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Keep World War III Out of Your Home at Homework Time.

Myth # 1: Children should want to learn and do well in school.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but just not true! As much as we’d like to believe that our children ought to be naturally motivated and driven to learn and succeed, that’s just not the case for all kids. (click here for the full article on my blog…)

Learning how to motivate your child is a skill that you can learn, just like anything else. There is a strategy and formula that has already worked for other people; once you learn how to do it, it becomes easy for you. However you do it, understand that your child does need to be motivated to complete homework. Watch for another post on motivation strategies and reward systems…

Myth #2: Homework should be done immediately after school, all in one setting, with no breaks until it is complete.

How we learn and how we succeed, is nothing more than a strategy or a formula. In order to understand that formula, it is necessary to understand how the brain learns information best. We retain the most information at the beginnings and endings of segments. Therefore, if frequent, short breaks are taken during homework time, the student will tend to retain more of the information. This also helps to decrease frustration and boredom, which are both sure to lead to brain-freeze and homework shut-down.

Myth #3: Homework should be done at your child’s desk in his or her bedroom.

Wrong! The worst place to have your child doing his or her homework is in the bedroom. What is in the bedroom? FUN stuff! All of the things they enjoy doing are right there to distract them. Here is a rule of thumb for finding the right location for doing homework. We learn best in a relaxed, focused, distraction-free space. Try to reduce distractions like television and screaming kids whenever possible. Also, remove any obvious distractions by keeping them away from windows with a great view of the world, and keep them out of the bedrooms where all of their favorite things are just waiting to distract them! Try doing homework at the dining room table (not facing the window) or in a study.

For more information visit www.powerlearningandsuccess.com or call 661-310-7981.

According to our nation’s report card, there are an estimated 10 million U.S. schoolchildren struggling with learning. You may be surprised to know that learning extends far beyond academics. By mastering certain strategies, you can create a successful educational experience for even the most challenged child. Setting yourself or your child up for success depends in part on becoming a skilled communicator. Communicating –verbal, written, body language - is integral to learning. When you’re able to express yourself clearly, you’re able to minimize confusion and misunderstanding on the part of the receiver. Expressing and articulating your ideas well not only helps you convey your message, but also assures that aspects of your communication are understood.

Every 9 seconds in the U.S., a student drops out of school. Heart wrenching as this statistic is, it’s even more so when we take into account that many of these children would have stayed in school if they had been taught how to learn successfully. If they had been taught how to master learning strategies, they would move into adulthood primed for continued success in college, in business, and in their relationships. One such strategy is that of problem-solving.

Problem solving is one of the most useful tools of a successful learner. As a parent or educator, one of the most important survival skills you can instill in a child is the ability to problem-solve. In fact, it’s a skill that increases in value as he grows into adulthood. As a child, learning how to problem-solve actually expands the thought process by encouraging us to look at various solutions to our quandaries and dilemmas before taking action.

There are several reasons why children do not do well in school, whether academically or socially:

1. Ineffective Strategies: They don’t know how to learn academic subjects and how to use their mind most effectively.
2. Beliefs and Attitude: They don’t know how to think positively about school in a way that keeps them interested and motivated.
3. Emotional and Thought Mastery: They don’t have good strategies for focusing and calming themselves whenever they choose. This can be due to anxiety, overwhelm, external stressors like family problems or peer pressure.
4. Learning “Disabilities”: Their mind works differently than everybody else. They leave steps out. Although ADD is not a learning “disability”, we’ll include it here in our discussion because it is now the most commonly diagnosed disorder of childhood.
5. Learning vs. Testing: There is a gap between how kids learn and how schools test. Schools primarily teach and test to visual learners. Kids who are not visual learners tend not to test well. It doesn’t mean that they don’t learn well using other strategies, but it may not necessarily reflect in grades and test performance.

What you can do to help your child SUCCEED!

These are the things you can do to help your child to learn better in school, have more fun, and have more time to do the things they want to do.

1. Make sure they learn visually AND make sure they do not fall into auditory learning strategies. They need to make pictures of such academic tasks as learning spelling words, the meaning of vocabulary words, and their math facts.
2. Make sure they visualize any data they are required to memorize.
3. When they read they should overlap the words into pictures in their mind of the meaning of the reading material.
4. Build on strengths, talents and passions!
5. Start by focusing on what is going well, and then build from there. Too often, we focus on those things that are not working for us rather than on what is working.
6. Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want.
7. Be a model of SUCCESS!

For more information visit www.powerlearningandsuccess.com or call 661-310-7981.

DeAnne Joy and Sidney Nicholas are learning and life success coaches. Both are Master Practitioners and Certified Trainers of NLP, Neuro-Linguistic Programming and co-creators of Power Learning and Success Strategies. You can find more information at www.powerlearningandsuccess.com or by calling 661- 310-7981.

How to Help Struggling Students go from Sinking to SOARING:

Steps 4 -7

4. Understand their unique learning style. If, for instance, the young person operates in primarily a visual mode (many kids with ADD operate in a world of images), verbal and auditory communication is often the least important mode of communication to them. Words are very slow and difficult to process. Whenever you give him instructions, have him overlap the words into pictures in his mind and have him feel his body following the instructions. For instance, if you want him to do the dishes and then pack his backpack for school, have him SEE and FEEL doing the dishes and then packing his backpack.

5. Make sure they learn visually. Visual learning is the best way to learn academic subjects, so make sure they learn visually by making pictures in their mind of doing academic tasks like spelling words, vocabulary words and math facts. When they are reading, make sure they overlap pictures with the words they are reading. Using a visual learning strategy is more interesting, more effective, takes much less time and it’s just more fun. It is also the primary mode that schools teach and test to, so if he learns how to learn visually, it will dramatically improve school performance and test scores.

6. Find their WIG-FM. Find out what is important to them, what motivates them. WIG-FM stands for “What’s It Get For Me?” These are our values: the things that make us do what we do or that drive our behavior. You can find their WIG-FM by listening to your child’s language and asking questions like “What’s important to you about that?” Once you can find what is truly driving your child’s choices and behaviors, then you can begin to look with him for more positive ways to get that need met. A good way to find what motivates your child’s behavior is to ask questions about something that they are into or excited about (video games, sports or art). Ask “What do you like about that?” or “What’s interesting to you about that?”

7. Celebrate and appreciate what makes them unique. One of the biggest hurdles that young people with learning challenges face is the belief that they are “stupid”, “weird” or just “don’t fit in”. The truth is that they are often a step away from brilliance and have the ability to see the world in ways that most of us simply can’t (think Albert Einstein, J.F.K., Cher and Robin Williams who all had learning disabilities). Consistently looking for and recognizing their uniqueness and value will go a long way in overcoming this belief and raising their self-confidence.

For more information visit www.powerlearningandsuccess.com.

DeAnne Joy and Sidney Nicholas are learning and life success coaches. Both are Master Practitioners and Certified Trainers of NLP, Neuro-Linguistic Programming and co-creators of Power Learning and Success Strategies. You can find more information at www.powerlearningandsuccess.com or by calling 661- 310-7981.

How to Help Struggling Students go from Sinking to SOARING:

Steps 1 - 3

According to a recent report from the NAEP, the Nation’s Report Card, an estimated 10 million U.S. schoolchildren are struggling with learning. This growing problem impacts many areas of society and there is a growing need for effective solutions. Parenting or teaching a child with learning difficulties can, no doubt, be an enormous challenge. It requires patience of you that you may not have thought you had; persistence that you may frequently have to call upon; and consistency that you may be learning along the way. Here are some tips to assist you in providing the best possible environment for your child to experience success both at home and at school.

1. Understand that young people (like all of us) are doing the best they know how to do with what they have to work with. When they have more options available to them, they will make better choices. You, as the adult, are the teacher, which means that your child will model you. If you are flexible and open to learning new ways of thinking and behaving, your child will be open as well.

2. Always look for the positive intention behind behavior. There is positive intention behind every behavior, no matter how hurtful or how bizarre the behavior may seem. In other words, there is a need on some level that is being met by doing what they’re doing. If we can look for what the purpose is behind the behavior or what need is getting met, then we can find other more constructive solutions to meeting that need. In fact, the negative behavior you are seeing will not change until the positive intention is recognized and the underlying need met. Always separate the behavior from the intention behind the behavior.

3. Step into their model of the world. Imagine what it would feel like if what you heard most of the time from your parents and teachers was that you were lazy, unmotivated or not living up to your potential. When you communicate with a young person, see the communication through their eyes and through their model of the world rather than through yours; they will be much more open to what you have to say if you do.

For more information visit www.powerlearningandsuccess.com.

DeAnne Joy and Sidney Nicholas are learning and life success coaches. Both are Master Practitioners and Certified Trainers of NLP, Neuro-Linguistic Programming and co-creators of Power Learning and Success Strategies. You can find more information at www.powerlearningandsuccess.com or by calling 661- 310-7981.

Can you believe how quickly the summer goes by? Many of us are already gearing up for the beginning of the school year. At our house, we’ve been preparing by reviewing math facts, grammar and punctuation from last year, putting together a homework system and schedule, and creating a reward system for the school year. All of those things that take a little bit of work upfront, but have a lot of payoff in the end – much like investing time or resources in your home or business. As we’ve been gearing up for the school year at home, and also assisting our clients with preparing for the year, I’ve been giving some thought to “common myths about homework” that I thought might be helpful to share…

Myth # 1: Our children ought to be intrinsically motivated to learn and do well in school.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but just not true! As much as we’d like to believe that our children ought to be naturally motivated and driven to learn and succeed, that’s just not the case for all kids. Yes, we are “natural-born learners” and are born jazzed and excited about learning; however, along the way, that natural jazz and excitement dwindles as negative experiences and negative associations with learning or school are encountered. Learning how to motivate your child is a skill that you can learn, just like anything else. There is a strategy and formula that has already worked for other people; once you learn how to do it, it becomes easy for you. However, you do it, understand that your child does need to be motivated to complete homework. Watch for another post on motivation strategies and reward systems…

Myth #2: Homework should be done immediately after school, all in one setting, with no breaks until it is complete. How we learn and how we succeed, is nothing more than a strategy or a formula. In order to understand that formula, it is necessary to understand how the brain learns information best. We retain the most information at the beginnings and endings of segments. Therefore, if frequent, short breaks are taken during homework time, the student will tend to retain more of the information. This also helps to decrease frustration and boredom, which are both sure to lead to brain-freeze and homework shut-down.

Myth #3: Homework should be done at your child’s desk in his or her bedroom.

Wrong! The worst place to have your child doing his or her homework is in the bedroom. What is in the bedroom? FUN stuff! All of the things they enjoy doing are right there to distract them. Here is a rule of thumb for finding the right location for doing homework. We learn best in a relaxed, focused, distraction-free space. Try to reduce distractions like television and screaming kids whenever possible. Also, remove any obvious distractions by keeping them away from windows with a great view of the world, and keep them out of the bedrooms where all of their favorite things are just waiting to distract them! Try doing homework at the dining room table (not facing the window) or in a study.

Hopefully, clearing up these myths will give you a good start on setting your child up for success this school year.

For more information visit www.powerlearningandsuccess.com.

DeAnne Joy and Sidney Nicholas are learning and life success coaches. Both are Master Practitioners and Certified Trainers of NLP, Neuro-Linguistic Programming and co-creators of Power Learning and Success Strategies. You can find more information at www.powerlearningandsuccess.com or by calling 661- 310-7981.