The charm of crossing another academic year is short-lived! As the new school year rolls out, and the students start getting the hang of their subjects; projects, assignments, and examinations start popping up. Before you know it, your child is spending more time at the school library than at home!

If you were wondering what you, as a parent could do to help your child, here are a few tips that parents could use to assist their child ace their critical academic years!

Organization is key

Homework assignments, projects, tests are a part of every school year. However, with so much happening around students and their brains preoccupied, children may not always remember which test they had, or when the next assignment is due.

Study planners are excellent ways to keep in check your due assignments and tests, a look at them before after school will allow them to stay updated. With advancement in technology, schools are now using online platforms for homework and assignment provisions. American schools in Sharjah are using e-learning to the next level by providing not only an educational platform for children but also for parents to help them stay in touch about their children’s education.

Provide a study area

Your child needs to focus when they're' studying. Although all their friends might be turning up at the local coffee shop to study, however, a crowded place has too many distractions, and the session may not yield the best results.

Designate a study corner at home for your child, where there is minimum interruption and little to no distraction. Prohibit the use of phones and other gadgets, except for educational purposes. Even though the time they spend in this space may be limited, but the learning is devoid of distractions and effective.

Construct a timetable

Haphazard learning and educational activities tend to have little effect on a child's performance. No matter how old a child is, it is essential that parents work with them to help them create a timetable that best suited to their needs, strengths and weaknesses.

As important as the construction of a timetable is, the revision and up gradation of the timetable is equally important. Updates may be necessary in case of any quizzes, assignments and tests that their teachers may provide.

Host study groups

Study groups are an ideal way to help your child with academic work. Whether it is a class project or a group assignment, peers tend to understand better the problems your child may be having and how they can be solved.

Host study groups at your place to ensure the sessions are focused and effective and once you’re comfortable with your child’s company, allow them to attend study groups at other people’s places.

Ensure that your child learns and retains

Most students tend to ignore important aspects of topics by completely skipping some chapters that they didn’t think were important. Ensure that your child does read through chapters taught in the class and ask them to highlight important things that they learnt from the chapter.

Question them about what they may have learnt and prepare quiz like questionnaires that could help you gauge how much they studied and retained. In case your child has a test on Monday quiz them about what they’ve learnt, once they’re done with their preparation

Help them relax before the exam

Before your child leaves for an exam or test, tell them they’ve done a good job and that they’ll do well in the exam. Saying good things to your child boosts their confidence and also helps them perform better.

When taking an exam, your child is bound to be stressed. Some simple things can help them relax even in the most stressful situations. Ensure that your child arrives well before the start of the exam; request them to read the instructions on exam papers carefully before they begin. Dividing time according to the number and the type of questions will help them pace themselves and prevents a rushed performance.

Take away

Most parents feel they can’t do much to enhance the performance of their child at school. On the contrary, parental involvement has been known to enhance student performance and morale.

According to parental research, involvement is often used as a pathway to enhance performances and achievements of children who are underperforming at school. America Schools in Sharjah have a culture of involving parents in their child’s academics by organizing parent-teacher meetings and provision of online resources that help them stay updated about their child's academic performance.

So if you thought you couldn’t do much to help your child, think again!