Spring Fever And You

You may be thinking you still have several months of learning ahead of you before your next progress report or report card. You can take it easy for now since most of the projects are due in May. Well, think again…because Spring Fever is right around the corner. The weather will begin to warm up, the birds will chirp again, and the days will become longer.

Spring Fever does not have to put your grades at risk. I have compiled some suggestions I have used in my 21 years of tutoring. Here are some prevention tools to help you prepare for the inevitable spring fever:

1. Do It NOW

Turn in any late or missing assignments now. Also, don't wait until May 10th when your final project worth 80% of your grade is due on May 11th! Try to get extra credit assignments in early. It feels great to be ahead of the game!

2. Track all your assignments

if your school provided planner is tattered or in pieces, purchase a smaller pocket size memo book to jot down test dates and homework. Winter is a good time to try to develop new habits, so you are less prone to getting off track in the spring. While you are at Marc’s, go ahead and pick up some fresh new high lighters, markers, index cards and any other motivating office supplies.

3. Designate your study space

If your grades aren't what you think they should be, perhaps it is your study space. Refrain from ever studying on your bed, as it results in sleeping. Go to the library to study or even a coffee house. I find it is difficult to study at home because of all the other things I may find to do.

4. Track your time on a study log

This tracks how many minutes or hours you are studying or reading per day and per week. Track the date, start time, stop time, and total minutes for each time you sit down to study. This helps you stay accountable to your goals. If you see that you are rarely studying, the low test grade may be correlated. If you got an ‘A’ on the test and you see that you studied for 15 hours that is worth celebrating…

5. Reward yourself

Once April gets here and it stops snowing, kids all over Parma will be yearning to be outside (unless they have a severe technology addiction- that is another article!). Make it a habit to get your homework done prior to going outside to play. You will have way more fun when you play since you won’t have math problems on the brain.