Use It or Lose It! – Applying SuperCamp Skills Throughout the Year

Photo by D Sharon Pruitt

Imagine an ice cream cone. Two mammoth-size scoops of your favorite flavor perched ever-so-gently on top. Sounds amazing, right? The only problem is the summer heat blasting down on you and that precious dessert. The logical solution: eat now, eat fast (avoid brainfreeze!).

Summer is officially gone, our kids have begrudgingly made their way back to school, and it’s very possible that SuperCamp was the most delicious treat they got all summer. The day they graduated from camp, that SuperCamp ice cream cone was fresh, cool, and seemingly endless. But we all know that the first day of school is just like a heat wave – new friends, new classes, and pressure to fall back into old habits. If we don’t keep eating, all that good stuff will have melted onto the floor.

In order to make the camp-to-school transition smooth and ongoing, we at SuperCamp have created a number of strategies to assist you and your SuperCamp grad in holding onto powerful strategies, mindsets, and goals:

• Our grad support hub is QuantumLearner.com, which will be constantly updated throughout the year. This is where you can access pictures from your student’s SuperCamp experience. One way to offer support is to print off pictures of your son or daughter with their friends at camp and post them near their ‘Homework Spot’ at home. This will keep them enthused about using SuperCamp skills throughout the year. QuantumLearner.com is your first stop for Grad Support.

• NEW FOR 2009! We are proud to introduce our Grad Support Hotline at 1-800-285-3276, extension 170. Have your camper leave a message (anything regarding SuperCamp skills and tools) and one of our trained SuperCamp Facilitators will call back with a refresher, pep talk, or whatever is needed! Your son or daughter may be hesitant to ask for help; let them know that they might get to speak with a Facilitator who was at their camp and that all of our Facilitators are dynamic, fun, and love to help! Again, call our main number at 1-800-285-3276 and dial extension 170.

• Refresher videos will be available once-a-month on YouTube and QuantumLearner.com based on topics that are appropriate for the time of year, (i.e. Test-Taking Skills in December for Midterms). No boring lectures – all the sweetness of SuperCamp in a quick, informative fashion.

• Visit our student and parent support page for a quick review of some of the most common SuperCamp support topics.

• Facebook! As you’re reading this, it’s very possible that your child is currently on Facebook or has been at some point during the last 2 hours. With that knowledge, we have created a number of groups and support networks and even an official SuperCamp Facebook page as a way of bringing our world to theirs. Encourage your kids to keep in touch with their SuperCamp friends and staff members and look at pictures from camp. Facebook is a great way to stay connected, however, if your student has questions for staff about SuperCamp curriculum, please direct them to the Grad Support Hotline (800-285-3276×170).

• Find a time (after asking permission) to look over your student’s SuperCamp playbook with them and ask questions about learned skills. Top things to ask about: Goals, the Quantum Reading process, Strategies (SLANT, Notes TM, Mind Mapping), and the 8 Keys of Excellence.

• If you’re interested in having your son or daughter come back to SuperCamp in 2010 (and they were a student in Senior Forum), encourage them to come back on Leadership Training Team to further develop their skills while getting the chance to have a new, different camp experience. For more information, check out our teen summer camps page and scroll down to Leadership Training Team or call 1-800-285-3276.

We are so excited to have had your student at SuperCamp this summer and are committed to making sure you get the return on your investment. Encourage your kids to use our resources – we want to keep them successful.

We’re looking forward to helping you and your student keep that ice cream cone fresh and “non-melty” throughout the school year!

Teen Success in Challenging Times: Part 5

This is the fifth and final post in the “Teen Success in Challeging Times” series. I hope you found value in each post and use the tips to build a stronger relationship with your teen. I also encourage you to listen to the parent support teleseminar led by SuperCamp president and co-founder Bobbi DePorter discussing these same important issues.

How can I instill core values that will both sustain my teen through challenging times and be a foundation for the rest of their lives?

What you want to do, as a parent, is create a “home court advantage” for your kids. In sports, a home court advantage means that the home team has the support of fans and the comfort level of being in familiar surroundings. In your family, you can build this same feeling of support and comfort.

Your goal is to instill a sense of safety, support, and belonging. In doing so, your teen will be comfortable knowing he or she can turn to you for help, even during tough times.

A big part of establishing a home court advantage is recognizing the values and beliefs that the family lives by. If they’re not talked about, then a teen will make assumptions about what they are and these assumptions aren’t always positive. A family’s values, beliefs, and traditions are a constant through good times and bad. They’re a fall-back, a guiding light, for your kids to help them make the right decisions even when you’re not around.

At SuperCamp we follow eight core values, which we call the 8 Keys of Excellence. The keys are Integrity, Failure Leads To Success, Speak With Good Purpose, This Is It, Commitment, Ownership, Flexibility, and Balance. We practice these values daily and use them to guide everything that we do, both at camp and in our personal lives.

What are your family’s core values? How are you displaying them at home?

If you missed the first 4 posts in this series, you can find them here:

• Teen Success in Challenging Times: Practical Tips on How You Can Help Your Teen
• Teen Success in Challenging Times: Part 2
• Teen Success in Challenging Times: Part 3
• Teen Success in Challenging Times: Part 4

Teen Success in Challenging Times: Part 4

How can I strengthen the connection I have with my teen?

Sometimes parents don’t get a clear picture of their child’s experiences because the information is filtered through their own adult points of view. Don’t try to solve a problem before fully understanding your teen’s perspective.

Teens may think, “Mom and Dad don’t understand me, they have no idea what it’s like to be me.” Teens don’t yet have the emotional strength that adults do. As a result, they can go from happy-go-lucky to making snippy comments or having sulking bouts.

When parents see these sudden changes in behavior, they instinctively want to take action to fix it. But, often times, these well-intended actions to make things better only makes it worse.

So, instead of fixing it right away, try to initiate a conversation. Start by trying to pick a time when you think your son or daughter will be receptive to having a conversation, for example, when you’re in the car together.

When you are able to engage your teen, be attentive. Listen more and talk less. If you seize the moment by launching into your side of the conversation, chances are your teen will perceive it to be a lecture and either tune out or get argumentative. Ask questions, then be calm and wait for an answer. Be calm and wait. Try to break down an issue, concern, or topic into smaller parts, so you can ask a question that is fairly easy for your teen to answer. If you get too short of an answer say, “Tell me more.” Eventually, you will draw your teen into a more relaxed conversation.

When you are listening, make a conscious effort to listen to understand versus listening to manipulate. A useful communication tool is OTFD (Open The Front Door), which stands for observation, thoughts, feelings and desires. Here’s how it can be used to start a conversation with your teen about how the economy or a situation within the family is affecting them:

“I know there is lot going on right now. I think some of it might be affecting you. I’m concerned that you’re concerned. Let’s chat.”

This technique is simple and effective because it tells your teen why you want to initiate a dialogue.

Have you listened to the teleseminar for parents that was held recently with SuperCamp president and co-founder Bobbi DePorter? If you’re interested in learning more about how to communicate with your teen, I highly recommend checking it out.

If you missed parts 1, 2 and 3 of this series, you can find them here:

• Teen Success in Challenging Times: Practical Tips on How You Can Help Your Teen
• Teen Success in Challenging Times: Part 2
• Teen Success in Challenging Times: Part 3

Teen Success in Challenging Times: Part 3

This is part three of a series I am writing on how to help your teen handle the tough times we are experiencing in the world right now.

Another common question parents have is:

What can we do to guide our teens through these challenging times?

An important facet of how we teach new life skills at SuperCamp is through modeling. Throughout the ten-day camps, our staff models the desired behavior. Leading by example is important, especially in challenging times. The term we use is “Everything Speaks.”

What you can do within your family is model how you want your kids to feel and behave with your actions and words. Be aware that in addition to your direct interaction with your kids, your behavior with your spouse and friends are seen and heard by your teens. Even casual remarks can be exaggerated in your child’s mind, especially when they don’t know the background, which means they may take something out of context.

When we say “Everything Speaks,” we mean everything. Teens are smart. They’re aware of what’s going on and the debates and opinions that are in the news. Pay attention to what news is on television. There is no benefit to playing doom-and-gloom news non-stop all evening. So, without making a big deal of it, try to minimize the amount of air time devoted to negative news at home.

Something else you can do to guide your teen is to provide understanding, context, and knowledge. Separate the facts from fiction and speculation. Guide your teen into reality by explaining that a lot of what they hear and read are extremes and worst case scenarios, often times generated by news media for shock value and ratings.

For more tips on how to help your teen through challenging times, listen to a parent support teleseminar with SuperCamp co-founder Bobbi DePorter, SuperCamp CEO Mark Reardon, and long-time SuperCamp facilitator Amy Smith.

If you missed parts 1 and 2 of this series, you can find them here:

• Teen Success in Challenging Times: Practical Tips on How You Can Help Your Teen
• Teen Success in Challenging Times: Part 2

Teen Success in Challenging Times: Part 2

As I mentioned in my previous post, I will be answering the four most common questions that parents have concerning their teen’s success in these challenging times over the next couple weeks. Here is the first question:

With so much global turmoil, how do I help my teen better cope and understand what’s going on in the world and to be more resilient?

The most important thing you can do is to talk with your teen. Talk about the economy, war and the environment.  Talking helps kids grasp how we’re feeling in general and how specific issues, such as the economy, are affecting your family today and your plans for the future. This is not a place for us to share doom and gloom – but for thoughtful sharing about what’s real for you and your family.

Teens need to know that with turmoil and crisis comes change. Share with your teen that research shows that in times of crisis, people, including young people, tend to focus and work harder and become more creative and innovative as a result. This information allows you to move the conversation into a positive direction.

Also ask and encourage your kids to share their feelings, their questions, and what they know about these issues.

These conversations give you the platform to address taking ownership of the future versus being a victim to events and circumstances we don’t control. This mindset can move teens from placing blame and feeling depressed to having hope and gaining direction for the future.

If you missed the first post in this series, you can find it here: Teen Success in Challenging Times: Practical Tips on How You Can Help Your Teen

Be a Super Model in Your Child’s Life

Our SuperCamp staff are a unique group of individuals with one thing in common – they practice what they preach. All of our facilitators and team leaders use the 8 Keys of Excellence as well as the many effective communication and interpersonal life skills they teach at camp in their everyday lives. In doing this, they are able to build instant credibility with students and not only teach them these skills, but show them what it looks like to use them in their own lives.

Parents can model the same kind of positive behavior for their students at home. One way is to practice the Four-Part Apology, a communication technique that can be used to settle any type of conflict. Disagreements happen and situations arise where an apology is neccessary to resolve them. Too many times an apology is not given or is done in such an off-handed way that the person receiving the apology feels it wasn’t sincere. As a result, bad feelings linger and rifts between two people, often two family members or friends, widen rather than disappear.

The Four-Part Apology lets the two parties deal with the issue in a thoughtful and supportive manner rather than in an angry or defensive way. Here’s how it works:

1. Acknowledge – Take responsibility for your actions and behaviors using “I” statements, such as: “I acknowledge that I hurt your feelings with what I said.”
2. Apologize – Acknowledge the “cost” to others: “I apologize and I realize I may have hurt our relationship.” If unaware of the “cost,” ask.
3. Make it Right – Deal with the consequences of your behavior: “I want to do something to help maintain our friendship. What can I do to make it right?”
4. Recommit – Make a committment to appropriate behavior and commit to not having the same behavior again: “I agree to Speak with Good Purpose from now on.”

When a conflict arises at home and you have an opportunity to make things right by offering an apology, give the Four-Part Apology a try and see how effective it can be.

Make it a Great Start to the School Year

At SuperCamp, students learn valuable techniques that make learning fun and easy. To ensure these skills are not lost or forgotten when they leave camp, it is important for parents to help enforce them at home. With a new school year upon us, one of the biggest things parents can do to help set their student up for success is to create a positive study environment at home.

An important concept taught at SuperCamp is Everything Speaks, and it’s worth remembering when creating a positive study environment at home. In the context of how a student studies, Everything Speaks means that everything in the environment sends a message that either enhances or detracts from learning. Think about tidy vs. cluttered chaos, light and airy vs. dim and dark, inviting and functional vs. any old place.

Location

As they say in real estate, location is everything. Find a place that’s quiet and free of distractions-so, if possible, not the family room or the dining room table! The ideal is a defined study area in the student’s bedroom.

Furnishings
Make sure the home study area has good lighting (ideally, natural light and a lamp), shelves for reference books and supplies, and a computer, if needed. Obviously, your student also needs a desk or table with space for study materials, as well as a work area that’s not cramped. And a comfortable “sit-upright” chair will help the student stay alert and focused.

Resources
Make sure your son or daughter doesn’t have to waste valuable study time looking for a pen! Stock up on pens, paper, and pencils, and have them all within reach, not just somewhere in the room. Also make sure your student has whatever reference material is needed before sitting down to do the work.

Music
Some classical music is “brain friendly” and enhances the study environment. Baroque music helps students to focus and to access their most resourceful learning state. The music optimizes the functions of the brain that store and retrieve information. Many kids (from elementary to high schoolers) will think that their own music is best, but try to convince your student to try baroque, such as Bach, Handel, or Vivaldi. If you meet with resistance, a first step might be to suggest music that doesn’t have words-words interfere with the part of the brain needed to study effectively, even if the student is not consciously listening to the words!

Affirmative Signs
Positive signs will remind your child’s subconscious mind of his or her potential to learn. Help your son or daughter create an inspiring atmosphere by making some signs-use lots of color (our brains love color!). The walls are filled with signs like these at our summer programs:

• I BELIEVE IN MYSELF
• EVERYTHING I DO DESERVES MY BEST EFFORT
• LEARNING IS FUN AND NATURAL!
• EVERY CHALLENGE OFFERS A GIFT
• I AM UNIQUE AND VALUABLE
• I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT I CREATE
• I CAN LEARN THIS!
• I HAVE THE RESOURCES TO BE SUCCESSFUL

Another good idea is to have an achievement area (a bulletin board would work well) for awards, papers with good grades, and lists of accomplishments. A bulletin board would also work well for posting study schedules and reminders of project due dates.

Your show of interest, support, and guidance in helping your child create a positive study environment at home will go a long way toward establishing great study habits that will improve grades and make this a successful school year for your child.

How to Build Solid Parent-Teen Relationships

Throughout the twenty-seven years that SuperCamp has operated academic summer camps for teens and youth, the program has endeavored to give parents tools they can use to support the continued personal growth of their children after their return from the summer camp.

SuperCamp’s facilitators have found the following advice to be useful in helping parents build rapport with teens and pre-teens:

• Know what they like, how they think, and how they feel about what’s happening in their lives.
• Imagine what they say to themselves, about themselves.
• Know what keeps them from getting what they truly want. If you don’t know, ask.
• Speak the truth to them in a way they can hear it, clearly and gently.
• Have fun with them
• Treat them as equals.

Many of the beliefs taught and practiced at SuperCamp are valuable to any family seeking to enhance their parent-teen relationship. Four of the core fundamental beliefs of SuperCamp are:

1. Respect and caring – for ourselves and for others – is vitally important.

2. Every person is gifted and capable of learning.

3. There are no failures, only learning experiences through which we gain greater self-understanding.

4. Positive support, a nurturing environment, and good communication are essential – for learning and for life.

Parents who make an effort to build their relationships with their children will also build their feelings of acceptance and trust – which will in turn build their self confidence. Self-confidence is a vital ingredient in the happiness and academic success of our children.

7 Easy Steps to College Success

Is your child a high school senior who can’t wait to get to college? Or maybe your son or daughter is already in college but is struggling with grades or is just not focused on preparing for his or her future. College is fun, but it’s also a whole different world from high school. Students have more autonomy than ever before, but with autonomy comes responsibility. Here are some tips that students learn at Quantum U, SuperCamp’s college success program for high school grads and current college students, that will help your son or daughter achieve success in college.

1. Get the most from your time in class

It’s as simple as S.L.A.N.T. Sit near the front and in the middle section of the classroom or auditorium. Lean slightly forward in your chair, as if you are hanging on the professor’s every word. Ask questions to clarify anything you don’t understand. Nod your head to show you are listening and interested. Talk to your professor after class to build rapport and establish a relationship.

2. Make the most of your study time

Try to design as optimum a study area as you can in your dorm. Ideally, it should include good lighting, a desk or table to work at, a comfortable chair, inspirational posters, and plants. It helps if you can play relaxing music softly in the background. Tackle the most difficult assignments first. Every thirty minutes take a short five-minute break. Take mini-breaks more often by standing up and stretching whenever you notice your mind wandering. Studies show that you remember best what you learned just before and just after a break – so the more breaks, the more you learn!

3. Take the tension out of taking tests

Sometimes test-time jitters can ruin the time you spend studying and preparing. So, allow yourself enough time to get to class a few minutes early – hurrying causes tension and mental crunches, and you can use the few extra minutes to review your notes one last time. Before and during the test, give yourself positive messages: “I know this information and I’m going to get an A.” If you feel yourself getting tense, close your eyes for a moment and take a few deep breaths. Imagine a relaxing scene, then refocus.

4. Discover the Power of “This is it!”

“This is it!” means making the most of every moment. It also means doing whatever it takes to make a subject interesting. Be creative! Some ideas include studying with a friend or relating the topic to something you already know or like. When you know something well, you almost always find it interesting.

5. Cultivate a Winning Attitude

Maintaining a positive attitude is your most important learning asset. You need to mentally prepare before any learning experience. Henry Ford said, “If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you can’t. Either way, you are right.”

6. Remember the “F” Stands for Feedback

From infancy through adulthood, we learn through our mistakes. Remember to learn from the feedback you get from others, whether it is a failed test or a poor relationship. In your path to become an excellent college student, feedback is simply the information you need to succeed. Don’t forget that the “F” also stands for “Failure leads to success!”

7. Plan Ahead

Time management is one of the biggest challenges college students face. Your life at college can be fragmented, intense and sometimes overwhelming: large classes, unstructured time, professors who all think their course is your one and only priority. A typical day, if there is such a thing, can include classes, library time, friends, work, maybe a workout in there somewhere. It’s definitely not high school. Use a calendar to mark days for tests or due dates of important papers. Studying ahead reduces stress and increases your ability to remember at test time.

College isn’t easy, but if your son or daughter follows these seven simple tips to college success, they’ll be well on their way to seizing the many opportunities college has to offer.