Teach how to study!

 One essential skill kids need to learn is how to study.  My first tip is to have your child do hands-on activities and projects first.  How does this help the child learn to study?  Kids need to relate to the topic.  Kids need to connect to a topic.  Read it, say it, and do it.  Let me give you an example. We’re working on Genetics in Science.  Paul, ten, extracted DNA from split peas, made a Mitosis model, did an inventory of traits, and looks at an onion root tip under the microscope.  I draw from labs to explain how DNA stores the codes for genes and traits.  He can see the stages of mitosis under the microscope on the onion root tip.  The textbook material makes more sense.  He’s better equipped to understand the material when tested.  

We use Catholic Textbooks for History.  All of our efforts work toward the tests as a measure of understanding.  Paul reads the chapter in the book.  Then he does workbook pages.  Each time, he rereads the section in the book, attempts as much as he can without the book, and finally uses the book to answer the exercises.  We use the same approach for quizzes.  Reread the section, answer the quiz questions, then use the textbook to complete the quiz.  We use the quizzes and review questions to study for the test.  Our goal is for Paul to begin to apply this method independently.  

Try different methods to study: write out Latin declensions several times or vocabulary lists.  Draw pictures as memory aides.  Keep the goal in mind.  You’re teaching your child how to attack his subjects independently and successfully.