Learning Tips and Study Habits

During the first couple of years, there's no distinction between playing and learning. The more children play with the objects in the world, the more children learn about them. Take shapes, for example: children learn that some things roll, and some things don't; some things stack into neat piles, and others don't. And size: children learn that little things fit into big things, but that the opposite isn't true.

When a child plays, they use their body as well as their senses, emotions, language and imagination. This 'rich' mix of experiences helps their learning. Plenty of rich play experiences creates a strong network of pathways in a child's brain. Billions of connections form in your child's brain during the early years a 3-year-old's brain is 80% of its adult size. By repeating rich play experiences, the brain connections become even stronger.

Development and learning are the result of interactive processes. Play is a safe place for children to integrate what's going on in each domain, to help them understand the world, how to interact with others socially, how to express and control their emotions and how to develop their symbolic capabilities.

During play children

• Practice new skills, make mistakes, try new things and try solving problems in their own unique way.
• Express and represent their ideas, thoughts and feeling.
• Learn how to resolve conflicts and gain a sense of competence in a safe place.
• Develop their imaginations and creativity which contributes to their overall cognitive development and competence.

Socio dramatic play provides children the opportunity to expand their language and literacy skills, experiment with different styles of interacting with people, and try out different roles for their interactions with others.

That said, the best short-study method involves an outline.

You can either make an outline as you make your notes, or use the textbook outline.

Read through the outline once, just for basic information. Then, read again and make sure you understand each term. If you are studying with someone, you can quiz each other by using the outline - make each heading into a question and try to answer them.

• If you have a lot of assignments, try to do a little bit on each one. I hate to have to point this out, but if you are really having trouble keeping up with schoolwork on top of extracurricular activities, it might be time to cut back on the sports or clubs and concentrate on the work until you can get a handle on things.
• Keep a calendar of all your assignments. Every day, work on schoolwork for a set amount of time - even if you don't have homework that day, work on something that is due that week. If you treat your schoolwork the same as you treat your soccer practice, then you will do as well in school as you do in sports!

I don't, though many do.

I don't know how many kids watch t.v. while doing their homework but about 23% of kids watch t.v.instead of doing their homework.

1. Use a planner or notebook to write down all your assignments when they are given. That way you won't forget your homework, dates of quizzes, tests or projects. If you plan ahead, you will not only be more prepared, but you should have less stress. This can be used to organize more than just the academic part of school. If you are in a sport, you can schedule in team practices, games, and strategy meetings. If you are in a club, then you can write down when your next club activity is.
2. Do all your daily homework. This is good for your grade. I am personally amazed by how many students say they need a better grade but yet they do not always do the homework. It not only gets you a good homework grade but also helps you understand and remember the information. If needed, check over your work. The checking over thing especially applies to math classes.
3. Do extra credit when your teacher offers it, even if you don't need it now. The teacher might not offer extra credit again in the near future, maybe when you need it. It could come in handy in the future if you don't do so well on a future assignment or test. It is always nice to have some of that cushioning, especially if you are on a borderline between two letter grades. In addition, doing some extra credit shows the teacher that you really care about your grade since you are willing to go the extra mile.
4. Study more than just the cramming. It helps to study in smaller study sessions more than one large one the night before. Find ways of studying that help you. I find that reading the stuff out loud helps me because I'm reading it, saying it, and hearing it. That means I get in it my mind three ways instead of one when I just read it. But there are so many other techniques like flashcards, making study aids, burn a CD of you saying the material and then listen to it, form a study group, and rereading the chapters in the textbook.
5. Take notes on lectures. Pay attention! Some teachers in high school take a grade on having your notes done. Getting a grade for notes means easy points for you. You get a good grade for doing something that will further help you with assignments. Even if you are not being graded, it is important to take good notes. Notes show you what your teacher thinks is important out of the chapter you are studying in class. Anything the teacher emphasizes will probably be on the test. So if he or she is repeating something, writes it on the board, or comes out directly and says, "This will be on the test," take note of that. Make some kind of mark or highlight it. Read over these notes and make sure you understand all of it. If you don't get something, don't hesitate to ask your teacher or another classmate. If you think you will look stupid by asking, think of how stupid you will look when you don't do so well when you're tested over that material.
6. Stay organized. It stinks when you do your homework but left it at home or cannot find it in your folder. Have a separate folder each class and keep all your papers in that folder. It helps some people to make the color of the folder that same color as the textbook. For example, if your science book is red, use a red folder for all your science papers. Basic color coding helps you grab the right book and folder if you are in a rush.
7. Be prepared. Come to class on time and with your needed supplies. Usually this includes paper, textbook, folder with all your papers, and something to write with. Your teacher should tell you what you will need. It is easier to just have it with you than to constantly ask people around you if you can borrow or to go back to your locker.

These tips, along with others, can help you in your schoolwork. Be the best you can be.

• One way I know which works for my kid- when it comes to memorizing words or definitions, we make up a "rap" or song. Well, we take an existing song and change the words. One example is "Bubalicious, so delicious, smaller than an atom....subatomic!"
• When studying in a small group, why not make it into a game show? Have the announcer read questions. The contestants could be in teams or individually. I like to combine several game shows. For example, read a fill in the blank question and make it like Wheel of Fortune. Have some Jeopardy style questions. If someone misses so many, vote them off the island and make them switch with the announcer. You could make applause or boo signs. Give them a lifeline. If you have some time to play this study game, it could get interesting.
• Break your studying into smaller groups - you should be studying for 15-30 minutes at a time, then taking a 5 minute break to do something physical instead of sitting. This will wake your brain up and keep you more alert and less bored.
• Reward yourself! Depending on whether you are very young (or very bad at paying attention) or older and more mature, you could reward yourself for every hour that you spend working or for every good grade you get. Ask your parents to help you by thinking of ways to reward you for hard work - maybe if you make above a certain grade, you can have a family night out or they could give you a certain amount of money to save toward something you want. Ways to reward yourself include "If I study for one hour, I can play a video game for one hour" or "If I make a good grade on this assignment or test, I will take a day off and do something just for me."
• Whenever you study, think of how the information might be useful to you in your life - if you want, you can even be totally silly and make up ridiculous things like "Learning my multiplication tables will help me when I am abducted by aliens and they force me to count all of their blorgs for them!"

The best way to make study interesting is by indulging in learning activities that suit your nature and are in sync with your interests. For example, if you have a strong Creative Nature, you should try and learn lessons by picturising them or using images to relate to specific topics. If you love what you do, the question of boredom will never arise.

Listening is not the same as hearing. You can hear everything, but still not really be listening, and later on wonder what it was you heard! Here are some tips to improve your listening skills:

• Point your ears in the right direction. The human ears are designed so that if you are looking at something, your ears are pointed toward it, enabling you to hear best. So look at whatever you are listening to.
• Focus. When listening, you should be concentrating on what is being said, not thinking about what you'll have for lunch or what the hot guy in the next row might say. If your mind begins to wander, re-focus and pay attention to what is being said. You can also try shifting your position slightly to break the mental train of thought.
• Listen for the main ideas. If you are listening to a lecture, you can take notes whenever the speaker stresses a point or repeats anything. If you are having a conversation, listen for things like "the thing is ..." or "what I mean ..." - those are good indicators that the person feels that point is important.
• Ask questions. If anything sounds confusing to you, now is the time to ask. If you are in a lecture, you will need to raise your hand and wait to be acknowledged. If you are having a conversation, wait for the other person to pause, then ask for clarification on that point.
• Let the speaker finish. This is especially true of conversations - people "tune out" on whatever the other person is saying and start thinking of what they will say in reply, then jump right in as soon as the other person takes a deep breath. Good listening involves paying attention without interrupting the other person.
• Give feedback. Looking at the speaker is one way to show your interest. You can also nod, show emotion, or (if you are having a conversation) make those little "um-hmm" noises now and then. Making a personal connection results in better communication all around.

• Focus your attention on the information - look in the direction of the speaker (or of whatever you are listening to) so that your ears are pointed the right way for you to hear best - if you find thoughts "popping up" about other things, put your mind back onto the information you are listening to - think about what is being said and concentrate on it
• Be sure you understand - write down any terms you don't understand, so you can ask questions - use a dictionary if you need one - ask yourself questions about what you hear to see if you understand it
• Talk it over with someone - this helps you understand what you have heard, and also brings up new ideas which might help