3 Tips to get your child ready for the final exams

Preparing for final exams

The pandemic has posed new challenges for both students and parents. Both parties have had to pick up new skills and routines, largely in order to meet the demands of home-based learning (HBL). This ever-fluid situation may cause anxiety for some parents, as they worry about how children will cope and learn, and whether they will be able to do well under such circumstances.

Beyond targeted academic revisions, parents can also actively support their children through conversations, preparing conducive learning environments and even setting up routines. These can help cushion the uncertainties and allow your children to navigate any storms that come their way calmly.

Check in with your children regularly

The changes in schooling systems due to Covid-19 may leave your children feeling unsettled and anxious for the rest of the school year. Acknowledge their feelings and communicate that you are always open to being a listening ear for their worries and concerns. Your availability as a sounding board can be a great source of comfort to them, and provide the grounds for them to be able to focus on their schoolwork better.

Make time to actively listen to your children and provide the space and opportunities for them to open up to you, as some children may not appreciate the direct “tell me about your day” approach. Instead, try asking “what’s something fun that happened at school today?”, “what’s the best thing that happened to you today?”, or even “tell me about the hardest thing you had to do today?” These conversations can be had in the car on the way to school, or even when you are doing something fun together as a family.

Prepare a conducive learning environment

Examine your child’s physical environment at home and prepare to make changes if necessary. Make sure that your child has enough space for their study purposes. Do they have enough light natural? Are they able to spread their books and notes out if needed?

If they share a space with their siblings, how can you ensure that their belongings do not get mixed up, causing unnecessary distractions? Also, ensure that any other distractions, such as storybooks and computer games, are kept separate from your child’s study area. All these will enable them to better focus on their studies.

Create and maintain a routine in your home

For many parents, life is anything but normal right now, with the pandemic still raging around the world, and with flare-ups in Singapore still occurring every once in a while. Despite that, it is still possible for parents to create a new normal” for their families, by having and implementing consistent routines.

Children thrive on routines as they provide stability and predictability, helping them feel secure and assured that some things in their life remain comfortably predictable. Through the bedrock of routine, children gradually learn a sense of mastery over their lives. Examples of what can form a regular daily routine include regular bed and waking times, clearing the table, washing the dishes after every meal, homework or self-study for a set amount of time every day.

At Geniebook, we understand consistent practice is key to effective learning - just 20 minutes a day to attempt our AI personalised worksheets (GenieSmart) or to catch a LIVE Online Class (GenieClass) can compound effectively to improve long-term learning.

To sum it all up, communicating well to “check-in” with your child often, setting up a conducive learning environment and creating a regular routine will allow for some much-needed stability in these uncertain times. These will help your children better manage themselves and also their environments more constructively. It’s the last lap to the finals, and we hope you found our 3 ways to prepare your child for the finals useful. Hang in there parents! Be sure to keep calm as you guide your child smoothly through the final lap.