Catch some Zzz's

Today's post is about how important sleep is. As an adult, probably have learned some ways to cope with lack of sleep, whether it be caffeine or energy drinks or listening to music loudly....or just learning to some how function at half speed. However, for children and teenagers, sleep is vital to their performance in school and thus needs to be an important part of their life.

Look and see what this article (excerpt below) has to say about sleep and kids:

School-Age Children and Preteens

School-age kids need 10 to 12 hours of sleep a night. Bedtime difficulties can arise at this age for a variety of reasons. Homework, sports and after-school activities, TVs, computers, and video games, as well as hectic family schedules might contribute to kids not getting enough sleep.
Lack of sleep can cause irritable or hyper types of behavior and may make it difficult for kids to pay attention in school. It is important to have a consistent bedtime, especially on school nights. Be sure to leave enough time before bed to allow your child to unwind before lights out.

Teens

Adolescents need about 8½ to 9½ hours of sleep per night, but many don't get it. Because of early school start times on top of schedules packed with school, homework, friends, and activities, they're typically chronically sleep deprived.
And sleep deprivation adds up over time, so an hour less per night is like a full night without sleep by the end of the week. Among other things, an insufficient amount of sleep can lead to:

• decreased attentiveness
• decreased short-term memory
• inconsistent performance
• delayed response time

These can cause bad tempers, problems in school, stimulant use, and driving accidents (more than half of "asleep-at-the-wheel" car accidents are caused by teens).
Teens also experience a change in their sleep patterns — their bodies want to stay up late and wake up later, which often leads to them trying to catch up on sleep during the weekend. This sleep schedule irregularity can actually aggravate the problems and make getting to sleep at a reasonable hour during the week even harder.
Ideally, a teen should try to go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning, allowing for at least 8 to 9 hours of sleep.

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So be sure your child is getting enough sleep at night so that they are able to do their absolute best these last couple weeks of school! A good night's rest will do amazing things for your body!

Keep those brains workin!

The responsibility to make sure your children are learning doesn't only fall on the teacher, it also falls on the parent too! And since your children aren't in school during the summer, you'll need to decide how you, as a parent, want to help keep your child's brain sharp. There are so many options, and here is an article that gives you specific things you can look for or questions you can ask of your child's teacher.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/13388817/ns/today-parenting_and_family/t/prevent-summer-learning-loss-your-kids/

Of course, we recommend our summer camps that cover a whole range of ages and subjects! Be sure to stop by our website to check out our camps - we are SO excited about our camps and really want to help keep your children sharp! : ) Make sure you sign up soon because space is limited!

Test Prep

Happy Tuesday!

Here's a great article that gives you specific tips for how to prepare for a test - whether it be a standardized test or a general classroom test. While I have posted several links to test prep before, I believe that any additional suggestions could be helpful, especially for those struggling to figure out the best way to prepare for a test. I like this article in particular because it doesn't just give suggestion points, the author actually discusses how each tip can be beneficial.

http://www.edarticle.com/article.php?id=168

And after you've checked out that article, be sure to look along the left side of the page to find more articles about all different areas of school/teaching.

Hope you find this helpful! Only a few more weeks of school, you can make it!