Parents: Kids at Home? Set a Goal That’s Right for You and Work Towards It
If you already know what your goal is, create a habit and work towards it.
Now is a good time to catch up on something you feel like you didn’t learn, or get ahead on something you’re going to have to think about in the future — like college applications.
If you aren’t sure what your goal is, now is a great time to figure it out. Try something new, or find what you want through free writing.
Read more about creating habits on Socratic Summer Academy’s blog.
How to Create Habits and Reach Your Goals While at Home
We’ve been hearing from parents who are worried about a lack of discipline that comes with online learning, that their students will lose their sense of habit when they’re stuck at home, and that students are getting behind on SAT Ⓡ prep, something they will need to do eventually. What’s the solution? Figure out your goals, create habits that will accomplish them bit by bit, and stick to them. Discipline and commitment are the name of the game.
Most of us are stuck at home, schools are closed, and kids are getting bored. There’s a lot of uncertainty in general, and many parents are specifically uncertain about what this time means for their kids’ academic futures. Our best advice is to use this time effectively. Instill a habit now and it will pay off later.
Think of “future you” - will the decisions you’re making now help or hurt “future you”? Will “future you” be thankful about the choices you’re currently making?
Try to do what you can now that will help make life better for “future you.” Come up with a goal and work towards that goal in daily time increments.
Already know what your goal is for SAT prep? Create a habit - and work towards it.
First, you need to know what your goal is. If you already know what your goal is, then you can get started on forming a habit that makes you disciplined and keeps you on track.
Creating a habit is just about committing to do a specific thing for a specific amount of time every day. The hard part about forming a habit is being committed to doing it every day.
In terms of forming a habit and sticking to it, consistency is key. Steady work leads to success.
How do you form an SATⓇ study habit? Alyssa breaks down the 9 steps to forming an SATⓇ study habit:
Play catch up or leap forward - review what didn’t make sense or get a jump on something you’ll need to do anyway.
Do you feel like you need to catch up on something, like a class in school you didn’t quite understand or that was difficult for you? Now is a great time to get caught up, so you won’t get further behind.
This Summer, we’re offering courses in reading, writing, and mathematics that are specifically designed to get students ready for the upcoming academic year with proven teaching methods. Each course is 4 weeks in length and begins on August 3. Can’t commit to a whole course, we allow students to pay for individual weeks as well, along with one-on-one instruction to make sure that you don’t miss anything from pervious weeks. If you still can’t commit, you can always do practice problems on Khan Academy and, if there’s something you don’t understand, bring your specific questions to an online tutoring service.
Don’t need to catch up on anything? Now’s the time to leap forward - get a jump on something you’re ultimately going to have to do
Now’s a great time to start thinking about college admissions, financial aid, scholarships, and everything that goes into the college application process.
Come to one of our #AskAlyssa webinars, do some research on your own, start thinking about where your student should go, and - most importantly - figure out what’s financially feasible for your family. Alyssa also offers free consultations with families, as well as college advising.
You know the college application process isn’t going anywhere. You and your student will eventually have to confront it. Why not get started on it now, when it’s less urgent? Your future self will thank you!
What if you don’t know what your goals are? You want to use this time effectively - but are not sure how.
This is a great time to figure out what you really want. It’s easy to lose sight of what’s important to you personally - so often, we end up iterating through others’ goals, especially when we’re students and don't have much agency. Now, while you’re stuck at home without much to do, is a perfect time to rediscover what the child inside of you wants and begin to pursue your goals.
If you feel like you want to do something but you don’t know what to do, how do you figure out what you personally want? Free write. Think about what you want to do, sit down by yourself, without any distractions, and write about what you want. Keep writing, even if you don’t have anything to say. Eventually the words will come.
Bottom line, there is a lot of uncertainty and anxiety and fear right now. Instead of giving into those negative feelings, try to reframe this time as something more positive -- time to invest in yourself, your child, and your future. Whatever you try to do, be kind to yourself if you fail. Nobody’s perfect every day. The important thing is to try again tomorrow with the same level of discipline and commitment.
