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6 Benefits Of Summer Tutoring

4/1/2018

Spring has officially arrived, and summer is just around the corner! It goes without saying that from now until the last day of school, students’ thoughts will be consumed with visions of sleeping in, staying up late, swimming, no nightly homework, and just hanging out with friends. There is one thing that is definitely not on their minds...SCHOOL. However, working with a tutor during the summer can and should be a part of every student’s summertime fun. Here are six ways a student can benefit from tutoring during their summer vacation:

Reviewing material from the previous year will help students retain what was learned as well as reinforce basic skills.
Learning new material to be covered during the next school year results in familiarity and comfort leading into the new school year.
If a student(s) had a difficult year, having a tutor during the summer is an excellent way to be proactive about building confidence and allowing for a smooth transition to start the next school year (e.g. elementary school to middle school & middle school to high school).
Students have the opportunity to learn valuable problem solving skills.
Working with a tutor during the school year as well as during the summer can provide continuity and help students maintain newly acquired skills.
Working with a tutor on a regular basis over the summer can provide structure to help keep your a students focused on academics in a low stress environment.

Don't let "Brain Drain"/"Learning Loss" take hold of you. Put in the work during the summer, and you will successfully avoid any anxiety, frustration, or stress when the start of school arrives.

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How To Prepare To Return To School After Spring Break

3/2/2018

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If they haven’t already, it won’t be long before students start counting down to one of the most coveted times of the school year…SPRING BREAK!

As a former full-time teacher, I remember how excited students (and teachers) were in knowing that Spring Break was just around the corner. It was going to be a great time to kick back, stay up until the wee hours, sleep in late, travel, relax, and basically change up the weekly grind of the normal school routine.

One thing is for sure, no matter how much or little happened during the vacation, it always flew by in the blink of an eye. Here are three ideas to help make the transition as smooth as possible, and hopefully take the sting out of heading back to school:

Don’t procrastinate Be sure to diligently work on any assignments or projects that need to be completed over break. Create a schedule to chip away at the work every day, and then stick to it. This will go a long way to avoid the stress of it hanging over your head during the break; not to mention the pressure of cramming to get it all done at the last minute. Having the work completed a few days before break ends means that the last weekend can be just as relaxing as the first.
Have fun! Even if there is school work to be done, be sure to enjoy the downtime. Spring Break is a great chance to relax, recharge, and enjoy some much needed rest. Not only is the perfect time to unwind after the hard work so far, but an opportunity to find that umph needed to finish out the school year on top of the game!
Ease back into a regular routine You should start at least 3-4 days before the break ends. This means going to bed and waking on a normal school day schedule. Once that alarm clock rings on the first day back, it will go a long way to be well rested, and stay on schedule once your feet hit the floor.

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Learning Opportunities via the 2018 Winter Olympics

2/11/2018

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For 16 days, millions of eyes will be glued to televisions watching competitors from around the world compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. While witnessing these athletes compete, this can be a wonderful and fun cross-curricular learning opportunity for students of all ages. Below are a few examples of knowledge that can be gained and skills to be reinforced while viewing these events. Be creative and have fun with it!

MATH

creating & updating a medal count graph (graphing)
Finding average of scores/times of competitors (finding mean)
Finding the percent of female vs male competitors with respect to the overall number of competitors (finding percent)
What is the South Korean currency? Find the equivalent for the dollar. (money, currency exchange)
Finding the maximum, minimum, median and mode of event scores/times (landmarks)
Looking at the schedule of events and calculating how long each will last (elapsed time)
Logging the amount of time you spend watching the Olympics and converting to minutes, hours, days, seconds (time, time conversion)
Research the climate of South Korea and calculate the average annual hi/low temperatures, precipitation (column addition, finding the mean)
Time Zone: Difference in hours between PyeongChang and the city where you live

SOCIAL STUDIES

Research 5 to 7 participating countries to learn basic demographics- e.g. total population, primary language spoken, largest city, total area (history/geography)
Find the longitude & latitude of PyeongChang (geographic coordinate system)
Research major cities and rivers in South Korea (geography)
What dialect of Korean is spoken in South Korea? (culture)

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Flip the Script: Play First, Then Eat Lunch

2/11/2018

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The link below will take you to a great article from the January 26, 2010 edition of the New York Times. As with any type of change in the logistics of a school day, there are always issues that need to be addressed in order for the change to be effective.

During my 20 plus years of teaching elementary/middle school, this thought never came to mind. However, I did implement a 15 minute "cool down" period when my students returned from the lunch/playground time (lunch first then playground). It worked wonders for me with respect to them being more calm and allowing for an easier transition into focusing on academics for the afternoon.

Parents may find this useful to implement when their child/children get home from school...a little play time before beginning homework or a class project.

Enjoy the article, please share your thoughts!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/health/26well.html?_r=1&

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6 Benefits Of Summer Tutoring

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Learning Opportunities via the 2018 Winter Olympics

Flip the Script: Play First, Then Eat Lunch

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