In the following guide for parents, we provide tips for the exam phase and measures to support children during this time.
The exam phase is all about creating a pleasant and stress-free environment for the child, paying attention to nutrition and healthy sleep, providing support for the final learning units, ensuring motivation, and providing the child with tools to deal with any exam anxiety.
Close any last knowledge gaps in the gymnasium preparation course!
Table of contents
- Avoid additional stress
- Take learning breaks
- Stay motivated during the exam period
- Offer to quiz the material
- Simulate the exam
- Remedies for test anxiety
- Tips for the exam period: balanced diet
- Snacks for the exam
- Relaxation and sleep before the exam
Avoid additional stress
If you want to support your child during the exam period, you can do so, for example, by avoiding additional stress. You should, for example, relieve the child of household and garden work. You should also not insist that the child's room is perfectly tidy. It is also advisable not to let the child work during the exam period.
This exam period tip also includes ensuring a quiet learning environment by, for example, not doing loud garden and/or housework while the child is studying. You should also prevent the child from being disturbed by siblings while they are studying.
Take learning breaks
The brain also needs a break sometimes. In this respect, parents should ensure that their children take learning breaks. During these breaks, it is advisable for the child to move around, for example by going for a walk outside and/or pursuing their hobbies. Ideally, the child should play a musical instrument or do sports. Exercise ensures that what has been learned is processed better.
Stay motivated during the exam period
During the exam period, it can happen that the child has no energy or simply no more desire to study. You can provide the necessary motivation at this point by, for example, cooking your child's favourite meal. Or you can watch a film at the cinema that the child can choose. A nice trip into nature or a shopping tour in the city can also bring back the motivation.
Learning in a group in a gymnasium preparation course is also motivating!
Offer to quiz the material
You can also support some children by offering to quiz them on the material they have learned. This serves, among other things, to determine where there are still gaps in their knowledge. However, you should not impose yourself on the child for the purpose of quizzing them on the material. If the child does not want your support at this point, you should accept that. Otherwise, the child's stress level may rise and their motivation may drop. This applies not only in the case where parents force themselves to get involved in the learning process. Even the uninvited involvement of parents carries such a risk.
If the child is positive about being quizzed, i.e. they are happy to accept parental help, you should not improvise, but rather ask the child directly how they would like to be quizzed.
Simulate the exam
It is also recommended that the children take part in a mock exam simulation, both in terms of written exams and oral exams. An oral exam can even be simulated by the parents, by asking the child possible exam questions.
There are also service providers that offer exam simulations. At Lern-Forum, we offer written exam simulations for the grammar school exams (long-term and short-term gymnasium), as well as for the BMS, FMS and IMS entrance exams.
Sign up for an exam simulation now!
Remedies for test anxiety
If your child suffers from test anxiety, there are various ways to deal with it. For example, parents should convey to their child that it is okay to make mistakes, thus relieving the child of any pressure.
Children can also do breathing exercises to help with anxiety, either just before the test or even during the test, at least if it is a written test.
If test anxiety is severe, it is advisable to consult a professional learning coach early on, who can provide professional help.
Tips for the exam period: balanced diet
Especially during the exam period, you should keep an eye on your child's diet. Because given the exam stress situation, it can happen that children neglect their diet or a balanced diet. One of our exam period tips is therefore that you as parents make sure that your child eats a healthy diet during the exam period.
The morning of the exam is also very important, when the child should eat a balanced breakfast so that it does not sit in the exam with an empty stomach.
Snacks for the exam
If snacks are allowed during the exam, you should make sure not to give your child too many sweets. While sugar provides a quick energy boost, it wears off quickly and you risk falling into an energy slump. Therefore, whole grain products and vegetables are particularly suitable for the snack pack. A little fruit can also be given to the child.
Relaxation and sleep before the exam
Another of our tips for the exam phase is: On the last day before the exam, your child should not study anymore, but rather relax and go to bed early.
Even a learning marathon in the last days before the exam should be avoided. Instead, the child should start learning early and spread the learning sessions over a longer period of time. This also helps to maintain the normal sleep rhythm and counteract sleep disorders during the exam phase.
Close any last knowledge gaps in the gymnasium preparation course!
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