Twelve Ways For Cyber School Students To Refocus

Ever have one of those days where you have a bunch of stuff planned, but then you sit down to start doing them, and your brain seems to reject anything productive? That's me today. Mark your calendars because this is the worst brain fart I've had during Cyber School. Really though, I made it about a month without a really bad focusing problem so I'd call that a success!

It started yesterday when I decided to finally sit down, and work on the Sunday school lesson (I am teaching at my church this weekend). I got the fun stuff done, but anything remotely work related like reading a couple of chapters in the bible started to feel like a situation where you have to lick your elbow to save your life. I just couldn't do it and it frustrated me. So I stopped, went upstairs to read a bit, and went to bed.

That's my usual method for getting through stressful situations like mind block, just get away from it for a little while, then revisit it once your mind is clear. But what do you do when the stressful situations and mind block are because of school? You usually can't just get up and give it some time to process. No, you have to get it done in only a short amount of time or you are penalized with something like a tardy or a bad grade or other important stuff doesn't get done!

Today my 'To Do' list looked something like this

1. School= Finish an English report, three lessons of math and some sociology

2. Put up a blog post

3. Contact a bunch of churches around the area about the Christian club at school

4. Clean up a bit

5. Tennis practice, leave house at 2:30

After Tennis there were a couple other social events I had made a commitment to go to allowing me only the time between 8am and about 2pm to work. That gave me about six and a half hours to complete everything, keeping in mind that school work took me about two and a half hours today and contacting churches took out about another hour in my day. That leaves me with about three hours to clean and finish my blog post. Along with that I also need to feed myself and get ready for tennis. Also I am a girl so getting ready is a slightly lengthy process.

My day was booked! I couldn't take any time to slack off or take long breaks. So how did I get through? Well I did what any desperate to be done with work kid would do, I pushed on through completing some work only to the level of proficient rather than to an advanced level.

It wasn't very fun today. A lot of the tests and lessons I had to do today were extremely simple and easy, but more than once I'd find myself totally out of it just staring at the screen willing something, anything to put the correct answer there so that all I would have to do is click the 'Finish' button.

Somehow I got through, and then decided I could give myself a couple minute breaks to play a Wii game called 'Just Dance.' I don't mean to brag, but I got the high score in each dance.

The dance game helped a little, and is probably the reason I am able to write this post, I couldn't help but wonder what are some other little tricks and ideas to help us focus better. So I have compiled a list from three different articles:

1. Create a good learning environment with minimum distractions

2. Practice concentrating by doing things like listening to your breaths and heart beats

3. Use the number five. For example five more minutes or five more problems

4. Create a routine around your most productive and least productive times of the day

5. Set Goals/ Bribe yourself- If I finish these last 5 problems I can eat a piece of cake (I recommend not always using food)

6. Write out a 'To Do' list so you can work on things one at a time.

7. Make sure your body is healthy- enough sleep, good diet (less sugars), exercise, etc.

8. Set some time in the day to allow your mind to wander and think through things

9. Cup your hands around your eyes to give you tunnel vision so distractions are blocked.

10. Develop an interest in what you are doing

11. Limit the time where you have to focus a lot

12. Don't procrastinate because it distracts your mind from other activities

How Online Math Help Aids Students of All Skill Levels?

Elementary level math involves mastering many skills and memorizing a great deal of information in a relatively short period of time. Math facts, the relationships between numbers, basic arithmetic and advanced calculations must all be learned before kids can move on to middle school. With all of these things to learn and retain, it's understandable if your child requires a little math help.

Aiding Struggling Students

Many kids lack proficiency in basic math concepts, making it difficult for them to develop a full understanding of new ideas. For these kids, online math games can be a great help. Both entertaining and academic, online games offer an adaptive learning environment that works with kids to help them reach their full potential. It can be much easier to get your struggling student to accept math help by giving them a game to play than by sitting them down with extra written homework. Through games, math becomes more interesting and learning can take place while engaging your child's natural inclination toward play.

Challenging Advanced Learners

Other students find math to be easy and may quickly become bored when they have to sit through a lesson that they already understand. If your child falls into this category, they may benefit from math help that challenges them with new ideas rather than reviewing established concepts. Online games can be used for this as well, since the learning environment is designed to adapt to your child's specific academic needs. Through the use of a rigorous curriculum in line with today's academic standards, online math games can introduce your advanced student to new ideas anytime he or she is ready. This provides kids with an edge in the classroom that can be valuable at any grade level.

The Benefits of Progress Monitoring

As a parent, it's important to stay involved in your child's academic career. Parental involvement helps to reinforce the learning that takes place in the classroom and encourages kids to put their all into their schoolwork. When online games are used as an interactive tool for math help, it's easy to keep track of your child's progress. These games engage your child at his or her current skill level so that new concepts can be introduced at just the right time. Getting involved in this process lets your child know that you care about how well he or she is doing, which in turn boost confidence and can help to improve academic performance.

Three Ways Parents Can Help Students Get Better Test Scores

As a kid in grade school I remember my father telling me to go to my room and study. Which for me meant going to my room and playing video games. As a parent we often pin the future of our children on every test that they take in grade school. We have all felt that if our students could simply get better grades they would have a brighter future than we had. While their future success in life is not likely riding on the line with every test, every test is still important.

Kids today balance a demanding schedule of after school activities like band practice, sports, and time with their friends. Without pushing your kids away or asking them to trade their social life or other activities for a better GPA you can help them get better grades with these 3 tips.

1. Help them prepare their study area. You'll be surprised at how quickly they want to take over this task for themselves. If you set aside one half hour of study time a day and help them prepare their study area for that time period it will be an effective and efficient study time. Some of the things you should help them get together for their study area is some soft background music, a drink of water and a lite, non-messy snack. Every student will enjoy getting their lite snack and their own music ready. You'll need a clean and quiet area with enough space and good lighting.

2. Teach them to map out two concepts maximum for each half hour study session. Every student has a tendency to try to cover an entire subject in one sitting. Parents can help their students identify which two topics to cover. Breaking the study session down into two specific concepts instead of entire subjects will help the student retain the information they study. The more the student retains from each study session, the easier it is for them to pick up their books for the next study session.

3. Help them keep a routine. Consistency is the key to success in weight loss, business and test scores. One half hour every night at a similar time will help your student develop a pattern and pretty soon they'll begin to start their study routines without your prodding.