A Summertime Boost
How can a slow student make great academic strides? You don't need to send her to summer school or hire expensive tutors. Just round up last year's textbooks so she can review them during the summer. To help an average student leap ahead, round up a set of next year's textbooks so she can get a head start. This strategy can turn above-average students into outstanding ones and can give insecure types the confidence they need to strut their stuff in school the next year.
Your tween's outrage at having to study thirty minutes a day during her vacation is likely to all but dissipate when you point out the advantages. Knowing last year's material really well or getting a good head start on next year's lessons will put her ahead of a lot of the other students. Having done last year's assignments correctly or tackling next year's assignments in advance will make school easier in the fall. She should be one of the first students to catch on to new lessons and finish assignments instead of being one of the last. She may even be able to help some of the other students by explaining things to them, too.
Any remaining whimpers of protest will undoubtedly disappear altogether once she sees that you are holding firm on your requirements that she study each day. The frowns will turn to smiles when you point out that she whizzed through a chapter in a matter of days that took her class a whole week to cover last school year. When she does a page of problems correctly, note that she would have gotten an
If possible, have your child participate in deciding when she will study. Scheduling study sessions first thing in the morning after breakfast and/or the last thing before going to bed may pose fewer problems by not cutting into playtime. If your child is attending an after-school program, perhaps study time can be worked into her daily activity schedule.
You can eliminate the social stigma of having to study during the summer by paying your child for the time she's putting into academics. That way, she can brag to her friends about all the money she's making. Allowing her to earn a small amount for every math problem she completes correctly and every page in a spelling workbook that is free of errors may turn out to be the best investment in your child's education you've ever made. Chances are, you'll have to put a limit on how much she's allowed to do in a day so she doesn't drive you into bankruptcy.
Libraries offer summer reading programs to encourage reading. Alternatively, consider paying your child a large amount for reading a huge book or negotiate smaller sums for shorter books. She'll have the chance to earn while she learns. As her reading skills improve, she may discover she's more of a bookworm than she knew.
Keep Expectations ReasonableBe realistic in your summertime requirements. Spending ten minutes a day on last year's math book may be enough to help a third grader master multiplication so she'll be ready to tackle long division in fourth grade. If you're setting up a more rigorous schedule, remember that students learn more by studying in twenty-minute blocks than for one long period. Sometimes it works better to require that your child complete a certain number of pages or problems every day rather than setting a specific time requirement.
Don't discourage your tween from rushing through the work. It doesn't matter how fast she does the problems; it only matters that she gets them right. Always focus on her successes. Grade papers by putting a mark by every correct problem and send her back to fix the rest. When they are all correct, put a big 100,
Schools can be persnickety about lending textbooks. If you can't borrow them, offer to buy them. Alternatively, compile a list of the titles, authors, publishers, and ISBN numbers. You may be able to locate a used copy through
Workbooks that are lots of fun and very inexpensive are available to help students of all ages practice basic academic skills. With their inviting formats even students who dislike academics enjoy them.
It is important to choose workbooks that are several grade levels behind your youngster's year in school so she can do the work with a minimum of help, get lots of remedial practice on basic skills, and build confidence. A bright third grader can finish an entire kindergarten math or phonics book in about an hour even if she colors all of the pictures. The graded workbooks get harder fast, so a bright fourth grader may find some of the third-grade workbooks challenging. Most students do best starting off with workbooks that are so easy, they feel like play. Once your child has spent time on lessons that make her feel like an academic star, her improved confidence may change her attitude toward school.
To motivate your child to do academic workbooks, buy her a new box of crayons or colored pencils, a new pencil and eraser, and duplicate workbooks so she can play school with her friends. A partially finished workbook can serve as the teacher's manual, and the extra copies can be for her “students.”
It's hard to describe the expression of awe and pride on a child's face when her parent points out that it took her only a few hours to finish what kindergartners take an entire school year to do. Follow up by wondering aloud how fast she might do the work that takes first-grade students an entire year. After she corrects errors, shake your head in wonderment as you continue to award the top grade to every page. Suggest she save her workbooks so she can show her new teacher in the fall. She deserves lots of kudos for putting in so much time and effort.
