Study skills are one of those things that are very important, but we don't spend much time working on. I know that myself, with our two boys, have taught them some study skills throughout our studies, but we haven't sat down and focused on them. Victus Study Skills System has been helpful to open the eyes of our boys and helped them to see that learning these things are not a waste of time, but they will actually save them time in the future. They have many products available for each age of student you may have at home. We mostly used the Level 2 Elementary Student Workbook, Level 3 Student Workbook, Student Planner, and the Teacher Edition.
Our high schooler didn't think much of the study skills program at the beginning. He actually had a pretty bad attitude about it because he saw it as extra. You see, we have been very careful to not add too many "extras" to his high school agenda because it can get overwhelming for him. High school has a lot of classes and work that is involved with it and adding in other things, "just because", isn't the greatest idea for him. He is wanting to complete high school in 3 years, instead of 4, and so his workload is heavier than most.
I learned that I learn better through listening and viewing than by doing. I will continue to discuss my work in order to understand it better.
High Schooler
My husband and I had to actually sit him down to talk with him about how learning study skills will actually help him with his other work. I like the Victus Study Skills System because it is a short program where the information is compact and easy to work through. There isn't a ton of exercises and practice pages in order to learn the material. We were able to discuss many of the topics in the program to help him, and our younger son, see how these techniques can be helpful in their school work, as well as in their life.
Victus Study Skills has 10 lessons split into 3 sections. Section One is "Where am I now?". Section Two is "Where do I want to be?". Section Three is "How do I get there?" Each lesson is supposed to take 30 minutes for a total of 5 hours for the entire program.
We probably spent the most time in the first section. We had some great conversations about where they think they are in their study and work habits. I liked the Study Habits checklist. This really brought to light how they are studying now.
I think that it's really helpful for kids who are disorganized and want to study better. I learned that it's better to keep a clean study environment so that you are free of distractions and you can work harder. I plan to keep a better learning environment, especially on my school shelf where my supplies are.
(4th grader)
I really liked the Learning Strength chart. I think this was all of our favorite part of the entire program. It was very personal for each of them and helpful them see themselves differently. I have always been fascinated with the multiple intelligences and their scores affirmed where I already knew that they were. Our oldest had the highest score as an "auditory learner" with his second being a "visual learner". He likes/needs to talk about information so that he can process it. He has always been this way, even in Kindergarten where he would get in trouble for trying to discuss the learning with his teacher. Our younger son's highest score was as a "kinesthetic learner" with his second as being a "visual learner". It was wonderful how the program gave ideas for how to study better with each learning style. It didn't just tell them what they were, but how to use that to better their learning.
It was an eye-opener for our high schooler where his priorities lie. He was ashamed to put a number down for his priorities because they didn't line up with where he wants them to be. This opened the door for another conversation about life priorities and how they can be changed.
I used the Student Planner with our high schooler. We will continue to use this as a great tool to keep him organized and more independent. It was useful to him so that he could get more out of his day, which is something that he was struggling with doing. He feels guilty because he doesn't get done what he wants to or thinks that he should.
Victus Study Skills System is geared towards the public school. We had to do some adaptation for some of the checklists to make it relevant for our boys. In the Teacher Edition, it does walk you through each lesson. I would have liked to see it give more specific information about what to talk about. At some points, it says something like, find information about ... and then discuss it with your students. I feel as though all of the information should be there already along with some points to discuss with my kids. This would make it more teacher friendly.
Overall, I feel as though this is a great product, especially for the price. The Victus Study Skills System is not an expensive program and you can just buy the levels that you need for your children. I have seen how the skills that they have learned in this program filter through their other schoolwork as well as life. I appreciate programs like that!
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