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Have you ever asked your child: "How was school today?" Did you get "The Evil Eye"? Did he/she change the subject quickly?    Well, something's not right at school. Often times it's in the classroom. Want to know which class? Keep an eye on those progress reports. Or better yet, register for your school's Parent Portal, a real-time update of how your child is fairing in each of her/his classes.   Some warning signs that It's Time for Tutoring: HW completion rate is 0-50%; Low test scores or falling test scores; You used to see her/him doing HW at home but not any more;   Tutoring in fact provides students with something that many students crave while in school: Structure and Attention!   Students often get lost in the fast pace of day to day lessons, lectures and labs. Once they miss a concept, grades begin that slippery descent down hill and fast.   So catch the warning... read more

1. Hopscotch Draw a hopscotch outline with chalk or tape and write the letters of a spelling word in the squares. Your child says the letters out loud as he hops. Erase one letter at a time until he can successfully spell the word without hopping, and then move onto the next spelling word. 2. Ball Toss Toss a ball back and forth to reinforce spelling in a fun way. Each time your child catches the ball, they say the next letter of the spelling word. 3. Hide and Seek Write their spelling words on note cards, and tape them in unusual places, such as on the back of cabinet doors, in your child's closet or in her pencil or jewelry box. When they find a word, they bring the card to you and spells the word. 4. Street Signs/Store Names   Have your child learn to read street signs and store names around your neighborhood. This will help them learn where they live, colors and sight words all at the same time!  ...

A great way to keep your kids' utilizing the skills they learned in school this past school year, is a daily planning and reflection activity!   During breakfast, or any other convenient time in the morning, ask your child to write down three (3) or more things they have to do that day (i.e., chores, bathing, etc.).  Then have them write down three (3) fun things they want to do that day.   Have them write down what they eat throughout the day, and things they did for exercise.   At the end of the day, have them add up the activities they did, the number of food items they ate, and anything else they want to add to the mix.  Have them subtract their age from the total.  If they are old enough to know multiplication, have them multiply the original sum by 7 (days in the week), and then divide it by their age.  The result will be different for everyone; but, it'll keep their brains working!   This is also a good... read more

Tuesday, December 10, 2013   The Tutor/ School Connection Teachers in training learn the importance of cultivating meaningful connections with their students and their parents in teaching methods classes. Teachers know that maintaining regular contact with parents is essential to nurturing a positive home/ school relationship. The benefits of such a relationship are too numerous to mention. Tutors, along with students and their families, can benefit from a similar relationship. This article describes several benefits of a positive tutor/ school relationship and lists steps for initiating contact. Why a Tutor/ School Relationship? As a Behavioral Management Counselor at a local juvenile facility for adjudicated youth, my responsibilities included maintaining regular contact with all teachers of the residents on my client list. This included phone contact and attending parent/ teacher conferences. My unit housed young men ages 13 – 17 in a semi-secure... read more

I am going to pass on a simple tip to you parents on how to get your child to focus when studying or doing homework.   Chewing gum!   I kid you not.  Chewing gum helps your brain focus and causes you to pay more attention to what you are reading or working on.   Special Education teachers have known this for years, but a recent study in the UK by Kate Morgan of Cardiff University was published in the British Journal of Psychology.  Previous research has shown that chewing gum can improve concentration in visual memory tasks. This study focused on the potential benefits of chewing gum during an audio memory task.  Kate Morgan, author of the study explained: "It's been well established by previous research that chewing gum can benefit some areas of cognition. In our study we focused on an audio task that involved short-term memory recall to see if chewing gum would improve concentration; especially in the latter... read more

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