Tagged: homework

How to Ace Your Next Exam

Exams are stressful. Studying doesn't have to be.

Exam time is approaching for many students of all ages. Everyone knows that this time of year can be very stressful for anyone cramming for multiple midterms, all to be completed in a very short period of time. It doesn’t have to be a time filled with hair tearing, energy draining, long sleepless nights it may have been before. Here are a few tips to ace your next exam.

Studying for Exams doesn't have to be a chore. Use these tips to ace your test!

Studying for Exams doesn’t have to be a chore. Use these tips to ace your test!

1. Use Peppermint – In either an essential oil or edible form, peppermint helps you to de-stress, as well as concentrate. Take a few pieces of peppermint candy when you are studying, and a few to your exam.

2. Study in Chunks – Studying everything all at once will not help you at all with preparing for the test. Your facts become jumbled, and the what you studied will literally go in one ear and out the other. Study several days before the test, and not the night before.

3. Write It Down – (I am NOT talking about a cheat sheet!)  As much as I hated it, out 7th grade Math teacher had us repeatedly write down tautologies and math rules. I’m also sure that you’ve had homework assignments where you had to write your vocabulary words multiple times. Oh, that was a pain in the butt, but there is a reason for that. The things your write down, you tend to remember.

4. Take a Stress Break – Get up from your desk that you’ve been poring over for hours, and move your body! Getting that blood moving will help improve oxygen circulation throughout the body, and dancing will help! Getting a Chair Massage will also help reduce stress, and get those knots out that you’ve

You’ve been studying for hours. DANCE IT OUT.

acquired during your study session. Ask your Campus Events Coordinator if they’ll have Stress Break Sessions on the calendar. If not, ask to have Chair Massage events throughout Testing Week. A few minutes of massage in your day will help immensely.

5. Get Adequate Sleep. Getting a great night’s sleep is essential, natch. But even taking a nap during the day, even for 30 minutes, can help with your alertness, and energy level.

You need all the positive vibes you can get. So, chill out, get a few Zzz’s. You’ll do great on this test. May the odds be ever in your favor!

Stress Free Tips for the School Year

School in the South has already started! It shouldn’t be a stressful time for parents and children alike, so here are some tips to take some of the stress out of the school year –

1. Plan ahead – No one Expects the Spanish Inquisition, but expect that kids will leave things until the last minute. Create a basket or bulletin board in a common area to hang all permission slips, reports and assignments due.

2. Keep in touch with the Teacher(s) – Make sure your child’s teacher can get in touch with you so that your kid’s ‘last minute’ assignment isn’t actually last minute. If your child knows that his or her teacher is a speed dial or click away, the less likely it is that they will try to get away with something. This also goes for parents of the friends.

3. Have the kids take ownership of their OWN homework. – When I was in school, twenty (cough, cough) plus years ago, homework took forever. I don’t think it has gotten any easier or less stressful for kback-to-schoolids to do their assignments. Kids are going to get frustrated, which will result in YOU getting frustrated. Doing their homework for them doesn’t solve their problem, at all. It saves tears and late nights, but it doesn’t solve the problem. There are a lot of apps, and free videos (especially Khan Academy) that can help your students in subjects that even you needed (or still need) help in!

4. Take a break! Taking short breaks throughout homework time lets the body relax a bit and move the blood around, giving you more energy and creativity.  Skipping breaks tends to wear you down, because the stress level never really abates. Even if you take time to do self-massage, meditate or have a dance break, all of these will help reduce stress.

These are only a few tips, but I’m sure that you have some great ones! What are your best ways to get the School Year off to a stress free start?