- \n
- Plan<\/strong>: Develop a timetable and study routine tailored to your child\u2019s grade, learning style and peak learning time.<\/li>\n
- Eat:<\/strong> Maintain proper nutrition by feeding your child healthy, nutritious meals and snacks. The brain needs food to function.<\/li>\n
- Sleep: <\/strong>Make sure your child gets plenty of rest as you prepare for exams. Sleep affects cognitive function \u2013 it improves the ability to think clearly and logically and assimilates the information learned during the day.<\/li>\n
- Move: <\/strong>Science says that just 20 minutes of exercise can boost brainpower. Whether riding a bike or walking around the block, exercise will increase your child\u2019s energy levels and reduce the effects of stress.<\/li>\n
- Relax:<\/strong> It may sound counterintuitive, but all work and no play is a recipe for disaster. So, allow your child to relax and rejuvenate by watching a movie, listening to music, or playing a sport.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u00a0Tried and tested<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/zaparents-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Impaq-organised-1024x683.jpeg\" "\\"boy")
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- Practice, practice, practice:<\/strong> One secret weapon to prepare for exams is working through past papers. Practising sample answers to past exam questions can help train your child\u2019s brain to retrieve information. It also helps pinpoint weak areas. In addition, it shows what to expect in terms of the format\/wording of questions, so your child won\u2019t get confused or tripped up during the actual exam.<\/li>\n
- Short sessions for the win: <\/strong>Taking a short break after 45 \u2013 50 minutes of study helps the brain absorb more information while\u00a0maintaining motivation and focus. Research suggests that for intense memorisation sessions \u2013 such as trying to learn names, dates and events, a foreign language or math formulae \u2013 sessions should be no longer than 20 \u2013 30 minutes.<\/li>\n
- Make use of memory aids:<\/strong> Let your child use mind maps to connect ideas, draw diagrams to visualise information, create flashcards to memorise key concepts, definitions, quotes and formulas.\u00a0 Or,\u00a0 try mnemonic devices \u2013 a song, rhyme, sentence or phrase \u2013 to help remember and recall material. Whichever aid your child chooses, make it simple, logical and colourful \u2013 colour helps heighten attention.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Something slightly different<\/h3>\n
![\"Impaq](\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" "\\"Prepare")
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- Speak up:<\/strong> If your child is struggling to grasp something, let them say it out loud instead of simply reading through it. You will be surprised how much more they retain when they have said it out loud.<\/li>\n
- Teach:<\/strong> The best way to test if your child really understands something is to ask them to try to teach it to someone else. This is a particularly good way to discover if they have a basic grasp of the concepts. If there\u2019s no-one around, let your child teach a class of stuffed animals!<\/li>\n
- Listen to music:<\/strong> Listening to certain types of music while studying can enhance productivity, motivation and focus levels. Take note, though, that music should never be counterproductive or distracting.<\/li>\n
- Chew on it:<\/strong> Scientists aren\u2019t exactly sure why, but the act of chewing gum is a brain booster. Chewing gum raises alertness and attention, but only for periods of around 20 minutes \u2013 so employ this technique when your child is studying particularly tricky or difficult concepts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
What NOT to do as you prepare for exams<\/h2>\n
- \n
- Don\u2019t let your child study similar subjects one after another: <\/strong>Sandwiching History or Geography in between Maths and Science will help the brain absorb all three subjects much better.<\/li>\n
- Don\u2019t let your child stay up all night before an exam:<\/strong> Make sure your child gets adequate rest the night before an exam.<\/li>\n
- Don\u2019t let children spend all their time making elaborate study notes:<\/strong> The more time they spend making mini works of art, the less time they have to study.<\/li>\n
- Don\u2019t let them leave studying until the last minute:<\/strong> Last-minute cramming is generally not the best way to approach an exam.<\/li>\n
- Don\u2019t let your child freak out:<\/strong> Do whatever you can to help your child stay calm. If their stress levels spiral out of control, the brain will stop functioning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Finally, as you help your child prepare for exams or upcoming tests, remember the words of Thomas Edison: \u201cThere is no substitute for hard work\u201d.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
Note: If you enjoyed this article, and would like to stay updated with more, you can:<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n
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A little guidance and a lot of support can go a long way! While nothing replaces hard work, some techniques can increase efficiency, boost productivity and improve concentration. Not every method will work for your child, but with some trial and error, you could prepare for exams together, and leave your child confident with the method that best suits him\/her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":75343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[80],"tags":[760,761,700],"class_list":["post-65438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exams","tag-prepare-for-exams","tag-study-hacks","tag-study-tips"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- <\/i>Like us on\u00a0<\/i>facebook<\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
- Don\u2019t let your child stay up all night before an exam:<\/strong> Make sure your child gets adequate rest the night before an exam.<\/li>\n
- Teach:<\/strong> The best way to test if your child really understands something is to ask them to try to teach it to someone else. This is a particularly good way to discover if they have a basic grasp of the concepts. If there\u2019s no-one around, let your child teach a class of stuffed animals!<\/li>\n
- Short sessions for the win: <\/strong>Taking a short break after 45 \u2013 50 minutes of study helps the brain absorb more information while\u00a0maintaining motivation and focus. Research suggests that for intense memorisation sessions \u2013 such as trying to learn names, dates and events, a foreign language or math formulae \u2013 sessions should be no longer than 20 \u2013 30 minutes.<\/li>\n
- Eat:<\/strong> Maintain proper nutrition by feeding your child healthy, nutritious meals and snacks. The brain needs food to function.<\/li>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/zaparents-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Impaq-organised-scaled.jpeg\" "\\"boy")
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