Each month, our mentoring program provides an academic tip & places a character trait in focus. Explore ways you can encourage your student(s) to grow in character and academics below!

January
CONSISTENCEY

Throughout the month of January we encourage consistency, persistence and spaced repetition. Some ways to positively encourage your student(s) to be consistent and persistent would be:

  • Encourage them to repeatedly and faithfully try their best and to stay true to their core values & beliefs
  • Encourage them to work hard & keep their standards high, no matter the circumstance.
  • Find creative ways to stay focused on their goals
  • Don’t let them give up, even when things get tough

Spaced repetition is a way to learn & study that involves reviewing content (i.e. using flashcards, Quizlet, self-questioning, or reviewing notes) over increasing intervals of time. Why use it? It works! Many years of research has confirmed that repeated review over time helps strengthen neural pathways to help us learn & retain information. An example schedule would look like this:

  • Study flashcards at 3pm on Mon.
    • (wait 4 hours)
  • Study same cards at 7pm on Mon.
    • (wait 20 hours)
  • Study cards Tues. at 3pm.
    • (wait 48 hours)
  • Study cards Thurs. at 3pm.

Each review session will probably be shorter as you master the material, AND each review session will occur after more time has passed.

Read more about it on Khan Academy.

February
RESPECTFUL

Throughout the month of February we encourage the importance of being respectful and the value of practicing. Each person (even your little brother or big sister) has innate value as a person made in the image of God. We should therefore treat everyone with respect.

Parents, teachers, pastors, mentors. These people dedicate their time & energy to help you! In return, show them respect by:

  • Listening well
  • Speak kindly
  • Accepting their instruction
  • Helping them to help you
  • Showing gratitude

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work.  

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

Steph Curry’s success is a great example of the value of practice. He reported that he took 500 practice shots per day which equates to 3500 shots of practice shots per week! All that practice helped make him a basketball legend.

The same is true for academics! Practice sharpens our skills!

Examples of how to practice in academics:

  • To learn math facts, go through flash cards or sing along with School House Rock for 5 minutes each day!
  • To learn a lot of content (like vocabulary terms, events or names in history, geometry formulas, etc.), practice sets on Quizlet or Kahoot! each day for 5-7 minutes until you master them.
  • To learn geography, label a blank map or play seterra for 5 minutes each day.

March
TRUSTWORTHY

Throughout the month of March we encourage the importance of being a trustworthy person and the helpful tool of Mnemonics (nuh·maa·nuhks).

What does it look like to be trustworthy? A trustworthy person is responsible, reliable, and can be trusted.

Signs of a trustworthy person:

  • they do what they say they will do
  • they show up for planned meetings
  • they speak truth
  • they take care of what is entrusted to their care

Signs of a trustworthy student:

  • they complete their assignments on time
  • they turn in assignments
  • they take care of their school materials
  • they tell the truth
  • they come prepared & ready to learn/work

“The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.”

Proverbs 12:22

What are Mnemonics (nuh·maa·nuhks)? Well they’re a good way to help our brains process information into smaller chunks and more memorable pieces. Mnemonics are a great tool for memorizing & cuing memory!

Here are some common mnemonics:

  • PEMDAS = parentheses, exponents, multiply & divide, add & subtract
  • My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nachos = the planets
  • HOMES = Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior
  • Do Kings Play Chess On Fine Green Silk? = Domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species, variety
  • CHNOPS = to remember the six most common elements in organisms(Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus, Sulfur)
  • SOH CAH TOA = Sine = Opposite / Hypotenuse; Cosine = Adjacent / Hypotenuse; Tangent = Opposite / Adjacent

Have fun creating & using your own mnemonics next time you have to commit something to memory!