Why Should Kids Eat Breakfast Daily?

What Should Families Do Before School?

Back to School Night Made Easy

Back to School Night can be a complete waste of time or an effective tool to help students succeed. You choose. The first several years of my teaching career, I did exactly what administration told us all to do at Back to School Night. I repeated everything I had included in the course outline letter I sent home with students the first week of school. It included the class procedures, expectations, rules, grading system, due dates, homework, etc. Then I realized rereading it aloud was a complete waste of time and insulting to parents. They had already read, signed and returned the letter to me.

Instead, I began to use Back to School Night to help students become more successful. I wrote the night’s agenda on the board each year. The first few items were the main topics from the letter, (so any administrator who entered the room would see that they had been covered). But the rest was what I wanted the parents to do to help their children learn.

1. Eat dinner together as a family. (I explain that all studies show students do better in school and in life if they had dinner with their family at least five nights each week while growing up.)  

2. Check homework. (I remind parents that I assign homework Monday through Thursday each week. It's posted on my website each Thursday for the upcoming week. It's never oppressive or “busy work”.)

3. Turn off electronics two hours before bedtime, and be sure students sleep the recommended number of hours for their age group, 8-10 hours for teenagers. (Studies show that electronic use before bed is detrimental to sleep quality. What is learned each day is moved from short term memory to long term memory during sleep.)

4. Make sure students have a nutritious breakfast each morning. (Students eating a full, healthy breakfast have more success in school than those who drink a fruit smoothie or eat a granola or power bar for breakfast, and often earn more money in scholarships.  I also give parents ideas for how they can do this without it becoming oppressive.)

5. Give their children the book Seven Habits of Effective Teens by Sean Covey, son of Stephen Covey who wrote Seven Habits of Effective People. (The book shows teenagers how they can get what they want in life, makes them happier and easier to get along with at home and at school.)

After I started using Back to School Night to influence the behavior of parents, to get them to do what would make their children happier, healthier, better rested and ready to learn, student success increased. It also had the side benefit of making me feel like going to Back to School Night was not a complete waste of time. 

If you have Pre-K through High School students in your family, you'll want my new book, Free College, on Amazon (Click Here to Buy). It can help you avoid taking out dangerous college loans.

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE. It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

Photo Credit: Google Images

Sleep Routines Create Better Grades, Here's How to Make It Happen

There’s a simple trick to making sure your teenager gets enough sleep to do well in school. Set a designated bedtime. The practice should have been started when your child was much younger. So if you never established a set bedtime for your child, you’re going to have a hard time doing so now. But no one said parenting was easy.

You know what time your child’s school requires him/her to be on campus each morning. You are also aware of how long it takes to get to school, by bus, by car, by bike or walking. The next important period of time is how long it takes your child to get ready for school and eat a nutritious breakfast. Do the math until you know what time your child needs to get up in the morning.

Then look at the chart below. It shows how much sleep the average child requires by age. It’s a range, and your child may be at one end or the other. Don’t let them fool you. They need this sleep to function properly, no matter what they say. Students who go to school sleep deprived are drowsy in class, cannot focus, and don't end up doing as well as they could.

1-2 years = 11-14 hours

3-5 years = 10-13 hours

6-13 years = 9-11 hours

14-17 years = 8-10 hours

Now count backwards from wake up time. That’s bedtime. Not just on school days, however. All studies show the body (and the brain, of course) is healthiest and works best if there’s a set sleep routine which does not vary on weekends or holidays. Besides the health benefits, it’s important to recognize the brain moves information from short term memory to long term memory during sleep. If a child does not receive the necessary amount of sleep, the day’s learning will go into the trash bin and be lost.

But your counting isn’t over. Your teen will protest and say he/she isn’t sleepy. That is, unless you set the stage for sleep. Count back one hour from bedtime. At my house, we called this quiet time. No electronics, (that includes phones), no loud music and no exciting activities were allowed during quiet time. Mostly, we read. Turn off some lights in the house, create twilight inside. This will signal the brain to prepare for sleep.

If your child rebels at your attempt to be a responsible parent, remember you control the money. Many of the activities teenagers enjoy cost money. If your children understand you are just requiring them to do what is going to help them be healthier, do better in school and receive more scholarship money for college, maybe they’ll cooperate without complaint. Good luck with that. It’s far easier to start this when children are in diapers by establishing a bedtime routine in your house. 

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE. It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

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How to Get a Teenager to Go to Bed

There’s a simple trick to making sure your teenager gets enough sleep to do well in school. Set a designated bedtime. That time should have been created when your child was much younger. So if you never established a set bedtime for your child, you’re going to have a hard time doing so now. But no one said parenting was easy.

You know what time your child’s school requires him/her to be on campus each morning. You are also aware of how long it takes to get to school, by bus, by car, by bike or walking. The next important period of time is how long it takes your child to get ready for school and have a nutritious breakfast. Count backwards until you know what time your child needs to get up in the morning.

Then look at the chart below. It shows how much sleep the average child requires by age. It’s a range, and your child may be at one end or the other. Don’t let them fool you. They need this much to function properly, no matter what they say. Students who go to school sleep deprived are drowsy in class, cannot focus, and don't end up doing as well as they could.

1-2 years = 11-14 hours

3-5 years = 10-13 hours

6-13 years = 9-11 hours

14-17 years = 8-10 hours

Now count backwards from wake up time. That’s bedtime. Not just on school days, however. All studies show the body (and the brain, of course) is healthiest and works best if there is a set sleep routine which does not vary (like on weekends). Besides the health benefits, it’s important to recognize the brain moves information from short term memory to long term memory during sleep. If a child does not receive the necessary amount of sleep, the day’s learning will go into the trash bin and be lost.

But your counting isn’t over. Your teen will protest and say he/she isn’t sleepy. That is, unless you set the stage for sleep. Count back one hour from bedtime. At my house, we called this quiet time. No electronics, (that includes phones), no loud music and no exciting activities were allowed during quiet time. Mostly, we read. Turn off some lights in the house, create twilight inside. This will signal the brain to prepare for sleep.

If your child rebels at your attempt to be a responsible parent, remember you control the money. Many of the activities teenagers enjoy cost money. If your children understand you are just requiring them to do what is going to help them be healthier, do better in school and receive more scholarship money for college, maybe they’ll cooperate without complaint. Good luck with that. It’s far easier to start when they are in diapers by establishing a bedtime routine in your house. 


For more information, you'll want my new book, Free College Awareness, coming soon from Griffin Publishing and Watering Seeds. How to avoid needing college loans; available soon to families of Pre-K through High School students.

You are reading from the blog: http://www.roadtofreecollege.com

Photo Credit: Pixabay