Study Skills & Tips Archives - BrightSparkz Tutors (2024)

Implementing study & Organisational Skills: Achieving Learner Success

Organisational skills are a consistent work in progress that affect both adults and children alike throughout their academic and professional careers. The lack thereof creates barriers that influence an individual’s productivity and time management development. Therefore, remaining organised is one of the most vital aspects of student success – holistically.

There are a variety of reasons why students struggle with organisational study skills. These include developing a comprehensive method and simply getting started! It is important to note that parents, guardians and primary caretakers serve as daily examples of what good organisation looks like.

Routine is a student’s best guide to studying effectively and developing good organisation skills. The rhythm of repetitive patterns relating to what is expected out of a student, such as independent study, encourages long-term success. These skills will undoubtedly flow into all areas of their lives including but not limited to academia, extracurricular activities and personal responsibilities.

Below are some techniques that will assist with beginning your effective study and organisational skills journey:

• Keep Notes Organized & Updated

An investment in folders or arch files is significant in introducing the kind of organisation that motivates a student to section off their work in order of importance or relevance. Allowing them to choose the colour or design associated with these binders could enhance their appeal when managing them.

Work that is produced during school, tutoring or independently should be allocated to the designated binder. A reasonable tip for the student would be to allocate the work according to the subject, as well as the classification it falls under. For example:

• Tests & mock exams
• Assignments
• Class notes
• Study notes (based on textbooks)
• Timetable

The student’s timetable should be pasted either on the cover or first page of their binders. This encourages being able to retain what is expected of them on a daily and termly basis.

• Agendas

Getting into the habit of arranging agendas teaches students which activity or assignment requires prioritisation. Disorganised students will begin to value not missing due dates and understanding the reward with meeting deadlines. Such as a proud teacher or a satisfied parent, guardian or caregiver.

The Study Skills Crash Course offered by BrightSparkz Tutors, assists with creating and implementing these agendas. Alternatively, create an agenda with the student based on their timetable and remain active regarding making sure they commit to the agenda. The European Journal of Social Psychology mentioned that “it takes 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit”, while it takes “66 days for a behaviour to become automatic”.

• Illustrate Efficiency

Implementing a strict memorandum or “to do list” is important. Designating multiple subject activities and highlighting when they need to be completed by, will develop a sense of commitment to a task, while honouring when they mentioned it would be done by.

• Implement Written Planners

While we are progressively crossing over into a more technological age where appointments and tasks are documented on smart devices, there is noted psychological science that has proven “pen to paper” assists with boosting one’s memory.

A written planner being implemented for learners from a young age, develop their sense of autonomy to carry out tasks to completion. Parents, guardians and primary caretakers should go through this daily with them to “sign off” off on the activities which have been accomplished.

The planner should include independently composed notes (collated per subject), assignment due dates and a study timetable (inclusive of time allocation for independent written and verbal study time).

• Visual Aid Assistance

Colour coordinating different subjects will serve as a mental note that heightens organisational skills, by coupling a visual aid to an assigned discipline. For example, if blue was coupled with Math’s, using blue sticky notes, labels or binders for anything Maths related would be systematic.

These sorts of visual aid tools serve to create a methodical approach to a student’s organisation of their studies, as well as the skills they utilise to maintain this discipline. This extends as far as highlighting study notes and assigning various colours per subject. For example, a yellow highlighter could be assigned to content heavy subjects (Geography & History).

• Study Buddy or Study Motivator

Engaging with fellow parents about creating study groups or a study buddy will encourage the collective narrative of shared success. Alternatively, a parent, guardian or primary caregiver could become a motivator in the sense of checking in on the learner’s planner, agenda and notes to ensure they are sticking to their prescribed deadlines.

• Clean Workspace

A clean workspace encourages an organised mind. To be specific, your books, stationary and any other work aids spread all over one’s workspace in a disorderly fashion, breeds disorganisation. This will spill over into a student’s day to day life. For example, keeping a clean school bag, room and any general space being occupied is vital for organisational reasons.

The purpose of this article was to highlight the stepping stones of organisational skills, which will undoubtedly lead to the longevity of a disciplined attitude toward responsibilities professionally and personally.

The good news is that you don’t have to do it alone – BrightSparkz offers a Study Skills Crash Course for both primary school & high school learners! Find out more about our Study Skills Crash Course!

Written by Madalaine Bregger, BrightSparkz Staff & Blog Writer

As parents, we know that school is important for our children. It teaches them to learn and, hopefully, to nurture a love for learning. It teaches them to socialize, and it even improves their physical wellbeing. Your child’s schooling is an integral part of their journey towards becoming a successful adult. We know this! But how do we impress upon children the value and importance of their education and making the most of their time at school?

1. Walk the walk

Children learn so much about how they should react to the world around them by watching their parents. Your attitude towards your child’s schooling and education, and the way you speak about it, will inform how your child feels about it. Keeping a positive attitude towards school and continuing your own education will encourage your child to do the same.

2. Diversify their education

Learning should be about more than just literacy, numeracy and memorizing facts. Ignite your child’s passion for learning by allowing them to follow their interests with music, dance, art or language classes, sports and other activities that they enjoy or show interest in. This will help them to associate positive emotions and memories with learning.

3. Be realistic

Your child won’t always excel, and this can be very difficult for them (and probably for you). Make sure that they know that their value, and your love, isn’t dependent on how well they do at school. Help your child to set realistic goals for their studies, so that they can benefit from the confidence that comes with reaching a goal. As a parent with many responsibilities, trying to teach your child yourself may not be the wisest solution if you’re trying to keep family relationships intact and stress levels down. If your child is struggling, help them to overcome these obstacles with specialized learning support or a private tutor.

4. Focus on the journey

While having academic goals is important as something to work towards and achieve, it’s equally important to focus on learning as a means to success in all aspects of life. Encouraging learning for the sake of broadening knowledge, and not to score an “A”, is an important part of ensuring your child enjoys and values education.

5. The bigger picture

When your child feels demotivated or unsure of the purpose of something they’ve recently learned, help them put this into perspective by encouraging them to see the use of their studies in later life, or how certain concepts can be applied (in a manner that they can relate to). If they don’t know why they will need to know about fractions, get them involved in a fun baking project or dividing slices of a pizza between family members. If they’re unsure what the purpose of biology will be in their day to day life, allow them to grow a few flowers or a small garden. On top of this, help your child to find the lesson or educational aspect in all they do, from movies that they watch, to games they play. Showing your child that learning isn’t limited to a classroom will help them to develop a lifelong habit of learning.

Not all children learn the same way, and an important part of developing your child’s love for learning is to recognize their learning style and be able to apply this to their studying. If you’re not sure where to start, our Study Skills Crash Course is a great resource for all ages, to help you determine your child’s learning style and teach them valuable strategies and tips to apply this knowledge. Find out more about our Study Skills Crash Course here.

Learning to love learning and education is an important part of your child’s success, and it will encourage a lifelong habit of self-improvement. Remember: Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world – Nelson Mandela.

Written by Tessa Cooper, BrightSparkz Staff & Blog Writer

The value of addressing study skills as early as Term 1

It’s late at night. You have a big test tomorrow morning. You’ve been cramming for hours, but nothing seems to be sticking! You’ve done the mindmaps, the keycards, you have summaries with highlighting and diagrams. Why aren’t your study skills working?!

This is a scenario most of us have faced at some point in our school (or university) careers. The reasons behind it aren’t surprising though… Most learners get through their whole school career without knowing what their unique learning style is and without understanding which study methods work best for them. This is partly because no such assessment is done in mainstream schooling in South Africa, and only a handful of study methods, which aren’t appropriate for all students, are taught by teachers.

Knowing what your learning style is (from day 1!), and which study skills and organizational techniques are best suited to you, will mean more effective studying, less stress, less frustration and less time spent on methods that don’t work for you!

Here are some more reasons why Term 1 is the best time to get to grips with your learning style and which study strategies are right for you:

• Getting on top of your work from Term 1 will mean that there aren’t any gaps in your knowledge or understanding that will need to be filled later. Most school subjects work on the principle of building on knowledge transferred earlier in the syllabus, and so not understanding how fractions work now could mean not understanding how to solve an algebraic equation later.
• Your marks in Term 1 will also form the basis for your marks in Terms 2, 3 and 4, because of the way that continuous assessment works. This means that it’s just as important to be able to study well in Term 1 as it is to study properly for your final exams.
• Studying can be daunting, especially if you don’t understand the work or don’t know how to go about trying to learn it. This can lead to demotivation and not enjoying your schoolwork. Knowing how to study in a way that engages your mind and makes the content more interesting for you will help to keep learning fun AND effective.
• Term 1 is normally less busy than Term 2 or Term 4, when exams happen, and is usually less chaotic than a packed Term 3. You have more time available to learn to study effectively, as well as to practice your new skills before your first set of exams and before there are many projects and assignment deadlines filling your calendar.
• The pandemic and the uncertainty of the school year are difficult to deal with, even for adults. Spending 2 hours now, to ensure that you know how to study properly no matter what 2021 throws at you, is a really good investment!
• Term 1 is all about organizing and planning, so that you can make the most of the year ahead. Knowing how to manage your studies effectively will help you to organize your study schedule and your study space.
• Cramming is stressful, and almost never works! Studying for a few hours every week, from Term 1, will mean that when exams come around you won’t need to learn an entire textbook, and you’ll already have all of your study notes!

Without knowing how to study properly and effectively (and unless you have a photographic memory!) you are at the mercy of your classroom environment, your teachers and your circ*mstances. A 2 hour Study Skills Crash Course is one way to make your life way easier this year and going forward. Our Study Skills Crash Course can be done online or in person, in one 2 hour session, or split into two 1 hour sessions. Let our trained facilitators help you to understand:

• How your brain & memory work
• Why cramming doesn’t work
• What your learning style is
• Which study methods work best for you
• How to use these study methods
• How to set up a study schedule
• How to set up your study space
• & loads more!

Read more about our Study Skills Crash Course here or get in touch with us to book yours!

Written by Tessa Cooper, BrightSparkz Staff & Blog Writer

Last week we met up with Erica, a former full-time BrightSparkz team member with more than 9 years’ teaching experience, to chat about study tips!

2020 has been a difficult year, with many interruptions to schoolwork and changes to both the curriculum and the test and exam setup. Here are Erica’s top tips for how to ace your exams or final tests in 2020:

1. Know how your memory works:
   • Turn short term memory into long term memory using repetition.
   • Different study tips and methods will influence storing.
2. Know your study style: visual, auditory or kinesthetic.
   • For visual learners, images and colours work best;
   • Auditory learners learn best with songs, podcasts and repeating out loud;
   • For kinesthetic learners, writing out notes helps.
   • Most younger learners are kinesthetic and need to learn while moving.
3. Give yourself enough time to study:
   • Cramming prevents information from moving from short term memory to long term memory.
4. Repeat your work out loud:
   • This has been proven to be a good way to encode information for multiple learning styles.
5. Do old exam papers:
   • Questions are repeated, so you’re likely to know how to answer them.
   • You’ll also develop familiarity with the style of the paper and prevent panic.
   • This will also allow you to identify areas you need to work on.
6. Find someone to explain your work to:
   • Parents, friends via Zoom or in a socially-distanced environment.
   • Teaching someone else ensures you really understand the work.
7. Make sure you take breaks and exercise:
   • This will give you the energy to continue studying and allows your brain to keep focusing.
   • Exercise also gives you endorphins!
   • Take a 10 minute break every hour.
8. In an exam, answer the questions that you know the answers to first.
   • This will give you some guaranteed marks, as well as a confidence boost!
9. Know how to manage your panic:
   • Take deep breaths to calm yourself down.
   • Pack your bags the night before.
   • Ensure you get enough sleep the night before a test or exam.
10. Don’t leave blank spaces: answer all the questions, your answer might be right!
11. Check the time allocation
    • Don’t spend too much time on questions that aren’t worth many marks.
    • Check the mark allocation to ensure that you give enough facts in your answer to justify receiving as many marks as possible.
12. Fill gaps in knowledge caused by interrupted schooling:
    • Use past papers to “reverse-engineer” the information that you know.
    • Get a tutor to help you with work you’re uncertain about.
    • Use the exercises in your textbook to help you too.

If you’re still at a loss for how to study, our 2 hour online or in-person Study Skills Crash Course is a quick and easy way to learn more about how your memory works, find out what your learning style is, and learn the best study methods for you. Find out more about our Study Skills Crash Course!

Written by Tessa Cooper, BrightSparkz Staff & Blog Writer

With only two months left of the academic year, you might be wondering how best to help your child effectively utilize the rest of the school year. Now that schools have opened up again, and students are getting back into their academic routine, it is essential to address concerns surrounding learners returning to school. How can we as parents and educators ensure that our children are fully utilizing the rest of the school year? We look at some practical tips that you can use to help guide your child’s academic success.

(Part 2) If your child is back at school…

1. Find out what the mark structure will be for your child’s school

While all grades are now able to return to school, the South African government has announced that only matric students will be writing final exams towards the end of the academic year. The loss of teaching time this year will mean that much of the schools’ curriculum will not be covered, resulting in a restructuring of mark allocations. In most cases the final test marks will be weighted less than the yearly marks, while assessments will contribute up to 60% of the academic year. It is essential to contact your child’s school to find out how the mark structure has changed since COVID-19, and figure out which areas your child should be focusing on.

2. Find out what the new timetable will be

Due to lockdown regulations and the reopening of schools this month, the government has issued a revised timetable for the rest of the school year. The school year will end on the 15th of December for grades R – 11. Government schools will break for school holidays in the last week of October (26 – 30 October). It is important to get in touch with your child’s school with regards to the change in the recent academic calendar, and walk your child through the new changes. Ensure that your child understands when they are expected to be at school and when their holidays begin and end. With all the changes your child has had to endure this year it is essential to ensure that they understand what is expected of them academically in the next two months.

3. Ensure that your child has a support system within their school & at home

It is important for learners to receive support from within their school. Help your child feel supported by ensuring that they are on the correct WhatsApp groups, receiving their latest school work, and that they know where to find their lesson notes and assignments. If your child is receiving their school work through email, make sure that you read through the email with your child to ensure that the work gets done. Finally, it is important to ensure that your child is able to reach out to their teachers if they need to.

4. Understand your child’s feelings surrounding COVID-19 and their academic work

A key part in supporting your child’s academic journey for the remainder of the year lies in addressing the issue of the pandemic. Be sure to regularly check in with your child and their feelings around COVID-19. This will help them to understand that there is still enough time for academic success in 2020 and that everyone is in the same boat!

• Assess how they are feeling about their academics during the pandemic
• Offer emotional support and reassurance
• Establish realistic expectations around their academics and extra mural activities
• Help them get comfortable with the new norms surrounding their school work
• Give them time to adjust
• Make sure that they have their school work ahead of time

5. Set realistic expectations for your child’s academic performance for the rest of the year

Knowing how best to navigate your child’s studies is essential to their academic success. Learners have different study techniques and habits and it is crucial to find the learning solution that best fits your child. Here are some practical tips on how this can be done:

• Motivate your child to do their best
• Reassure your child that this year is not an academic write-off
• Figure out which areas and subjects need the most attention
• Understand the new marking structure of your child’s school
• Discuss getting a tutor or study assistance with your child

6. Get some help!

Parenting is challenging under the best of circ*mstances. If you don’t have the time or the knowledge to assist your child with their academics, an online or in-person tutor is a great way to ensure that your child gets all the support they need. Find out more about our tutors, or let us know how we can meet your unique learning needs. Take advantage of our current special and get 25% off our Study Skills Crash Course when you buy 5 tutoring lessons or more!

7. Make sure your child understands how they will be continuing with their academics for the remainder of the year

There are numerous options available to cater to your child’s learning needs. It is important to establish which option is most suitable for your child, and help your child get settled into their new schooling routine. Once they feel comfortable with the changes, they will better be able to focus on their school work.

A good place to start is by establishing how much ‘catching up’ your child needs to do with regards to the past few months’ school work. If this task seems too daunting, we’ve got you covered – our Learn@Home Tutors and Facilitators are ready to help. Our tutors can assist with prescribed schoolwork, lesson creation and execution, catching up on gaps in your child’s curriculum, reinforcing foundations and fundamental concepts, and so much more.

Written by Sula Cooper, BrightSparkz Staff & Blog Writer

The current global pandemic has caused a restructuring of our day to day lives. As adults we have adapted to the new social norms and guided our children to do the same. However, students may still be feeling uneasy and unsure as to how to effectively utilize the remainder of the school year in order to get the most out of it.

Now that schools are reopening, homeschooling systems have been established, and we have gained a sense of normalcy again, let’s focus on the probing question surrounding academics: How can we ensure that our children effectively utilize the rest of the academic year? In this 2 part blog series, we look at some practical tips to help your child (and learners in general) make use of the next 3 months to strive for academic excellence.

(Part 1) If you’re schooling from home…

1. Make sure your child understands how they will be continuing with their academics for the remainder of the year

There are numerous options available to cater to your child’s learning needs. It is important to establish which option is most suitable for your child, and help your child get settled into their new schooling routine. Once they feel comfortable with the changes, they will better be able to focus on their school work.

A good place to start is by establishing how much ‘catching up’ your child needs to do with regards to the past few months’ school work. If this task seems too daunting, we’ve got you covered – our Learn@Home Tutors and Facilitators are ready to help. Our tutors can assist with prescribed schoolwork, lesson creation and execution, catching up on gaps in your child’s curriculum, reinforcing foundations and fundamental concepts, and so much more.

2. Ensure that your child has a support system within their school

It is important for learners to receive support from within their school. Help your child feel supported by ensuring that they are on the correct Whatsapp groups, receiving their latest school work, and that they know where to find their lesson notes and assignments. If your child is receiving their school work through email, make sure that you read through the email with your child to ensure that the work gets done. Finally, it is important to ensure that your child is able to reach out to their teachers if they need to.

3. Understand your child’s feelings surrounding Covid-19 and their school work

A key part in supporting your child’s academic journey for the remainder of the year lies in addressing the issue of the pandemic. Be sure to regularly check in with your child and their feelings around COVID-19. This will help them to understand that there is still enough time for academic success in 2020 and that everyone is in the same boat!

• Assess how they are feeling about their academics during the pandemic
• Offer emotional support and reassurance
• Establish realistic expectations around their academics and extra mural activites
• Help them get comfortable with the new norms surrounding their school work
• Give them time to adjust
• Make sure that they have their school work ahead of time

4. Set out guidelines as to where and how schooling will take place

If you have opted not to send your children back to school, it is essential to find the solution that will most effectively cater to their individual needs. If an in-home homeschool facilitator does not seem like the right fit for your child’s learning needs, an online tutor may be the best option. The earlier you get your child introduced to their new tutor or tutors, the better. Knowing how best to navigate your child’s studies is essential to their academic success. Learners have different study techniques and habits and it is crucial to find the learning solution that best fits your child.

Here are some practical tips on how to ensure that homeschooling is effective:

• Set up a proper study space
• Create a study and school work schedule for the next few months
• Establish which areas of schoolwork may have been neglected during lockdown
• Go back to basics before conquering new work
• Set out guidelines as to what is expected during ‘school’ time
• Set out a timetable as to when certain work should be completed

5. Get some help!

Parenting is challenging under the best of circ*mstances. If you don’t have the time or the knowledge to assist your child with their academics, an online or in-person tutor is a great way to ensure that your child gets all the support they need. Find out more about our tutors and Learn@Home facilitators, our Afrikaans and Zulu Boot Camps to recap on the basics of the language, our Study Skills Crash Course to learn how to study, or let us know how we can meet your unique learning needs.

Part 2 in this series will look at how to utilize the rest of the academic year if your child is back at school.

Written by Sula Cooper, BrightSparkz Staff & Blog Writer

There are many different techniques we can use to teach our children Literacy and Numeracy skills. There are also a number of important factors to consider, the most important being the age of the child, and of course, the child’s specific learning style. All children learn differently. My four year old may not yet be able to recite the alphabet or count to 100 like yours, however he is able to impressively colour within the lines. At the age of four, neither child is smarter than the other, they simply learn using different parts of their brain, predominantly.

Total Physical Response (TPR) is a method of teaching language or vocabulary that can be applied to all young children. It uses physical movement to react to verbal input. This technique can be divided into two sub categories: instructional TPR and educational TPR.

Instructional TPR encourages the child to learn through means of doing something, or following an instruction. This instruction links different cognitive reactions in the brain (listening and visual) for the child to understand the basics of the word they are expected to write or learn. If we are learning how to count, we will encourage the child to use their fingers, and point to each finger as they are counting. If, for example we are learning how to write the word ear, we would first form an understanding of what ear is. Instructional TPR would guide the student to cup their ear to grasp the concept that we hear with our ears. Once this basic understanding is formed, the child can easier learn to write out the words. Additionally, instructional TPR could be used to guide the child to create a certain letter using their fingers.

Educational TPR looks at the “what” & “how”:

• WHAT are literacy and numeracy?
• HOW exactly do we teach literacy and numeracy?

Educational TPR is a method of teaching languages, numeracy, or vocabulary (basic concepts) through using physical movements to get a verbal reaction from the child. Young children are visual learners and at the ages of three or four they are constantly wanting to touch, taste or see things. While a distracted toddler may seem like a difficult student, we should use this to our advantage. A child of three or four is surely not going to sit down quietly and diligently repeat the alphabet, or repeat counting to ten three times. This is where educational TPR comes in: using physical gestures to help the child understand a specific letter, number, word, sentence pattern or even a specific counting pattern. TPR is a method of learning that mimics the way that infants learn their first language. The purpose is to establish a brain link between speech and action to boost language and vocabulary learning. This can include using facial expressions, large hand gestures, body movement or props. The key here is to teach numeracy and literacy in a way that it is linked to an action that the child can physically see!

It is essential to ensure that your child is learning basic literacy and numeracy skills at the right age, and at the right speed for their specific learning needs and style. In the early years of childhood development, literacy is more than just writing and learning letters. It is movement, music, drawing and many other activities which encourage communication. Just as important is reading and talking to your child from a young age, These are vital first steps in encouraging the development of literacy skills. Use fun outings and activities as a way to teach your child new vocabulary and communicative skills. When it comes to numeracy skills, it is important to remember that it goes beyond merely teaching your child maths and numbers. Teaching them about patterns and shapes can be a fun and interactive introduction to numeracy too.

This is where BrightSparkz can help you and your child! Our Little Sparkz Grade R readiness program focuses on helping children to master essential skills that they will need to enter Grade R with confidence. Our fun and interactive program helps to build basic literacy and numeracy skills, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, coordination, memory and improved vocabulary. The program comprises 10 themed lessons made up of worksheets and activities that engage all the senses and encourage learning for children with any learning style. The program is suitable from the age of three upwards, as well as for children currently in Grade R needing a refresher on basic skills.

Written by Sula Cooper, BrightSparkz Staff & Blog Writer

With more than 150 days of lockdown behind us, parents are understandably worried about how to keep their children busy. Here are some fantastic resources to help you out! If you need some extra help, our are ready & willing to assist.

Online Resources

• BrainPop
• Curiosity Stream
• Tynker (Coding)
• Outschool
• Udemy
• iReady
• Beast Academy (Maths)
• Khan Academy
• Creative Bug
• Discovery Education
• JoziKids
• SA History Online
• e-Classroom
• HP

YouTube Channels

• Crash Course Kids
• Science Channel
• SciShow Kids
• National Geographic Kids
• Free School
• Geography Focus
• TheBrainScoop
• SciShow
• Kids Learning Tube
• Geek Gurl Diaries
• Mike Likes Science
• Science Max
• SoulPancake

Other Fun Ideas

• Play board games
• Read books / Kindle
• Tinkering/upcycling with household junk
• Art projects
• Learn a language
• Cook together
• Garden
• Scholastic has created a free learn-from-home site with 20+ days of learning and activities:https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html
• Pretend to travel the world! Go on a virtual tour of these 12 famous museums:https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours
• This is the awesome free curriculum that we use. Everything from preschool activities to 12th grade is here!https://allinonehomeschool.com/
• List of thinking games by grade: https://allinonehomeschool.com/thinking/
• Do an online exercise class like Stretch ‘n Grow: https://www.youtube.com/user/sngintl

Free Learning Websites

• https://www.starfall.com/h/
• https://www.abcya.com/
• https://www.funbrain.com/
• https://www.splashlearn.com/
• https://storyline.net/
• https://pbskids.org/
• https://www.highlightskids.com/
• https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
• https://www.coolmath4kids.com/
• http://www.mathgametime.com/
• https://www.uniteforliteracy.com/
• http://www.literactive.com/Home/index.asp
• http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/
• https://www.switchzoo.com/
• https://www.seussville.com/
• https://www.turtlediary.com/
• https://www.e-learningforkids.org/
• Vodacom e-schooling
• Education.gov.za

This list originally appeared on https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html

Life is one continuous lesson! You will always be learning something – whether it’s in the classroom, in the sports arena or in a social environment. As humans, we are perpetual students, constantly learning, with school and university being just another part of the learning curve of life.It is a privilege to be able to attend school, university or college to study. Accept and embrace this phase of your life, and studying will become a satisfying portion of your student life.

Of course, there will be times when studying will become overwhelming and stressful or you may have to endure a boring subject or teacher; but this is all part of the journey. And learning to love studying will help you overcome these obstacles.

I have always loved studying and acquiring knowledge, but it wasn’t always easy. I was always stressed and overwhelmed by the amount of work. But through it all I was hopeful and focused on studies. I have learnt many valuable lessons over the years and these lessons are important reasons to love studying.

1) Studying Gives You Purpose

Find your WHY (am I doing this?)– Go on a journey of discovery – look at what subjects, hobbies or sport interests you the most and find out what career paths you can take – use Google as your guide.

Finding your purpose will give you hope and the motivation to endure the anxiety and stress. It will also help motivate you to study for those boring subjects or work through those projects you don’t enjoy. Making a positive association between the studying or schoolwork that you’re not enjoying, and the impact it can have on your life or how it’s helping you to understand music, sports or your friendships better will quickly change your relationship with studying.

Don’t wait for inspiration – create your own!

2) Studying Develops Your Character

Achievement generates self-confidence!

Set yourself goals for the year, and then break them down into termly, monthly, weekly and even small daily goals, that you know you can accomplish. This will grow your confidence in your own abilities and inspire you to working harder toward achieving your goals.

Track your progress towards meeting your goals. Always celebrate your small victories – they are the stepping-stones to greater victories!

Find which study method works for you – more effective studying will be more enjoyable for you, and will help you to reach your goals faster. If you’re not sure how to study, or what your learning style is, BrightSparkz’ Study Skills Crash Course can help.

3) Studying Always Rewards

Persistent hard work will always pay off! Make sure you study consistently, assigning time each day to go over work you’re not sure about, to study for upcoming tests, or prepare questions for the following day. This will prevent you from becoming overwhelmed by only starting to study a few days or weeks before exams.

If you are struggling to study for a particular subject – make it fun! Form a study group with your friends who have different strengths. Or create a reward system for yourself; and treat yourself to your favourite snack for small achievements or a movie for achieving those big goals. Listen to music you enjoy while studying, or bring out your creativity with colourful study notes, diagrams and images.

If you are a parent with smaller children who are struggling to enjoy studying or homework – turn it into a game – children learn best when playing games and if it’s fun they will ask you to repeat it over and over until you get bored of it!

Use studying as me-time, dedicating the time and energy towards improving yourself or your future. Or use your study group as a great time to socialize with friends, while achieving something!

4) Studying Broadens Your Horizons

Keep your future in mind! Studying toward a career will open many doors for you – if you just know where to look. Find yourself a mentor in the field you are interested in and gain knowledge from their years of experience and mistakes. Create a collage or mindmap of your goal, and put it up where you study. When you start to feel discouraged, remind yourself why you’re studying, and what your end goal is.

By planning your studying effectively, you will have time to work part time, building up your skill set and references for your CV. This will make your intro into the working world so much easier, as you’ll already have had a few part time jobs!

5) Studying Gives You Options

Studying while you’re in high school, or even at university, might not seem that important all the time. But your good grades, and the study skills you build up, will only give you more options for your future. Working hard in every subject, even those you think you’ll never need, may open you up to university courses or careers that you’d never dreamed possible. Good grades will also allow you access to more courses, and your Matric 80% for a subject might just be the differentiating factor between you and another applicant for a job! Studying now allows you to become a better version of yourself in your future.

Take-Away Message

Embrace studying whole-heartedly and you will become a resilient and independent person. Studying will create future opportunities for you, and one day you will make positive changes to your field of choice – no matter how great or small the impact you make – your input will have a ripple effect and be felt throughout.

So strive to be a better version of yourself each day through your studies.If you need help studying, why not contact us to get a BrightSparkz tutor?

Written by Sarita Downing, BrightSparkz Tutor & Blog Contributor

Somehow, the end of the semester has snuck up on you, and amidst all the things that are on your to-do list, up pops the dreaded exam timetable. It’s a stressful time for your kids, and it’s a stressful time for you. On top of everything else that’s going on, you have to find time to help your kids study for their exams. But isn’t there a better way?

Setting goals is a simple way to help your kids start off the right way. Instead of leaving everything to the last minute, running out of time to do things properly, or panicking at the load of work that has to be done, why not start studying from the beginning of the school term?

Well, this seems like a great idea, but what’s a practical way to prevent procrastination and begin the year on the right foot? The answer is setting effective goals, and a great way to do this is using the SMART method of goal setting.

What are SMART goals?

So, what are SMART goals, anyway? George Doran created the idea in an article he wrote about setting management goals and objectives. However, the technique is so effective that it is used in a variety of contexts by loads of diverse people for different reasons. Here is a guideline you can use to help your child set effective SMART goals.

SPECIFIC Goals

This means they should write a detailed and thorough goal. If the goal is too general or unclear, they will struggle to achieve it. Instead of saying “I want to do well in my subjects”, rather say “I want to improve my marks by 10% this term”.

MEASURABLE

The goal needs to be measurable, otherwise how will they know if they are succeeding? Form benchmarks to establish whether they are reaching their goalpost. For example, if they want to better at mathematics, they can start off by practicing a certain number of equations each day. Then, complete practice quizzes, tests, and examinations. They will see an improvement in their scores as they practice consistently, learn from their mistakes, and get better with every practice assessment.

ATTAINABLE

An attainable goal is something that is possible for them to achieve. If they are failing a subject, it is unrealistic to set the goal of getting a distinction, and they will just get discouraged when they can’t accomplish an unrealistic goal. Rather, set the goal of improving byxpercent.

RELEVANT

Ask why they want to achieve this goal? Is their goal relevant to their life? Does it fit in with their short-term and long-term goals? Do they have the resources to complete this goal? If they consider the rewards of achieving their goal, it will help motivate them and help them stay committed even when things get challenging.

TIMELY

Does their goal have a deadline? They need to have a starting point and an ending point for their goal, otherwise they will struggle to find the motivation to work toward it. Creating a routine will help them realise their goals because they will work towards them little by little every day, instead of rushing around at the last minute. Be flexible, but don’t let things fall between the cracks. Like the tortoise taught us, slow and steady wins the race!

Do the work!

Understanding these steps and working with your child to put them into practice will help you and them make the most of the time available. But it’s not enough just to have SMART goals, they still have to build an action plan and do the work! So now that they’ve set their SMART goals they are ready to improve their marks and allow their schedule to help them succeed.

Writing effective SMART goals

Don’t say: I want to do well in English

Rather say:

This term, I will improve my essay writing by 10% by

• planning my essay,
• completing a draft one week before the deadline,
• asking my friends and teacher to review my draft,
• and revising my essay at least three times before handing it in.

Download your SMART goals template here.Use this template to start working on your own SMART goals!

Written by Vicki Snyman, BrightSparkz Tutor and Guest Blogger