It is important for your child to know that you are always there as a pillar of support. To help your child get mentally prepared for the new school year, speak with your son or daughter to get to know how they are feeling.

• Start conversations about their day at school: Get your child excited about what lies ahead (e.g. making new friends, riding the bus to school, joining a co-curricular activity, and learning new topics in class).
• Address any anxiety your child might have: Is there anything your child is afraid of? Does your child have any academic difficulties, low self-esteem, difficulty making friends? Is your child being bullied in school?

The first week of school will whizz past in a blur. To ensure that your child does not have a chaotic first week in class, be sure to prepare all the textbooks, notebooks, exercise books and stationery that your child needs before the first day of school.

• Have your child organise his or her study area.
  If your child has not gotten down to this, it is time to do so now. This involves clearing out materials and resources that are no longer needed in the coming year and storing any resources/notes that can continue to be used going forward.
• Make getting organised a family routine.
  Getting organised in day-to-day-aspects of your life can help you appreciate the value of being organised in your studies. A child should prepare what will be needed the next day before going to bed. Parents can model this behaviour as well so as to inspire their children.

It is human nature to work towards goals, be they short-term or long-term. Some children often remain unmotivated through the year because they don’t really know what they are working towards.

However, if goals are charted clearly, and placed in a prominent place, they serve as a constant reminder to your child that they are working towards developing their knowledge, skills and values to attain these goals by a certain deadline.

In fact, if the entire family is able to sit down and set goals for the new year, it will be an ideal bonding activity. Setting goals as a family acts as a time for reflection and for the family to grow and develop as a unit:

So, what goals can children (and the family) set?

• Getting better at sports, hobbies, or special interests:

  With each year of growing up, your child may hope to get better at scoring goals in football, getting a higher tennis score, or getting a blue/black belt in mixed martial arts. What goal does your child think can be attained by the end of the year? What about you? Are there any goals that you hope to achieve by the end of the year?

• Learning values, forming better attitudes, and developing good habits:

  To set goals like these, one needs to reflect first on what one can do better. In other words, reflect on incidents that did not go so well this past year.

  Step 1: Identify Key Incidents	Step 2: Set Goals to Make a Change
  Incident 1: Lost temper easily	Goal: Be more patient when dealing with matters; give yourself five minutes to settle your emotions so as not to lose your cool.
  Incident 2: Gave up on completing a task.	Before Setting Goal: Identify what is making you consider giving up. Exhaustion? A lack of motivation? What can you do to eliminate this demotivating factor? Goal: Eliminate the demotivating element where possible OR Give yourself two to three days to rest before taking on the task again.
  Incident 3: Frequently late for events	Goal: Make efforts to improve punctuality, e.g. Sleep early to prevent waking up late; set off on a journey 10 minutes before your intended time.

• Academic Goals (for your child):

  Your child should set an attainable goal for each subject (or each section in the paper) in a given time frame. Have your child set these goals using the SMART Method:

S: Specific (What do you want to achieve specifically?)

M: Measurable (How will you know when you’ve reached it?)

A: Attainable (Is it in your power to accomplish this goal?)

R: Realistic (Can you achieve this goal, realistically?)

T: Time-based (When exactly do you want to achieve this goal?)

Haven’t done goal setting with your child yet and unsure of how to begin? Download our free Goal Setting and Reflections Resource (English) to help your child with this process.

After goals have been set, your child’s areas of weaknesses will be relatively clear. If your child is entering a level with some significant changes in the curriculum (e.g. P2 to P3 or P4 to P5), you may want to sit down and discuss with your child some areas that you think he or she might need to work on:

• Subjects that seem rather challenging
• Topics/areas that may require more academic guidance
• Time management skills
• Revision strategies

LiteracyPlus is here to offer the support your child needs in English and Mathematics.

We offer enriching programmes for preschool children, as well as primary and secondary school students, to make learning at every age meaningful.

• Click here to find out more about what we have to offer in our EELS Programme.
• Click here to discover how LiteracyPlus’ Strategies to Excel in Mathematics (STEM) Programme can help your child

Make 2021 the best year yet with LiteracyPlus!

LiteracyPlus’ Enhancing English Language Skills (EELS) programme equips your child with the skills necessary to achieve success in his or her learning and in life. We aim to inspire our students to discover the joy in learning and to work towards their goals.

Register for our Term 1 2021 programme today

Click here to see our 2021 class schedule and book your slot.