As we all know, reading is a valuable skill that your child will use throughout life. In middle school and high school, students are expected to complete reading assignments both in and outside of school. College-bound students should prepare themselves for two hours of studying for every one hour of class time. It is imperative that your student can absorb large amounts of content with increased speed and comprehension. Last summer at SuperCamp, your child learned Quantum Reading, which uses a combination of enhanced interest, highly focused concentration and specific reading strategies to increase speed and comprehension.

There are 5 steps to becoming a successful Quantum Reader:

1. Prepare: Prepare your Attitudes, Beliefs and Commitment (ABCs). It’s also important to create a positive learning environment for yourself. Claim a study space of your own—a quiet one, if possible. Use furniture that fits your style, and ensure that you have proper lighting. Your space should be well lit without hurting the eyes.
2. Get Into State: …alpha state, that is. Close your eyes, breathe deeply and imagine a peaceful place. Look up, look down, open your eyes, and wa-la! You’re in alpha state. Alpha state is a state of relaxed concentration. You’re calm and alert, absorbing material and making connections. Baroque music can help put your brain into alpha state—try Bach, Handel or Vivaldi.
3. SuperScan: Spend 2-3 seconds per page skimming content. Quickly expose your eyes and brain to every page. Move fast!
4. Read: Return to the beginning and read the content. A visual guide, such as running your finger along the words on the page, keeps your eyes from skipping around. In fact, using a visual guide can double your reading speed! Our brains are able to take in entire sentences at a time (not just one word at a time), so allow your eyes to flow quickly over them and your brain will actually register it all.
5. Review: Within 5 minutes, review what you’ve just read so that it sticks. You can do this by mind-mapping, writing out notes or telling yourself or someone else what you’ve read.

Review the Quantum Reading procedure with your student, and ensure that they are using these strategies in school.

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The Key of the month is Flexibility: Be willing to do things differently.

Recognize what’s not working and be willing to change what you’re doing to achieve your goal!

You’re working on a science project, and the cotton ball cloud parts simply will not stick to the cardboard. You glue, let it dry, it falls out. You glue, let it dry, it falls out. After a while, it would seem a bit crazy to just keep using the same glue when you’re getting the same results, right? This is where flexibility comes in.

The key of flexibility is about maintaining the ability to change what you’re doing in order to get the outcome you desire. If your current strategy isn’t working, try something different! Keep trying  until you find what works.

In our everyday situations, we need to look at our actions to see whether we are being rigid or flexible. If a set of actions repeatedly fails to help us reach our goal, then it’s time to change our strategy.

It’s not always easy to recognize or admit that we’re doing something that just isn’t working. The first step to being flexible is admitting that something needs to change. Remove your ego from your actions and take an objective look at what you’re doing. See your failure as feedback, use that valuable information to make adjustments, and move on! By exploring numerous potential solutions, you’ll discover avenues for success that you never would have previously considered.

How have you used the key of flexibility? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section. Click “leave a reply” at the top of this page!

Without flexibility, we’re all bound to go a little insane!

The post March Key of the Month: Flexibility appeared first on SuperCamp.