“Life doesn’t require that we be the best, only that we try our best.”  H. Jackson Brown Jr.

BE THERE.  It is important that you understand that regular attendance in elementary school (K-8) sets up a pattern for your child’s entire school career.  Show your child that school comes first by trying to keep days off for illness and family emergencies.  Also, schedule routine doctor and dentist appointments for after school or over school breaks.

BETTER CONCENTRATION.  Looking for a fun way to improve your child’s concentration?  Try this quick game.  The first player makes one motion, like clapping or spinning around.  The second person copies him and adds another movement.  Continue adding motions until someone forgets the sequence.  The last player to get it starts a new game.

TICKET PLEASE.  If you want to limit your child’s TV time, try this idea.  Every week give your child seven slips of paper.  Each is good for one hour of television.  Remind them to plan ahead.  For example, it they want to watch a two hour movie on Saturday, they will need to save an extra during the week.

HOW WE LEARN.  You can make learning easier; you just have to know what works and what doesn’t.

• By simply believing you can work at becoming smarter, it will produce higher achievement.
• Sleep is when our brains consolidate, or make permanent what we have learned so don’t stay up all night cramming.
• To off load anxieties, put them on paper, it frees your working memory and the mental space for thinking and problem solving to focus on the task at hand.
• To make new vocabulary stick, space out study sessions over several weeks.  The spacing effect helps us form stronger and more lasting memories by exposing ourselves to information over time. 
• Recalling information is more effective than reading over it.  That’s because testing doesn’t simply measure what you know, it reinforces what you know.  Every time you summon facts from memory, you strengthen your brain’s hold on the material.
• We are most engaged in learning when our motivation is intrinsic, stemming from the task itself rather than some external reward.
• To master any skill, you must eliminate mistakes.  Find a coach or a critic who can tell you whether you’re doing something wrong, and then repeat the correct way until it becomes second nature.

(Information from the 2012 Resources for Educators and the 8-12-12 Parade)

Sincerely,

Merry Tilleson

Assistant Principal Upper Campus