Help Your Child Conquer School Exams

School exams have a bad reputation for being scary, difficult, or just plain boring. It’s no wonder many children absolutely dread them and find them stressful! Unfortunately, they are unavoidable, but there are plenty of things that you can do to help your child conquer school exams! The good news is that our list below is oh-so-simple and doesn’t hinge on your knowledge of the subjects your child will be studying for. In fact, any parent can implement these actions into their child’s study routine!

Mindset

We know you want your child to win at life and to be excited about their school work. A fantastic first step is for you to have a positive mindset towards studying and school exams. Your mindset will rub off on your child, helping them to feel more equipped and empowered, and less scared about school exams. Here’s how:

Encourage positivity

As the parent, you’ve got the power to set the tone for your child’s mindset towards exams, studying and learning. Our expert tutors will take care of the academics, so you can focus on providing parental support and encouragement. Demonstrate a positive attitude, acknowledge that your child is doing their best, and applaud them for their efforts, which will get your child’s confidence back! 

Foster a love for lifelong learning

You want your child to succeed academically and to do well in their school exams, but how do you keep them motivated throughout the studying process when their results aren’t out yet? Encourage your child to embrace the positive aspect and foster a sense of lifelong learning. Even before they get their results, they’ll feel satisfied and excited about the new things they are learning.  

Time management

The key to doing well in exams is good time management. Children have had less practice, so they often need all the help they can get with creating timetables, setting priorities and knowing which tasks to focus on. These are skills that you, the parent, already have and from which your child can benefit. Come alongside your child and show them how to manage their time well, and you will both notice the difference! Here’s how:

Make them a timetable

Young children can struggle with planning their days effectively, and can often place focus on only the necessities, forgetting about tasks that are important but not pressing. This means that they might end up scheduling their time in a way that places too much focus on some tasks and too little focus on others. Help your child make a timetable for everything they want to do and everything they need to do. Older, more capable children could create their own timetable, with your input. Demonstrate how to juggle multiple tasks (such as sports commitments and revision in the same day) and show them that breaking down that chapter on Trigonometry into a few smaller practice exercises each day will help them cover more ground, and ultimately, to commit concepts to memory.

Encourage downtime and breaks

If you want your child to have a positive experience when preparing for school exams, make sure you prioritise breaks! A good break can make all the difference in the study process and even make it much more enjoyable. Teach your child when it’s time to rest their brain and recharge their batteries by encouraging them to play outside, ride their bike, take a swim, play some music, or do another activity that relaxes them. 

Stick to daily tasks and chores

While juggling chores and studying can feel stressful for your child, it is imperative to ensure that you do not let these slip. Whilst you might have good intentions and want to relieve pressure, learning to make time for their chores amongst their studies is a key factor in building strong habits and solid time management skills. Chores and daily tasks allow your child to learn how to manage their time well in a non-stressful environment. 

Learning

The ultimate purpose of school exams is so that children can learn, not just so that they can pass an exam. Put the focus on learning and less on studying and watch as your child will begin to enjoy preparing for exams! By fostering a love for lifelong learning, your child will feel more confident now and in the future. As a parent, you can play a direct part in setting your child up for success and use the skills they’ve learned from their tutoring sessions as tools to maintain success for the rest of their lives! Here’s how: 

Test their knowledge

Reading and re-reading the material won’t help your child to know what they’ve actually absorbed. Encourage your child to take a test, allowing them to question themselves on their progress, and to ultimately be able to recall information under pressure.

Here are some ways you can help: 

• Ask your child questions and have them answer each one.
• Make it fun and gamify the learning experience with an activity or game.
• Opt for an old-school pen and paper test.

How about trying all three to see which learning style your child connects with?

Get them a tutor

It’s OK to admit that you need help, and a great tutor can make all the difference! Our trained team of experts can find an amazing tutor that is the perfect fit for you and your child. Teach Me 2 tutors will set up your child for life, by growing a love for learning, and teaching them long-lasting skills and habits that will far outlast a single exam or test. 

Worried about your child falling behind? We have online tutors available as well as tutors in Johannesburg, tutors in Pretoria, tutors in Durban and tutors in Cape Town