Ways to Help Your Children Finish the School Year Strong

It is hard to believe that summer break is just two months away as we continue to see sporadic snowstorms in Northern Colorado in this last week of March. But summer is, in fact, right around the corner and your children are likely getting excited. As the days pass by, your kids will be itching to get outside, hang out with friends, and forget about school for a few months. But don’t let them forget about school too soon!

It can be difficult to keep your children invested in their school work and focused until the very last day of school, but since finals exams and projects are often due during the last weeks of school, it is important that your kids work hard until the very end.

Family vacations, summer plans, and no school can be exciting for everyone in the family. But finishing the school year strong is important. We know that getting your children to stay focused seems like an impossible task, especially as the weather gets warmer and you all want to spend more time in the great outdoors. That is why we are going to offer some tips that can help you get your kids motivated to finish strong and start the summer off right. Read on for tips to help motivate you children!

Make Plans

Nothing will keep your children motivated like making excited plans for the first week of summer. But be sure to mention that they have to finish strong. Motivate them to work hard until the end of the school year and then reward them with a trip to Water World or a camping trip. You could make it even more official and make it a reward for finishing with good grade or passing their final exams. Knowing that there is a reward at the end will help keep them motivated to finish strong.

Create a Routine

Creating a homework routine after school that all of your children follow can help them make it a habit to do their school work before heading outside or starting their favorite show. If your children all do homework together while you make dinner, it will be easier for them to focus, rather than if one child is playing with their friends before starting homework.

It can also help to make a rule that each of your children has to finish their homework before doing anything else. However, we know that children need a break between being at school and doing homework, so allow them to spend half an hour or an hour relaxing, playing with neighbor kids, or doing something else they enjoy.This will allow them to recharge and prepare for the homework session ahead.

Incorporate Weekend Plans

While your kiddos will likely have homework over the weekend, plan a day to do homework and a day to have fun. Make family plans to get outside (if it is nice), go see a movie, or spend the day playing games and watching movies. These fun activities can help your kiddos destress, enjoy time with the family, and allows them to have some fun before jumping back into school work. Allow your children to take a break before heading right back to their work, this will just overwhelm them and wear them out.

Focus on Big Projects

Taking a look at the projects, assignments, and tests your children have to prepare for during the last weeks of school can allow you to help them prioritize the important things. If your child is a procrastinator, like many of us once were, you want to help make sure they are not saving their most important work for last. Encourage them to chip away at these large projects piece by piece so that when it comes down to the last few days they are not overly stressed. Teenagers are going to push back and tell you they have it under control, and they probably do, but try to get them to start their projects early. Rewards may not work on your high school junior, but you never know, taking them out for ice cream could be all it takes to get them started.

Stay Organized

If your children all do their homework at the kitchen table, it is likely that their stuff gets moved around alot. Be sure to keep each of your children’s work organized and together. This is not really your job, but kids will be kids and when it comes time to get back to their homework and they can’t find it, they will likely blame you. Give spots to your children where they can store their stuff to help them keep track of their work. It may also be helpful to get them different materials to stay organized with, like whiteboards, sticky notes, and calendars.

Stick to a Bedtime Schedule

While we already discussed creating a routine to help your kids, sticking to a bedtime schedule is also extremely beneficial. All of your children, no matter the ages, need to get at least eight hours of sleep a night. When your children are well rested, they will be able to stay focused on their school work better and make it through the day without feeling groggy. You don’t want your children falling asleep in class, too tired to pay attention, or struggling to complete a simple homework assignment because they did not get enough sleep.

Make School a Priority

Your children may have soccer practice or a club that they have to attend, and we encourage extracurricular activities, but when these activities get in the way of school work, you will want to reassess and make school the first priority. Once your children start falling behind, warn them that if they don’t start making their school work a priority, they will not be allowed to participate in their extracurricular activities anymore. This may seem extreme, but you want your children to finish the school year strong.

Summer is exciting for everyone, especially children. They want to be done with the school year, spend their time outside, and have no responsibilities. We have all been there at one point, so don’t go too hard on your kiddos. But you do want to make sure that your children are finishing the school year with a bang. Don’t allow them to slack off and stop pushing to get good grades just because summer is on its way. Following these tips can help you encourage your children and keep them focused on their school work. Plan something fun for the first week of summer and keep them motivated to work hard on their school work.

At Resurrection Christian School, we know that the last weeks of school can be difficult. We encourage and help our students in any way possible to ensure they stay motivated and work hard until the very end. Learn more about our school and schedule a tour today!