Nine Easy Ways to Get Those A's

Students who attend SuperCamp's teen summer camps acquire
many valuable learning and life skills. Here are some
Quantum Learning tips that can help every student do better
in school. Share them with your son or daughter.

S.L.A.N.T.
Sit in the front row or middle section of the classroom.
Lean slightly forward in your chair, as if you are hanging
on the teacher's every word. Ask questions to clarify
anything you don't understand. Nod your head to show you
are listening and interested. Talk to your teacher after
class to build rapport and establish a relationship.

Test-taking Strategies
Do test-time jitters ruin the time you spend studying and
preparing? Allow yourself enough time to get to class a
few minutes early- hurrying causes tension and mental
crunches, and you can use the few extra minutes to review
your notes one last time. Before and during the test, give
yourself positive messages: "I know this information and
I'm going to get an A." If you feel yourself getting
tense, close your eyes for a moment and take a few deep
breaths. Imagine a relaxing scene. If you're having
trouble concentrating or are feeling overwhelmed, try
drawing a mind map in the margin of your paper. It will
help you remember what you studied.

Optimal Study Area
Design the optimum study area at home. It should include
good lighting, a desk or table to work at, a comfortable
chair, inspirational posters, and plants. Play Baroque
music softly in the background. Study at the same time
every day and take a short break every 30 minutes. Tackle
the most difficult subjects first. When you get them out
of the way, the rest will be easy.

Cultivate a Winning Attitude
Maintaining a positive attitude is your most important
learning asset. You need to mentally prepare before any
learning experience. Henry Ford said, "If you think you
can, you can. If you think you can't, you can't. Either
way, you are right."

Remember the "F" Stands for Feedback
From infancy through adulthood, we learn through our
mistakes. Remember to learn from the feedback you get from
others, whether it is a failed test or a poor relationship.
In your path to become an excellent learner, feedback is
simply the information you need to succeed. Refresh your
memory and read about Failure Leads to Success and the rest
of the 8 Keys of Excellence.

Plan Ahead
Use a calendar to mark days for tests or due dates of
important papers. Studying ahead reduces stress and
increases your ability to remember at test time.

Discover the Power of "This is it!"
"This is it!" means making the most of every moment. It
also means doing whatever it takes to make a subject
interesting. Be creative! Some ideas include studying with
a friend or relating the topic to something you already
know or like. When you know something well, you almost
always find it interesting.

Overcome the Obstacle of a Blank Page with Freewriting
When faced with writer's block, freewriting provides
visible and immediate progress. Choose a subject and set
the timer for a specified amount of time. Write
continuously until your time is up. Don't worry about
structuring sentences, checking grammar, backtracking or
crossing things out ' just keep writing. Freewriting clears
your mind, focuses your ideas and makes the invisible
visible.

Take Breaks
Every thirty minutes it helps to take a short five-minute
break. Take mini-breaks more often by standing up and
stretching whenever you notice your mind wandering. Studies
show that you remember best what you learned just before
and just after a break ' so the more breaks, the more you
learn!

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SuperCamp summer programs fill up fast. Go to
http://www.SuperCamp.com now to learn about enrolling your
son or daughter while spaces remain. Age-specific programs
are available for students in grades 4-12 and incoming
college freshmen. At the website, you also can get a free
eBook that gives you an inside look at what works with
teens from a world leader in youth achievement, SuperCamp
co-founder Bobbi DePorter.