Good concentration helps students focus and understand more. Then they can learn more, often in a shorter period of time than before.

To help your child concentrate better, have her:

• Pick a quiet, comfortable place to study.

• Work in short chunks of time, no more than 30 minutes. Twenty minutes usually works best.

• Take a short break occasionally. Walk around or get a glass of water.

To help your child stay focused during work time, have her:

• Write down any thoughts that may bother or distract her. Then put them aside. When she’s finished, she can return to them.

• Stop herself when she feels distraction coming on. Have her say “No!” to herself out loud and then get back to work.

• Check the time when she can no longer keep herself from becoming distracted. Have her see how much time has gone by. Mark down the number of minutes she was able to concentrate. Have her set a goal to concentrate next time for at least one more minute than she did this time.

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