to come home.   Make sure to look a couple of days in advance so that test preparations can be done early.

ü  When assignments are completed, cross them off of the list.  Every subject should be crossed off before the next school day. 

ü  Have a section for each day to write about upcoming tests and projects, papers that need to be signed, or money due.

ü  Develop a system with stickers or highlighters to make upcoming tests dates and project due dates easily seen.

3.  Keep Your Student Accountable

ü  While your student develops the habit, ask to see the planner nightly to help her make any necessary adjustments.

ü  Help your student develop a plan for preparing in advance for tests and projects.   Test performance will improve greatly if your student develops the habit of early preparation.

ü  If you are struggling to get your student to write the assignments during the day, enlist the help of her teachers.   Let the teachers know what you are trying to accomplish and ask them to initial the planner each day.   Since students typically aren’t crazy about doing this, they will usually get in the habit fairly quickly.

Once your student gets in the habit of using a planner well, he will start to see the benefits. Hopefully this will be incentive enough to keep using the planner, but keep an eye on things to make sure that your student doesn’t start slipping in the planner department!

Why is Homework Time So Painful?

In many homes, peace and harmony are not part of the nightly homework routine.  Instead, we have battles, frustrations, and tears.  As parents, many of us are left wondering what we are doing wrong and why this time together has to be so intolerable.   The main difficulty is that kids have different and fluctuating reasons for not wanting to do homework.  Just when we think we have it all figured out, the reason changes and the frustrations come back.    This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try to figure it out.   It simply means that we should be aware that many factors play into homework struggles, and we need to pay attention to which is the culpable issue.  Take a look at some of the possible causes, and experiment to find some viable solutions for your student.

1.        Is your student hungry or tired?    This is a common problem that is easily overlooked.  It can be solved with a snack, a cold drink and a break to boost energy.   Keep in mind that some kids cannot even think about doing their homework until after dinner when they’ve had ample time and their bellies are full.   

2.       Is your student overwhelmed?   Some kids see several pieces to their homework and consequently shut down.   Step in and help make a plan to get it all finished one piece at a time. Show them that their work is manageable.   Help them make attainable goals, and don’t let them wait until the last minute!

3.       Is your student distracted?   The television, other kids playing, dogs barking, and a variety of other distractions cause serious problems for many kids.   Make sure that you turn off as many distractions as possible and provide a workspace that is effective for your child.   If your child works better in his room and gets his work finished well there, then let him work in his room!  When you have to take away distractions, you can make them the reward for finishing their work.

4.       Is your student bored?   We all have subjects that we find more fascinating than others, and our kids are no different.  Some subjects simply bore them, and we can help by scheduling breaks and sandwiching the tedious material in between the more interesting projects. 

5.       Is your student lazy?   It is sometimes hard to admit, but the reality is that some kids are lazy.  If you have a student who simply doesn’t want to work, you can take the opportunity to teach about the value of hard work and work ethics.  Spend the homework time working alongside your child.  Work ethic is a value to model to your children, and remember that this is a marathon lesson, not a sprint!

6.       Is your student frustrated from a lack of supplies?    Not having notecards, pencils with lead in them, calculators, and other supplies is annoying to all of us and can cause major meltdowns for some kids.   Make sure that you have a place to keep supplies well stocked so that everyone can find what they need when they need it. 

7.       Does your student want to do something else?   Throughout the day, most of us have times when we would really prefer to be doing something different.   Show your student that life is about balance, and then help schedule time for homework and some other activity.  Show them the light at the end of the tunnel because some kids can’t see that far ahead to know that they don’t have to do homework the entire night.

8.       Does your student not see the importance of homework?   It’s just homework, and because it doesn’t count as much as a test or project, it won’t really matter if it gets done or not.   Many students think like this, and it is important to SHOW your student how zeroes affect the final grade.   Play with the numbers and averages to let him see exactly what a zero or two does to a grade. 

9.       Does your student not understand the material?    If your child doesn’t want to do his homework because he doesn’t understand it, it’s time to get him some support.   Let him know that you believe he is capable, but that he has hit a roadblock.  Then find some help.  Reach out to the teacher to see what they are seeing in the classroom and what resources they have for struggling students.  Research tutoring options, whether they are at the school or private.   Don’t let this frustration spiral downward because most students eventually stop trying.

10.   Does your student not like to be told what to do?    Many kids don’t want to do their homework because they want control over what they do.   You should give them what they can handle, and be careful not to hover or nag.   Let them tell you what they would like to see happen, and then let them prove to you that they can succeed.  When they hit a roadblock, have them give you their plan for a solution. 

The next time you have tears or battles over homework, think about some of these possible reasons so that you can help your child get what they need to be successful. 

Find The Right Tutor With Three Questions

Finding the right tutor can be a daunting task, and it can be difficult to know what questions to ask.   A good tutor can make a huge impact in your child’s educational experience, and you want to be sure that you are making a good decision.   Ask the following questions to help ensure that you have a positive tutoring experience.

1.  What makes you a good tutor?

The right tutor will have a combination of knowledge, experience, and likeability.   The tutor needs to have knowledge of the subject, and you need to ask to what degree they understand the subject.    Experience is also essential to make sure that the tutor has taught students in some fashion before, whether in a classroom or as a tutor.    Some people stop after these two criteria are met, but they are not the only two things that make a good tutor.   Perhaps the most important factor is whether the tutor is likeable and personable.   Does the potential tutor seems sincere?  (Your kids will pick up on that almost immediately.)  Is this someone who would connect well with your child?   Would your child be able to be vulnerable with this person?   Finally, ask yourself, is this really someone who I want to spend an hour with my child? 

2.  What is your plan?

The right tutor will pay attention to what your specific concerns are and will create a plan to address them.   The key to a successful tutoring experience is having someone help you identify the problem, the source of the problem, and the solution.  Simply helping a student with math homework when he has struggled with math in the past won’t be a long-lasting solution.   A good tutor will be able to identify gaps from previous years and help fill in those gaps.   Similarly, if a child is struggling with reading, the tutor needs to understand the different ways that students learn to read and what to do when the strategies being taught in the classroom aren’t enough.    The right plan on how to reach the end goal is essential, and that plan will not be the same for everyone.  That is the beauty of individual instruction!

3.  How will I know if the tutoring is working?

The right tutor will communicate the progress your student is making so that you can feel confident that the tutoring is working.  It is especially helpful if the tutor is communicating with your student’s teacher to be sure that they are seeing progress in the classroom as well.    In addition, the tutor will also communicate with you about areas that still need improvement and how that works in the current plan.   When you have a tutor who is focused on accomplishing your goals, then you don’t have to cross your fingers and hope because you will know that you have made the right decision.

How to Get Your Kids To Open Up About Their Days

      We are all accustomed to giving short answers.  “How are you?” receives a “Fine.”   “What’s new?” gets a “Nothing much.”   So it’s really no wonder that when we ask our students how their days were, they will answer in a similar way.   “How was school?” gets a “Good” or a “Boring” or a “Fine.”   “What did you learn today?”  generally warrants a “Nothing.” Since they are at school for seven hours each school day, we can be fairly certain that they learned something and that something happened.  

     When we ask the right questions at the right times, we can engage even the cleverest kids who normally manage to find one-word answers to every question asked.   With the younger students, we will get a better response when we ask questions that are fun to answer.  For instance, why not ask them to tell you something that made them laugh today?   Find out things like what they would change about their teachers, who they would like to play with at recess, or who they could be nicer to in class.   Have them tell you about a student in the class who could really use a time-out or a student who helps the most.  Ask them what they would do if they were the teachers tomorrow or get creative and ask them if aliens came to school tomorrow, what would they show them about their schools. 

    Older students will typically talk more to you if you can ask them questions while engaged in some other activity.  Ask them about their days when you are driving, making dinner, or working on a project.  If they don't have to make eye contact, they feel less like you are grilling them for information.  You can ask them questions like which is their easiest class and what the other students in the class are like.  Have them tell you about the teachers, if they are fun or boring, strict or lenient.  Ask them which classes have the cutest boys/girls or what passing periods are like in the hallways.  Find out what part of the day they look forward to and what part of the day they dread. 

     It only makes sense that if we want to get our children to talk to us, we have to pay attention to what they want to talk about. Listen to which questions get the most response.  Make a mental note on the times your child opens up the most.  And most importantly, pay attention when they are talking to you!   Enjoy these times with your children, and take a moment to think about what Catherine Wallace had to say about listening to your children.