It’s time to hit the books!

Now that your kids are all settled into their back-to-school routine, it’s time to assess what is (or isn’t) working when it comes to homework habits, because no matter what their learning style, they’re going to have plenty of take-home assignments. How they handle these assignments can affect whether or not you need to look into finding a tutor or adjusting their study space. Before your kids have a full on homework meltdown, try these handy tips for helping your kids stay organized and accountable, courtesy of Dr. Emily Levy, Ed.d., from EBL Coaching.

With the new school year back in session, homework demands are quickly piling on. For many students, the process of writing down assignments, taking home the correct materials, completing assignments, and turning them in on time can be a challenge. Help your child build better homework skills with these tips.

Assignment Book
Many students think they can remember all of their assignments without writing them down. Others jot down certain assignments, but not all, often neglecting critical ones. Each of these scenarios can lead to forgotten homework and missed assignments.

To help combat this homework chaos, encourage your child to maintain and consistently use an assignment book. Even if she is convinced that she can remember all of her assignments, remind her that this task becomes increasingly challenging as she moves through school, and jotting them down will help make sure she doesn’t forget any. If she has trouble consistently doing so, create a “sign off” system where you, as the parent, sign off on each assignment in her assignment book that is done, and her teacher signs off once it’s turned in.

Rewards-Based Incentive Plan
Implementing a reward-based incentive plan can help students build stronger homework and time management skills. To set up this type of system, sit down with your child and come up with a list of rewards that he would like to earn. Such rewards might include video games, apps, Lego sets, a trip to the movies or his favorite ice cream store, or the like. In order to receive the reward, for a pre-selected number of consecutive days (5 or 10 often works), he must write down all of his assignments daily, check them off when done, and turn them in on their due date.

As an alternative, you can try using a “homework punch card.” Once your child completes and puts away all of his assignments on a given day, he receives a hole punch in his card. Ten punches (or another pre-determined number) earns a reward. This type of reward system can help students develop consistency and automaticity with completing and turning in their assignments in a timely fashion.

Homework Buddy
Establishing a homework buddy can help your child feel accountable not just to herself, but also to a friend. At the start of the year, talk to her (and ideally loop in her teacher) about selecting a homework buddy. During the school day, the students each write down the assignments given to them by their teacher. Then, at the end of each day, they check each other’s assignment books to make sure all assignments were correctly written down. If they were not, the buddies help each other correct them, or ask their teacher for clarification, if need be. Next, they perform a book check to make sure that they both have in their backpacks all books and materials needed to complete the assignments. The next morning, they check to make sure each buddy turned in all due assignments. The buddies can even use a daily sticker chart and give each other a sticker when everything is done correctly.

Consistent Homework Time
It is important for students to develop a consistent routine of completing their homework at roughly the same time each day. Some students prefer starting their homework right when they get home and are still in “school mode.” Others need a rest and a quick snack right after school, before getting started. Certain students thrive on the post-dinner energy rush. While it’s generally better to work on longer, more taxing assignments earlier in the day, there is no general ideal time for completing homework. Each child is different and works best at different times of day. They key is consistency. Once a child selects a time for completing homework, he should stick with that time, so that it becomes a built-in part of his day.

Homework demands increase rapidly as students move through school. Encourage your child to use these tips to build stronger homework skills and become a more confident and successful student.

The post How to Help Your Child Build Better Homework Skills appeared first on EBL Coaching.

With demands at schools increasing rapidly, many kids are receiving more complex and challenging assignments and projects. It can be tempting to immediately jump right in and help your child tackle this work, without giving her the opportunity to try it on her own. Yet homework can offer a multitude of benefits when your child completes it alone: it can help her become more self-sufficient and independent, and can give her the the extra practice needed to fully grasp new material. Encourage your child to become more independent and complete her homework on her own with the ideas detailed below.

Set up a distraction-free study space

‎When kids come home from school and sit down to begin their homework, they are often overwhelmed with distractions. There are tablets, computers, and phones; background noises; a kitchen filled with snacks; and so many other temptations. Help your child avoid these distractions and better focus on school work by setting up a well-lit, distraction-free work area. Your child might prefer to work on a desk in his room, on a table in the dining room, or in another quiet space of his choosing. Just make sure you designate that area as his “homework space” and load it with all the supplies he may need – pens, pencils, looseleaf paper, scissors, highlighters, and so on, so he doesn’t need to rummage for supplies when he needs it. Also encourage him to have a snack before he begins his homework so stomach rumbles don’t distract him from the task at hand. Additionally, you should make sure there is ample light, technological devices are powered off unless needed for homework, and the area is as quiet as possible.

Teach her study skills

Some students naturally develop effective study skills. They figure out how to take notes, complete their homework in an organized fashion, and ‎manage their time, all on their own. Other students, however, need guidance for developing stronger study skills. Teach your child to open her assignment book as soon as she is ready to begin her homework. She should make sure ALL assignments are written down; if they are not, she should immediately call a friend or check her school’s online portal (if her school has one) to determine which assignments are due, in both the near and far term. If she has any long-term assignments or projects to complete, teach her to break each one down into steps, and write each step into her planner. If she has a test to study for, she should do the same – break the studying into smaller steps (complete a study guide, create note cards, re-read book chapters, etc.) and put each one of those steps in her planner. You can also teach her to prioritize the tasks she has due. If she has five assignments to complete, for instance, she may want to work on the harder, more arduous ones first (and label them 1, 2, etc.), then move on to the shorter, less taxing ones, and so on. Teaching your child time management, prioritization, and homework management skills will help her become a more effective and efficient student.

Help him get started

Many students are perfectly capable of completing their homework on their own but simply have trouble getting started. Say your child has an essay to write on why he does or does not like winter. He may be stuck on where to begin. If so, help him start by brainstorming. He can draw a circle in the center of a page and write the word “winter” in it. Then he can branch out on the top side of the bubble with smaller bubbles detailing why he DOES like winter‎ (skiing, snowboarding, sledding, etc.), then branch out with additional small bubbles below the middle bubble containing reasons why he does NOT like winter (cold, short days, stuck inside, etc.). He can then decide which reasons (top or bottom) are more powerful, choose a stance, and begin to write his essay from there – on his own. Sometimes getting started is the most challenging part of assignments!

Give her praise!

If your child completes even a small assignment on her own, without your help, give her praise! Make sure your praise is specific to the task at hand, like, “I’m so proud of you for completing that reading comprehension assignment. You did it all on your own, and you should feel very proud of yourself.” Even a small victory like that, and just a touch of praise, can build her self-confidence and encourage her to try tackling more assignments on her own. You can also try integrating rewards. If she completes ten assignments on her own without your help, for instance, she might earn a trip to the movies or ice cream store. Help make homework a postive, self-fulfilling experience and your child will be more inclined to try completing her work on her own.

As students move through school, they will inevitably receive an increasing amount of homework. By teaching your child to complete assignments on his own at a young age, you will help him become an independent, self-sufficient, and successful student.

The post When Do You Let Your Kids Do Homework on Their Own? appeared first on EBL Coaching.

With summer winding down and fall just around the corner, sunny days spent splashing in the pool and playing outside will quickly turn into structured days of school and homework. For many students, this time of year brings stomach-churning anxiety and unsettling nerves. You can help your child ease the transition back into school by teaching him strategies for effective organization and homework management. Try some of the tips below:

1. Set up a filing system.

When you embark on your annual school supplies shopping trip, purchase some tools for setting up an organized filing system. Help your child pick out a “working notebook” – either a 3-ring binder or a folder and spiral notebook for each class – that she will carry with her to school on a regular basis. Also purchase a large accordion file that stays at home for filing. Inside the file, label three sections for each class: homework, notes, and tests/quizzes. For example, inside the accordion file, she might label: math homework, math notes, math tests/quizzes, science homework, science notes, etc. She should designate one day per week to be her “clean out my working notebook” day, where she cleans out any papers she doesn’t absolutely need to be carrying with her (including those from the bottom of her backpack) and files them into the appropriate section of her accordion file.

‎2. Set up a regular work space.

Before the school year begins, help your child identify an effective work space that ‎he will use regularly for completing assignments. This should ideally be a clean desk in his room but a table in the kitchen or another room could work too. Make sure he has all of the supplies he may need for completing his homework: pens, paper, a hole puncher, a stapler, and so on. You can try using a “homework supplies box,” which some students prefer, where all of the supplies are kept together in one place. Just remember to re-fill the supplies when you notice they are running low, since a lack of supplies can turn into an easy point of distraction.‎

3. Set up a regular schedule.

Once the school year begins, after school activities, events, and school work all seem to pile up quickly. Carving out time to study and complete homework can become a challenge.  Thus, it’s important to set up a regular time of day for your child to complete her assignments. Some students prefer to complete their homework right after school, when they are still in “school mode.” Others like to wind down and take a break when they come home, and some seem to work most optimally right after dinner. Any of these options can work as long as they are right for your child. Just make sure she maintains consistency with her preferred work time.

4. Color code.

Before the school year begins, help your child set up a color-based organizational system. She should choose one color for each class: green for science, for instance, blue for math, and so on. All of her binders, note books, and folders should match the color she chooses for a given subject. When studying, she can even use color-specific flash cards and highlighters to maintain consistency.

5. Use an assignment book!

We all know students who feel they can remember all of their assignments without writing them down. Yet this task becomes increasingly hard to do and inevitably leads to forgotten books and assignments. Instead, purchase an assignment book that has ample space for each day and try using this 5-column assignment book strategy to reinforce effective homework management skills:

‎The first column  should be labeled “Assignment” and should be given the largest amount of space. The other four columns, placed at the far right, should be labeled: ET (Estimated Time), AT (Actual Time), O (Order), and D (Done).  During the school day, your child should only write down his assignments in the “Assignments” column. When he comes home from school, he should predict how much time he thinks each assignment will take to complete (and write it in the ET column), then decide on the order in which to complete them (1, 2, 3, etc., which he writes in the O column). Once he finishes each assignment, your child should write down the actual time each one took to complete in the AT column. After he puts away the assignment in the right place to be turned in, he should place a check mark in the D column.

The transition back to school can be a challenging one for many students. By helping your child set up systems for completing homework and maintaining organization, ‎you can make sure he starts the year off on a positive note.

The post Homework & Organizational Tips for the New School Year appeared first on EBL Coaching.

The Assignment Book

We often hear complaints from students about not wanting to use a planner since their assignments are posted online or they can “easily” remember them without writing anything down. Yet even if assignments are posted online, students should still actively use an assignment book so that their entire agenda is written in one place and they can see the “big picture” of all that needs to get done. Ideally, your child should use a “one sheet per day assignment book” with ample space to write down each assignment.

During the school day, encourage your child to write down assignments as they are given out. Then, when she gets home that afternoon, have her look at all of her assignments and predict how long she thinks each one will take. She should write down the ET (Estimated Time) next to each assignment and, based on these times, decide which ones she will do first, second, third, etc., and complete them in that order. Finally, after she has completed each assignment and put it in the right place to be turned in, she should cross it off and write the AT (actual time it look to complete). This strategy will help students develop time management, homework management, and planning skills.

The Binder

Some students might prefer using an open-style three-ring binder for carrying papers to and from school. Yet this kind of binder can lead to disaster (namely the disappearance of critical papers and assignments), particularly for those who are not naturally organized. Rather than using a completely open 3-ring binder, purchase a fully enclosed binder for your child that has a zipper and a handle. With this style binder, if your child drops it, nothing will spill out.

Inside the binder, purchase a colored folder containing two pockets for each subject that is made of hard plastic, not flimsy paper. ‎Create a white label with the subject name on it to stick on the outside of each folder. Inside the folder, on the left side, attach a sticker labeled “to be done” and on the right side, attach one labeled “completed/returned‎.”

In the front portion of your child’s binder, attach two monthly calendar sheets so‎ that your child can see all upcoming long-term assignments. The current month should be placed on top, and the next month should be placed underneath. This setup will help him see a global picture of upcoming assignments and tests for the next two months.

The Filing System

Rather than watching an ever-growing mess of papers stack up on your child’s desk or inside his backpack, help him establish an effective at-home filing system. Purchase a filing box for your child that is the size of an egg crate, without a top. Use box board bottom file folders with tabs – one per class, ideally in a color matching that of the subject folders in his binder, and label each tab by subject. ‎ Place plain manila file folders (one for each month of the school year) inside each file folder, so that each box board bottom file folder has its own set of monthly folders.

Designate one day per week as a “clean out my binder” day, where your child cleans out sheets from the right side of each folder in his binder (labeled “completed/returned”). These should be papers that he does not need to be carrying with him on a regular basis, and they should be placed in the proper monthly file, a task that should take roughly 5-15 minutes. When his teacher announces a test, he should pull out all papers from the start of that unit (from the at-home filing system) to use for studying.

Try implementing these strategies at home and your child will soon become more organized, learn effective time management strategies, and become an overall better student. As an added bonus, you’ll find that your life will become easier by not having to micro-manage your child’s school work, an all-out winning scenario.

Written by Dr. Emily Levy, Director of EBL Coaching

Dr. Emily Levy is the founder of EBL Coaching, a tutoring program that specializes in one-on-one home and on-site instruction for students in grades preK-12 in NYC and NJ.  She is also the author of Strategies for Study Success, a study skills workbooks series emphasizing test taking, note taking, reading comprehension, writing, and summarizing strategies, and the Flags and Stars Orton Gillingham student workbook series.  These workbooks are currently used at schools nationwide.

Dr. Levy studied at Brown University and later received her Masters Degree in Special Education and her Doctorate Degree in Education. She has spoken at national and international conferences on research-based methods for teaching students with and without learning disabilities. Dr. Levy is currently the Director of EBL Coaching’s NYC and NJ learning centers.

EBL Coaching
50 East Palisade Avenue, Suite 201, Englewood, NJ 07631

The post Best Organizational Tools for Students appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Does your child’s backpack look like the bottom of a dirty trash can? Does he conveniently “forget” to write down or complete homework assignments? Or, better yet, does he complete his assignments and accidentally forget to turn them in the next day?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then your child may be in need of some organizational coaching. As students advance through school, the organizational demands placed on them become progressively greater. More and more information is presented, homework loads rise, and at-home projects become increasingly prevalent. Without the right types of organizational tools in place, it is easy for a child to feel overwhelmed and sometimes lost in this plethora of demands.

By utilizing the following organizational tools, your child will learn a systematic approach for all homework, class notes, tests, and quizzes that may come his way. While encouraging independence, you should show your child how to implement these strategies to help carve the path for organizational success.

1. Homework Assignments. Remembering to write down specific assignments, break down long-term projects, and turn in homework on time can be some of the most difficult organizational tasks. For many students, learning the right strategies for homework organization can help lead to academic success.

For starters, make sure that your child is using an assignment book on a regular basis. Ideally, the assignment book should have dates pre-written in it and should contain enough space for each day where your child can write in all homework assignments, tests, and even after school activities. Before the week begins, have your child divide each day in the assignment book into five columns: ET (Estimated Time), AT (Actual Time), O (Order), D (Done), and Assignment (by far the largest column).

At school, the only place where your child should write any information is in the last column which reads “Assignment.” For example, in that column, he might write “Math, complete pages 24-26 in text book,” and underneath that, “English, complete five-paragraph essay,” and so on. Then, when he gets home from school and sits down to do his homework, he should read each assignment and predict how much time he thinks each one will take. He should list these times under the “ET” column. For example, he might think his math assignment will take 30 minutes (he writes 30m) and his English assignment will take one hour (he writes 1hr). Next, he decides which order he wants to do the assignments. He can choose to do either the shorter or longer ones first, and will order the assignments 1, 2, 3, etc. underneath the “O” column accordingly. He will then complete each assignment in his designated order and write the actual amount of time it took to complete the assignments under the “AT” column.

Typically, when a child first begins using this strategy, there is a big discrepancy between the actual and estimated time (ET and AT) for each assignment. The more he uses this strategy, however, the more realistic he will become with his time and the closer these two times will start to merge. Finally, when he has completed all assignments and puts them away in the proper folder in his backpack (this is a very important step!), he places a check under the appropriate “D” columns. This is a dynamic strategy which helps build homework, time management, and, of course, overall organizational skills.

2. Notebook Organization. Alas, the notebook! You may notice that your child begins the school year with a well-organized set of color coded notebooks and folders, only to see the famous “trashcan backpack” emerge shortly after the year begins. Some students choose not to even attempt to create any sort of system, since they feel at a permanent organizational loss. Finding the right system for notebook organization, however, can be the secret tool for success in this arena.

Many students have thrived using the three-tier notebook organization system, which is composed of the following three parts: working notebook, reserve notebook, and long-term filing drawer.

The Working Notebook. This is the notebook that should be taken to school on a regular basis. It can be set up in the form of one three-ring binder with separate tabs for each class. Alternatively, it can take the form of one color-coded spiral notebook (for taking notes) and one folder (for handouts and homework) for each class. What is most important about the working notebook, however, is that it only contains papers that your child absolutely needs to be carrying with him to school. One day per week (you should help your child choose this day and have him write it directly in his assignment book each week) will be designated as his clean-out-my-working-notebook-day. On this day, he will clean out all papers that he no longer needs to take to school with him and file them in his reserve notebook.

The Reserve Notebook. The reserve notebook should actually take the form of a large, multi-section accordion folder. For each class, there will be three sections in the accordion folder: one for homework, one for class notes, and one for tests or quizzes. For example, for math, your child would have sections labeled “math homework,” “math class notes,” and “math tests/quizzes.” He would have similar sections for English, Science, Social Studies, and all other classes. Remember that the working notebook should be cleaned out and transferred to the reserve notebook on a weekly basis.

The Long-Term Filing Drawer. At the end of the semester or school year, if your child has written a stellar essay, completed a notable project, or scored sky-high on a particular exam, you may want to save this work for the long-run. This information should be placed into a filing drawer for long-term safekeeping (you should be in charge of this drawer).

Other organizational strategies that you may want to implement include setting up a regular space for your child to complete his homework with easy access to (well-organized) supplies. You may want to encourage your child to work on his homework at a consistent time of day: for example, as soon as he comes home from school or right before dinner. You can also include some incentives, at least at the beginning, for regularly following and maintaining these organizational systems. If your child still faces organizational issues even with these tools in place, there is always one-on-one coaching and small group clinics to help create individualized organizational tools.

Remember that organization is one of the most important facets of school success. The earlier you teach your child these tools, the easier it will be for him to implement and maintain them as he progresses through school. Try out these tools and help your child begin his journey to organizational success!

Emily Levy is the founder and director of EBL Coaching, located at www.eblcoaching.com, which offers one-on-one and small group tutoring and organizational coaching.

The post A Schedule That Works appeared first on EBL Coaching.

The proper assignment book is critical for creating a strong foundation in managing time. When selecting an assignment book for your child, purchase one that has only a single day per page, with a row for each class on all pages, so that she has plenty of space to write down each assignment. Before bringing the assignment book to school, she should add in four columns on the left side of each page, next to the subject: ET (estimated time), AT (actual time), O (Order), and D (Done). Each page might look something like this:

When your child uses the assignment book at school, she should only write down assignments in the column that reads “Assignment.” Then, after about a twenty minute break after school (enough time for a quick snack), she should open her assignment book, read all of the assignments listed, and complete each of the steps below:

1. Start with ET (Estimated Time). She should look at each assignment and decide how much time she thinks it will take to complete it. For example, she might predict that it will take 30 minutes to complete a science worksheet, 50 minutes to study for a math quiz, and 45 minutes to answer questions from her social studies text book.

2. She should then fill in the O (Order) column with numerals, by ordering the assignments based on which one she will do first, second, third, etc. It is generally better for students to do the longer, more complex tasks first, since they tend to still be in “work mode” and have more energy early on. Also, working on a harder task first leaves them time to call a friend or reach out to an adult if they need help completing it.

3. Once ET and O are complete, the next step is to start working on the first assignment. As your child completes each assignment, she should time herself to see how long it actually takes to do the assignment, and write that time in the AT (actual) time section next to the assignment. It is generally better to use an analog, rather than digital, clock, so your child can visually see the time passing.

4. Last, once each assignment is done and put away in the proper place to be turned in, your child should check off the D (Done) column next to each assignment. A completed assignment book page might look like this:

When your child first starts using this strategy, she might notice that there is a large discrepancy between the estimated and actual time. However, as she practices this strategy, she will become more realistic with how long tasks take to complete, and this gap typically narrows – in essence, building stronger time management skills. Read more at Time Management Tips for Kids with ADHD – EBL Coaching.

As children progress through school, the time management demands grow exponentially. They will encounter more tests, longer assignments, and multi-step projects, and the overall quantity of work will increase rapidly. Yet the more they practice these strategies, the more efficient they will become in managing their time, and the more academic success they will see, both now and in the future.

Other Related Blogs:

Differentiating Between ADHD and Autism in Children

Helping Autistic Students Build Stronger Executive Functioning Skills

The post Time Management Strategies for Study Success appeared first on EBL Coaching.