The start of a new school year is stressful for students of course, but the transition from summer relaxation to the packed schedule of school is tough on parents too. Whether your child is moving into middle or high school, or just going back to start a new grade, there are some essential steps you can take early on for smooth sailing the rest of the year.

 

 1. Stock Up.

• • Old school: Schools usually have their supply needs down to a science, but there are always those items that your child seems to run out of throughout the year. Save yourself time and expense by purchasing items in greater quantity now. We love this basic supplies list from Real Simple.
  • New school: It is important to consider digital accessibility for school assignments be it laptop, desktop or tablet. If those items are shared between family members plan out access in advance to avoid conflicts later!

2. Build a Morning Routine.

• • • Plenty of Sleep! Making sure you get enough sleep (and your child does too) will pay enormous dividends in your ability to handle the hurried mornings and hectic days.
    • Wake Up Time. Yes, your child is old enough to to be getting themselves out of bed on time. If you suspect the mornings may not run like clockwork just after summer vacation, consider adjusting your wakeup time to make sure you can help with unexpected snafus.
    • Getting Ready. How can you make things as easy as possible for yourself during the daily prep-for-school process? Perhaps you do this by having lunch items prepped and ready in advance so they’re easy for you or your child to grab and pack. Review appropriate apparel choices that fit the school’s dress code with your child and either go through the closet in advance or create a system for checking in with each other.
    • Take Care of Yourself. Whether it’s 10 minutes of guided meditation, or just a quiet cup of coffee before the alarms go off, putting moments in your morning to take care of your own needs are crucial to staying stress-free in the early days of the new school year.

3. Get it on the Calendar.

• • • Spread the Word! Get it on EVERYONE’s Calendar, not just yours. Make sure key dates are shared with your spouse, grandparents, childcare providers and anyone else who may be helping you with before and after school logistics.
    • Put Your Dates on Your Child’s Calendar. Note your family’s business travel or special events on your child’s calendar to make sure they’re factored in when scheduling.
    • Pay attention to the Extra-Curriculars. A new school year often means that your child may want to try a new activity, a new sport or join a new club. Be realistic about how much you and your child can handle and work with your child to select programs that work best for both of you.

4. Get to Know Your Child’s School

• • • Review the School’s Rules. Basic policies concerning dress code and cell phone use can vary widely from school to school. Read up on them to avoid any unpleasant surprises.
    • Take a Tour. Understanding how the campus is laid out and how your child will travel throughout the school will make the transition seem less overwhelming.
    • Review Your Child’s Subjects. Also understand the expectations of those courses. This can help you identify potential challenges in advance.
    • Connect With Your Child’s Teachers. You don’t have to wait until you’re called in for a conference. Reach out to teachers at any point early in the year to learn more about the class itself or how your child is faring.
    • Get to Know Other Parents. Parents of children the same age as yours are great for understanding shared experiences. Parents with children who have been in the school can help you understand how the school works from the parent perspective.

5. Offer Learning Support

• • • Check in Everyday. No matter what the quality of your school, check in with your child everyday and be prepared to help if needed.
    • Offer Help Yourself. If you know when your child has quizzes or papers due, and you have the capacity for it, you can offer your assistance in preparing or reviewing.
    • Line Up Resources. Acquaint yourself with the resources offered or recommended by the school or teachers for more structured help outside of the classroom. Also research online options, like Kahn Academy or Meemli to add to your list.
    • Know How Your Child Learns. Discover how your child learns best, so you can select the option that will be the most useful for your child. Here’s a quiz that can help determine tween learning styles you can do on your own, and here’s one your teen or tween can do themselves.

We hope you find this list helpful in making the start of the new school year easier to manage. Let us know if you have other favorite tricks to breeze through back to school!

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Here you are, enjoying the lazy, hazy days of summer  with your kids, with maybe a getaway or two still on the calendar. Ah, the calendar. You look at it and realize that school will be back in session in just a few short weeks. You may have already got a ‘welcome’ packet to look at and are faced with starting your back to school planning with your child right now.

 

While you’re preparing for school by buying supplies, juggling carpools and planning after-school activities, you should also take some time to help your child feel confident and prepared academically. A child’s relaxed ‘summer brain’ will find dealing with the rigor of math a hard transition – unless it’s been warmed up in advance.

 

This effect is fairly common. According to John Hopkins School of Education, students lose 2.6 months of grade-level equivalency in math during the summer. Math skills are often spiraled, with each year building on the learning of the previous year. While teachers usually build in review time at the beginning of the year, with the increased requirements for the amount of material to be covered each year (especially with the Common Core State Standards) they have to get through it at a pretty fast clip. Students who have ‘forgotten’ much of what they learned in the previous year will have a tough time catching up and that may very well make the rest of the year difficult for them.

 

 

You already know that math proficiency is critical for your child’s academic success. With the first day of school just round the corner, you as a parent can take a few simple steps to help your child walk in to the classroom with confidence instead of dread.

 

1. Do a review.

Sit down with your child and review old assignments, exams, and projects from the past year’s math course. Ask them questions, and figure out what the trouble spots were for them. Did they overcome what they were struggling with? Do they need some extra help with those areas? It doesn’t have to be tense and stressful or dull and boring – kids may enjoy remembering what happened in the classroom, stories their teacher shared or what their friends said, and of course, you could make a game of practically anything!

 

2. Test the Skills.

Doing a test is a great way to assess if a student remembers (and has mastered) the requisite skills for the upcoming year. For example, if your kid is going from middle school to high school, she can do a pre-algebra or algebra readiness test. There are many online resources for tests and sample problems covering a variety of topics and you can find the one that best suits your child (https://www.khanacademy.org/ http://www.math.com/). Added bonus: taking these tests will also get those neurons firing and your child’s brain ready for study!

 

​3. Get ahead.

Summer classes are a great way to keep the learning skills sharp. It also gives a space for your child to ask teachers questions on their problem areas that they might’ve not been able to work through during the school year. If it’s too late to sign up for a class, you could get a tutor to help your child with key skills. There are many online classes available too, letting your child continue to enjoy the last few days of summer while brushing up on math skills – check out Meemli Academy for some options!

 

Reviewing, testing and brushing up math skills will ready your child to face the new school year with more confidence. With a little bit of extra effort this summer your kids will be ready to zoom into their classes with a fresh mind and enthusiasm for what lies ahead.

 

Do you think a little math prep before school starts will help your child? Share your thoughts!

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This post is written for tweens/teens who’re looking for fun do-it-yourself activities this summer – share it with your child!

Yay! School’s out! You can relax, hang out with friends and family, do fun stuff and forget all about learning.

Wait, what? Forget all about learning? Well, maybe not all about learning. Let’s face it, you know how hard it is to get back into the groove when school starts again and your brain feels like ice cream left out in the sun too long.

But what if learning wasn’t just about summer school, textbooks, problem sets or reading assignments? What if you could build your learning skills without studying – and have fun doing it?

 

Here are some fun ideas that our team put together for creative summer learning activities that:

• * Can be done at little or no cost with readily available materials
• * Don’t take up too much time
•  * Can be done pretty much anywhere in the world
•  * Build your critical and creative thinking skills
•  * Are totally controlled by you!

 

1. If you’re into games…

Does playing video, computer or board games help you relax? Take your favorite game and think about how you would do it differently, in detail. How would it work, what would be the rules? As we know, the rules are what make games challenging and interesting. Keep refining it. Who knows, someday you could actually create/code the game. This is a good one to do with friends, too!

2.  If you like cooking…

Cooking is great – making a meal mixes chemistry, physics, and math. Plus you get something to eat for your efforts! But this is not just about taking a recipe and following it. Experiment. Change it up, but put some thought into it and start with a goal. What if I halved the recipe? How can I fit it into 3 little pans? Can I add jam instead of sugar? Failure is OK, and most likely still edible!

3. If you love movies…

What if you were the one behind the camera lens? Think (or learn about) about all the stuff that actually goes into making a movie and dream a little about a movie you’d make. How would you go about it? How can you show a car chase without causing accidents? Want to know about all the stuff real moviemakers have to think about? Prepare to be impressed by this awesome checklist!

4. If you like messing with paper and art…

In one word – origami! Sure, you can fold boats and hats and cranes, but how about figuring out your own creation? There’s geometry in those folds! (Check out origami here.) Oh yes, there’s another word, art. Art for art’s sake is universal, but how about art with a purpose? What if you chose to illustrate an idea (or a set of ideas)? Create your own infographic like ours? That takes planning and creativity!

5. If you’re crafty…

Are you into the ‘maker’ DIY thing? And/or do you like to knit, crotchet, sew, or glue stuff together? Then forget instructions and patterns. Think of something that you’d like to make where you choose the instructions, patterns, or how-to guides. Experiment, revise, repeat. Maybe you’ll end up with the best ever click-clack toy for your little brother or super-hero getup for your little sister. (Get inspired by checking out this site for techie maker ideas and this one for other craft ideas for teens.)

6. If sports are your thing…

Whatever sport you play, you know you can get better at it. There’s practice and watching/learning from the pros, of course. But what if you analyzed it for yourself? Angle the ball differently to make a basket. Put more power into your kick. Change the way you stand. Make your own training schedule. These are all solid learning skills to help you up your game, or just enjoy the process!

7. If you like writing…

You may not be able to finish penning the “Great American Novel” during your summer break. You don’t even have to start on one. Give yourself a fun goal, which might take some effort and unconventional thinking. Write a two-page mystery involving just one character. Dabble in a little poetry, if that’s your thing. Who knows? These may be the early works of an award-winning author.

8. If you enjoy making a point…

Do you enjoy taking a stand and arguing for (or against) something? Pick a viewpoint that you favor, even if popular opinion says otherwise. Do the research to figure out whether you’re in the right. See if there’s science (or popular opinion) behind your idea. For example, fourteen-year-olds should be able to drive if they can see over the dashboard. That should be fun!

 

9. If you’re passionate about nature…

There’s a world of fun learning activities outdoors. Literally. Watch a crow for 15 minutes and see, really see, what they do. (They’re amazingly smart, by the way.) Going on a vacation? Look around, take notes, draw conclusions from your observations. (Here are some tips to make a nature journal.) This might be the start of something you might be excited to work on in the future.

10. If you want to save the world…

In other words, you like volunteering and helping people. You’re probably already doing that, but how about solving a problem your way? Pick one social problem, preferably not too big, that you wish you could fix. For example, kids who don’t have access to computers in your school. Think about how you would go about fixing the problem. There are many steps and many dos and don’ts to make it a challenge, but this might become something you can actually get done someday.

 

Most of these can be done with friends or on your own. And while our list keeps it simple in terms of tools and props, you can do your own add-ons and take it as far as you’d like to go (make movies!).

We’d love to hear about it if you actually tried any of this! Let us know about your activity and how you liked it, and we promise to do a blog post featuring your experience. To share your activity, click here to contact us directly and we’ll get in touch with you for more details.

(Parents, teachers, if you’re reading this, feel free to share with students you know and rest assured, we take students’ privacy seriously and will be careful about what we share.)

Do you have your own go-to creative activities? We’d love to hear about them!

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Is your child a high school senior this fall? Here’s a quick summer read for parents of next year’s graduates. (This post is a good one to share with your child!)

Your son or daughter’s senior year of high school isn’t just a whirlwind of applications, activities, and celebrations – uncertainty and anxiety seem as much a part of 12^th grade as personal essays and senioritis. The summer is your opportunity to help prepare your future college freshman and you can do a lot to reduce the stress in getting your child college-ready.

 

Here are five ways to make the most out of the summer before senior year – without going crazy.

1. Get a head start on the Common Application essay questions

Start early, start today, start yesterday! The Common Application essay prompts have already been posted, and writing responses now will cut down on the stress of senior year as well as provide plenty of time for editing. Of course, you don’t want to write your child’s essay yourself, but you can provide encouragement and serve as a sounding board for ideas. You could consider coaching services that help with college applications, or, a general summer writing course to help your child hone her writing skills – so critical for success in college!

You can also run the essay drafts by someone outside the family – maybe a current college student at your child’s dream school or a former English major – and your chances of finding a willing reviewer are higher in the slow months of summer. (Check out Meemli’s offerings for help with writing and reviewing college essays!)

2. Calculate the cost of college and review your financial situation

Increasingly, students and parents are realizing that sometimes, the most expensive universities may not be the best. Sit down with your child and calculate the total cost of in-state, out-of-state public, and representative private universities, and figure out how much help you can realistically expect from scholarships.

Then, review the family’s financial situation together (this is a great time to talk about household budgets in general). How much will you be contributing to her education, if anything? What does that mean in terms of student loans, and how will those loans impact her choice of major and career down the line? Be forthright and realistic to set the parameters of your college search.

3. Target potential teacher recommendations

Does your child already have an idea of which teachers will write the best recommendations? If so, encourage him to stay in contact with those teachers over the summer. Don’t be too pushy, but make sure he’s still on the radar.

You can also work with your child in drafting a recommendation “cheat sheet” that highlights key achievements, important projects and major extracurriculars. This will make the teacher’s job a lot easier, and shine a spotlight on what he’s accomplished outside of the classroom.

4. Do important household tasks with your child

When your kid’s off to college, she’ll be flying solo on a number of new household tasks: managing money, doing laundry, cooking. If you haven’t already, begin to transition those tasks over to her. This will give her plenty of time to ask questions and make mistakes in a low-risk setting, as well as (hopefully) provide some quality bonding time.

5. Set the right tone: have some fun!

Finally, don’t forget that summer isn’t just a time for padding extracurriculars, volunteering, interning, or academic enrichment for getting a jump-start on next year’s classes. It’s also about relaxing, recharging and just being a kid. With all the pressure of getting into The Right College, just being a kid sometimes falls by the wayside.

Encourage your child to relax, do an activity that’s fun but not necessarily college-essay-worthy, and generally lead a healthy teenage life. Then, make sure your actions are in line with your words. Don’t just ask about how his essays are coming – talk about his life beyond what’s shown on college applications.

Finally, lead by example. Raising a teenager is no easy task, and the stresses of senior year affect the entire family. Take time for yourself as well, and make sure that you’re as happy and relaxed as possible. Your child will pick up on the value of self-care.

You’re probably already knee-deep in applications, tours and brochures; next year, you’ll be sending your child off to college. While using this summer to get a head start on your to-do list, make sure it is an enjoyable time too – it’s the last one you’ll have with your child as a high-schooler!

What do you and your high-school senior plan to do this summer?

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Father’s Day is almost here. Do you think that it’s just an afterthought to Mother’s Day and that mothers do all the parenting? Think again! Contrary to popular belief, a recent study showed that the current generation of fathers (and that includes: biological fathers, stepfathers, adoptive fathers, or other adult male figures in the household) are more engaged in care-taking than ever before. And even the dads of decades ago, who may not have been so hands-on in the day to day child-rearing, still had powerful impacts on their children.

As you’re mulling about what gift to give your dad, think of these two life lessons he’s given you to help you live well.

 

Take Risks

Dads are notorious for choosing playtime (whether it’s making funny sounds for the baby while giving him dinner or playing hoops with a teen) over everything else. They’re usually more playful with kids than moms, and that definitely includes rough games more often than not.

These rough, playful moments with dad are not just the precious memories we capture with the camera. Studies show that  these are moments where kids are learning important lessons. Kids have a chance to explore how their bodies can move and what they can really do with their strength. (It doesn’t hurt that it also helps in motor development.) During these play sessions dads are instinctually teaching kids how to manage their emotions in healthy, physical ways. They show them how to dance swiftly through thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

Children learn to explore and take risks because dad is around, keeping them safe but also challenging them to be independent. By encouraging their kids to literally take a leap while being there to catch them, dads do a lot to reduce the fear of trying something new and unknown.

Be Strong

Fathers help their children be strong in body, mind and spirit, starting from infancy and continuing all through their growing years. As noted earlier, dads like to play with their kids, and often introduce their children to their own favorite sports and/or outdoor activities. A dad who’s healthy and physically active, will be a role model as well as an active guide to help his kids become the same.

Dads often find new and unexpected ways to play with familiar toys, which builds a young one’s creativity abilities. In conversations, dads tend to ask more –Wh questions (Why? What? Where?). Not only does this show an interest in a child’s schoolwork and life but it sparks thinking. Research shows that inquisitive questions by dads builds self-confidence and improves overall academic achievement and motivation. The study by the Department of Education (2001) also shows that children of “highly involved” fathers are 43% more likely to earn mostly A’s in school. Whether it is helping them navigate online learning in algebra or choosing a project for the science fair or reviewing their English essay, involved dads nurture strong students.

 

When children feel a lack of love or rejection from either parent, they’re more likely to become aggressive and emotionally unstable. Eventually, rejection can lead to low self-esteem and negative world views. Studies have pointed to dads as being instrumental in helping kids develop their self-esteem as well as a more empowered, positive attitude towards life. A father’s love has the potential of giving kids a boost to their mental health that could last them a lifetime. The transformative impact of dads shows very early on – positive relationships with dad have led to strikingly low rates of depression and disruptive behavior visible in children as young as five years of age. Dads show us that we can feel safe in different, awkward environments and even have fun being ourselves in it.

It’s not a competition. But it is clear that the fathers are just as important as mothers to children’s development and wellbeing. Dad, give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back!

 

Meemli celebrates dads this Father’s Day with a special discount for online learning!

Get 10% off any course on our summer schedule (use code DAD2015 at sign up before June 23, 2015).

Check out our summer courses for middle and high school kids – it’s risk-free.

Meemli wishes all dads a Happy Father’s Day!

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The end of the school year is almost here. And in most schools, it is the time for tests! The few short weeks are packed with valiant attempts by teachers to complete the lesson plans and assignments while fitting in all the ‘required’ tests, like the dreaded finals. All the while, summer break is waiting just around the corner, and planning for summer makes it so hard to concentrate. Teachers are stressed. Students are stressed. And yes, parents are stressed too – because their kids are stressed. (In some parts of the world, the stress can be intense – check out this mind-boggling story of  test prep in China!)

But, it doesn’t have to be a killer time of the year, every year. Here are some simple test time strategies for parents of teens – easy ways to dial down the stress at home and help your child survive the end-of-school-year crunch.

 

1. Be there for your child

You’re sitting there staring at a piece of paper with no idea how to answer any question on your test. You’re sweating. You jump up and are awake. It was just a dream. Whew!

It is your child’s turn to live that anxiety now. He’s the one who has to take the tests and deal with the demands of school. But you know how scary it can be, and how much it helps to have someone to talk to about it.

That’s your role. Be the parent who’s willing to listen to the child who is terrified of tests. Or complains that tests are useless and don’t show if a person is smart or not. She’s probably right. For a lot of people, college, professions and the road a child will take in life may appear to be determined by every exam. Be the parent here and help your child to put it in perspective.

Do your best, to be aware of how your child is doing and feeling. Ask them questions, gauge their stress-levels, and ask how you can help when appropriate. Just let them know that you are on their team, no matter what.

2. Remind Them to Stay Healthy

You know this already. (The old “sound mind in a sound body” saying is familiar to all of us, and is increasingly being proven true by science.) And you try to get your children to keep healthy habits – get enough nutrients, exercise and sleep – all the time. But this is a particularly stressful time of year and kids may be tempted to reach for the junk food and Red Bulls, and stay up late cramming, and too much of that could backfire. They need enough sleep to perform well (here’s the research to support it), and nutrition and exercise to keep their immune systems healthy and help them not fall prey to every passing virus. Remind them – gently – to eat right, workout a little and get some sleep.

And if they’re open to it, suggest some quick meditation and breathing exercises that will greatly reduce their stress levels and also help them focus.

 

3. Be Their Test Coach

Help your child with practice exams by quizzing, timing, and checking their answers for them, and where needed, decoding test instructions and strategies (for example, when guessing the answer hurt or help.) This is a great way for students to reduce their test anxiety (freezing up during a test can sometimes be the cause of a poor grade). Tests become less frightening when students have already approached them in an informal way. Plus they’ll remember more of what they have learned.

4. Help them with time management

Of course, the best way to help your child when preparing for tests is to promote studying as a daily habit (make sure you do that for the next school year!). But for now, you can still help your child manage her time better. Help her mark the dates and times of all the tests, assignments and any other ‘must-do’ item on her calendar, and then work backwards to figure out when she should start working for them. Help her prioritize what is important and identify what is harder for her and therefore likely to take more time. Having a schedule to work with often helps reduce the stress too.

You can also help by avoiding piling on family commitments (distractions) during this time – if your child would rather stay home and prepare for Monday’s test, don’t force him to attend your cousin’s barbeque on Sunday!

4. Get Expert Help

If your child is struggling academically and you’re running out of ways to help, seek out assistance. Ask your child if he has any friends he’d like to study with – study groups are very effective. Encourage your child to check with his teacher who might have some excellent suggestions. There might be tutoring available at your child’s school or it might be worth investing in a private tutor. If your child needs targeted help in specific topics, there might be online courses she could take (Meemli Academy has some great options with live teacher guidance). Your child would feel relieved to know that there are many helpful people and resources out there that can eliminate much of the anxiety out of taking tests.

Until the educational system goes through a massive change, testing will be a big part of your child’s life, all the way through college. The best thing you as a parent can do is help your child learn strategies to deal with tests and get through them with a reasonable level of calm. It should get easier with practice every year!

Do you and your child worry about tests? How do you deal with test-anxiety? We’d love to hear from you!

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