Broadcaster Press 11 August 2, 2016 www.broadcasteronline.com How to Create a Great Study Environment at Home A student’s academic performance is influenced by a host of factors, including the learning environment both inside the classroom and at home. While students may have only limited control over the environment in their classrooms, they and their parents can do much to create home study environments that are conducive to learning. • Create a distractionfree zone. Today’s students are inundated with distractions. Whereas students were once most distracted by radios, televisions and the great outdoors when studying at home, nowadays kids must also find time to focus on their studies with their tablets and smartphones just a stone’s throw away. When choosing a study area at home, parents can designate a distraction-free zone where no televisions, radios, tablets and smartphones are allowed. Children are increasingly dependent on their smartphones and tablets, and while such devices can sometimes prove useful to students, that benefit is often outweighed by the distraction they present. When kids study at night, be sure they turn off their smartphones and only use their tablets as study aids. • Emphasize organization. Various organization techniques can help kids be more efficient when studying. Encourage kids to separate their learning materials by subject, and keep a calendar or daily planner at home listing when their assignments are due and which days they will be tested. Encourage youngsters to keep their home study areas tidy as well, as unorganized areas can make it harder to focus or force kids to spend some of their study time cleaning up. • Establish quiet hours at home. Quiet hours at home while kids are studying can help them better absorb their coursework, and that may lead to improved performance in the classroom. While it’s important that Back to school season can be as expensive for parents as it is exciting for students. Once the initial letdown of the end of summer vacation wears off, many kids are excited to return to school, where they can see their friends, study their favorite subjects and participate in extracurricular activities. Parents of school-aged youngsters may share in that excitement while also knowing that back to school season can stretch their budgets. One of the ways to salvage those budgets is to save on school supplies. Fortunately, there are several ways parents can do just that. • Be patient. Shopping early can save shoppers money in many instances, but parents may benefit by exercising patience when it comes to buying school supplies for their children. Teachers often give students lists of supplies they will need for each class, and parents who wait to receive such lists can avoid spending money on items their kids won’t need. Even if you wait it out, you may be able to get a head start, as some teachers may post supply lists on school websites, while others might email lists to parents before back to school season hits full swing. • Take inventory. If you have more than one child, chances are you already have lots of school supplies around the house. Dust off kids’ backpacks and study areas from last school year to determine which supplies you need to buy and which you already have. Going forward, encourage kids to store their supplies in a predetermined area once the school year ends, as this will make next year’s inventory that much easier to examine and assess. • Spend more now to save later. While inexpensive supplies can be hard to resist, such items likely won’t withstand the test of time, forcing you to spend time and money each year buying replacement supplies. Paying more now for certain items, including stronger backpacks and more highly rated calculators, may end up saving you money in the long run, even if the initial pill is somewhat tough to swallow. • Use technology to your advantage. Department stores and businesses that sell school supplies, such as pharmacies and office stores, may or may not discount too many items once back to school season hits full swing. But savvy parents can still find deals by using technology to their advantage when shopping for school supplies. Download apps like RetailMeNot to your smartphone and enable its updates so your phone essentially notifies you of any discounts the moment you walk into a given store. Chances are strong that there are deals to be had, even if a kids’ study areas remain you don’t learn of the deals until you arrive at the store. School supplies can be expensive, but parents can employ several strategies to save on distraction-free, it can also help if distractions outside school supplies now and in the future. those areas are minimized. Keep televisions and other potentially noisy distractions turned off while kids are studying. If you want to catch up on a favorite television show or watch a movie, do so on your tablet instead of the television, connecting earphones so kids are not overhearing anything while theyÕre trying to study. • Keep healthy snacks on hand. Hunger can be just as distracting as electronics or noisy housemates, so keep healthy snacks on hand. In lieu of unhealthy fare like potato chips or empty calories like pretzels, keep your home stocked with fruits and vegetables and protein-rich snacks like Greek yogurt. Such snacks will quell kids’ hunger pangs while also providing a boost of energy. A strong home study environment can help students do their best in the classroom. 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