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Studies have shown time and time again that children with parents who are involved in their education have more success than children without parental support. Children are found to have better behavior, have higher grades, and better all around attitude towards education that results in a more successful life. Getting involved with your child’s education begins at home through simply asking your child about their school day. It is natural for children to not give much information when asked about their school day. How they respond and what they share truly comes to the relationship you have with your child. Keeping an open line of communication is important for the parent-child relationship, especially when it comes to school. Some children do not like to open up and talk about their day or school. If you find your child not saying much than ask questions that do not require only one word answers.  Get familiar with their school routine to help bring up more specific questions. Taking time every evening to go through your child’s schoolwork with them is an important part of being involved with their education. Taking the time to look through their bag and asking them to explain some of the items to you can help you get the conversation going with your child about their school day. Unless the teacher sent tons of paperwork home, this process does not have to be long and detailed. Just enough time to see what your child has for the day and show them that you care about their school education and life. Many parents find they can keep up with their child’s education, even if they are not home after school, through making a rule of informing the parent about schoolwork when they arrive home and needing to complete it before anything else. If you have a younger child that you are trying to work with, check their planner every day for notes from the teacher. Many times, teachers will write notes to you, as the parent, or have the child write a note regarding work that needs to be done. No matter your child’s age, ensuring that they keep you informed on what is going on is important. If your teacher is willing to give you their phone number or email address, it is helpful to communicate with them about your child via phone or email. Every teacher and school is different on the best line of communication, so make sure to follow what is best for the teacher to help be better connected. Most schools have 2 official parent/ teacher conferences a year. Try and make these a priority. Conferences are a great opportunity for teachers to give a full update on your child’s progress for the year. Before the conferences come, try to write down questions you may have regarding your child’s work, so you can ask the teacher. Listen to what the teacher has to say. Most teachers are skilled at observing the children and what goes on. It is important to visit your child’s classroom and see where they spend their day. Busy parents tend to overlook visit your child’s classroom. It is amazing what parents can be learn about their child from spending a short period watching what goes on in the classroom. If your time schedule allows it, try and volunteer in your child’s classroom. This is not always possible though. If this is something that you are able to do, get with your child’s teacher. Tell them that you would like to help, but don’t know what to do. There is a good chance the teacher can find something for you to do. Some schools have guidelines on the type and amount of assistance a parent can give. Make sure you talk with the principle to find out what those are. Sometimes teachers just need help behind the scenes. Stuff like planning holiday parties, advising on a computer installation, helping with fundraising, or even writing a grant. It is harder to keep in touch with your child’s teacher once they start middle school. There are more teachers to communicate with. At this age your child is less likely to want to talk to you about what is going on. Participation at this age is still important and recommended. Typically each child is assigned either a guidance counselor or a primary teacher. Use this person as your contact and develop a line of communication with them throughout the year. Even in middle and high school, the teachers may still appreciate your help with planning field trips or organizing fund-raising projects for the school. Information received from your child’s teachers can be helpful at the middle and high school grades. In fact, for college-bound children, these talks are as important as ever. The teacher may have insights about your child that may affect selection of college and career. Although participation is important, you must learn to become less directly involved with your children’s schoolwork. By middle school, your child should be taking most of the responsibility for their own homework. If you are a parent that has not been involved with your child’s education, it is never too late to begin. If you are just beginning when your child is older, keep at it. Never give up, as it is about finding the way that works for your child. Children who are not used to their parents being involved with school may be more hesitant to your sudden involvement. Communicate with your child about your desire to be involved with their education to help your child feel more comfortable talking about school. A pattern of poor involvement with your child’s education can lead to your child feeling any conversation about school means they are in trouble. Ensure your child that you are there to learn and be apart of their school life and education, not find things they are doing wrong. There are many ways to participate in your child’s education. You do not

You may find yourself wondering why tutoring is important for kids or when it is needed. There are many reasons that tutoring is important for kids, more than could ever be explained in a single blog post, but we did our best collecting information on why children need tutoring and what tutoring can do for them. Every child learns in their own way. What works for one child does not always work for another. At times, it does not matter how well your child’s teacher explains the material, your child may need more time to practice the skill or understand the content. Tutoring provides an opportunity for one-on-one instruction to help a child learn in their own way. One good need for tutoring occurs when children move in the middle of the school year and the new school is at a different place than the old school. Children are to be taught certain standards every year for their grade, but how or when they are taught is up to that school district.  Your child may struggle because they may have missed things they should know already for their new school. A tutor can help fill the gaps that happened as a result of the move and change of curriculum timing. There are many other reasons why a child may struggle and need a tutor. It does not mean that the parent, student, or the teacher did anything wrong. Some of it has to do with the cognitive ability to receive the information and receive it well. As you may have noticed, schools have become more sophisticated with the way subjects are taught. Through these innovations, subject matters become more integrated and developed. Because of this they are more challenging for students. Sometimes, kids may find it hard to cope with their lessons. Tutoring allows your child to cope with the material they learn in school. It provides your child with the leverage that they need in handling the subject matter. Tutoring is a personal approach that allows you to convey the information to the person you’re tutoring effectively, helping them improve in school performance. Tutoring is also important because it helps children prepare for future standard tests.  This is accomplished because the tutor and your child work on mastering what they are having problems with. This will effectively allow your child to tackle tests with full preparation and confidence. Many high-profile executives and inventors struggled in school at different points in their life. Some had tutors and others did not. Albert Einstein was a great example of a genius who admittedly did terrible in school. Imagine what would have come if he had tutor to help him through the difficult times? Tutoring is an important asset to the development of your child’s performance and confidence. It helps your child learn and grow to their full potential when it comes to subjects at school. This effectively provides a sense of fulfillment and progress in their studies, as challenges are becoming more evident at school. As a result, tutoring is important if you want to help your child cope with the increasing difficulty of the school system. A tutoring service will help your child out in building that confidence and coping with school. Tutoring can be very important to kids. I am not saying that every child needs a tutor. You have to use your judgment to decide what is best for you and your child.

Starting preschool is a big step in your child’s life. To help them get off to the right start, we can help prepare our children through working with them weeks before they begin. Remember to keep it slow paced to keep from overwhelming your child with too much at once and always make it fun to help them interact and retain information better. A great way to get started is through incorporating preschool routines at home and using pretend play to help your child learn about preschool. Take turns being the parent, child, and teacher. Act out daily routines like saying good-bye to mommy and/or daddy, taking off your coat, reading stories, singing songs, playing outside, having circle time, and taking naps. Help your child feel in control by answering their questions patiently. Reassure your child that preschool is a good place and that they will have fun, learn, and make new friends. These different actions, like taking a nap, eating at a certain time, and more are useful to help get your pre-preschooler into a routine, especially for those struggling with a schedule for their child. You can find books about preschool at your local library and online full of information to help you with your specific child needs. Read children books on preschool together and talk about the books after you are done. Ask your child how they are feeling when learning about preschool. Read books for parents to help you learn how to help your child through the transition, and more. Start reading the books over the summer that are geared towards them to help.. Make a game of self-help skills like unzipping their coat, hanging their coat on the hook, putting on their backpack, and tying their shoes. You can have races with your child to see who can put on their shoes the fastest. When you play school together you can practice the things they have learned. If they will be bringing packed lunch, have a picnic a couple of times so they can practice taking out their food. Take a tour of the preschool with your child and allow them to ask questions. Show them where their room will be. Make it a fun day. Every child is different, and being at daycare daily before starting preschool does not mean that preschool start will be easy. Some children are overly comfortable and some struggle at first. Try to pick up on any cues you see along the way to help when and where you can, if your child struggles with this new change. Listen to your child’s worries and fears. Do not dismiss them. Also watch for nonverbal messages. Sometimes your child does not know how to tell you what they are feeling. About 2 weeks before the big day, take them to purchase their first backpack. If possible, let your child pick out the backpack. This will help give them a sense of control. Make sure to point out that they are a big kid now. Label all of your child’s items with their name on it. You will also want to talk to your child about the morning and afternoon routine. Let them know what to expect. Around this time you will want to start having them go to bed at the time they will when they start school. This will give them time to adjust to the new schedule. The night asking different questions to try and answer any questions your child has as our little ones are still at a time where it is hard to explain their feelings. Let your child choose the clothes they will be wearing for their first day. Try to not make a big deal out of the first day and don’t focus on it too much unless they want to. Try to keep the bedtime routine smoothly and relaxing. The morning of the big day, make sure you wake your child up with plenty of time so they don’t feel rushed. Make breakfast for your child and if possible sit down to eat with them. If you can’t sit down, at least talk with them while you get ready and they eat. Review the day’s routine with your child. Pack your child’s backpack. If they are bringing a lunch, try and pick out their favorite snacks. Plan to stay an extra 15 minutes after you get to the preschool. Explore the classroom together and meet some of the other children. Remember to keep your tone upbeat and positive. When you are leaving, if you hear your child crying, try and resist running back to them. This will be the hard part because we all hate to hear our child cry. Instead, you can wait outside the classroom for a few minutes to ensure that all is well, or call the school later in the morning to check-in. If you feel your child may not be ready for preschool education-wise than begin early and work through getting fun flashcards and games to focus on building basic counting, colors, and shape skills needed. Testing for preschool allows us as parents to have laid out the areas of struggle, but many times we can see problems before. Begin working with them if you see problems but ensure to focus on struggle areas you find during testing. Preparing your child for their first day of preschool does not have to be complicated. Remember to have fun and not overdo it.

Being able to speak the local language or at least knowing some of the basic phrases can make your trip to a different country more enjoyable. Or maybe you just have an interest in a language and would like to learn it. Here are the top 5 ways to learn a new language completely free on any device. Duolingo Duolingo is one of the most popular language apps there is and is also one of the highest rated apps. An independent study conducted by the City University of New York and the University of South Carolina, about 34 hours of Duolingo is equivalent to a full university semester of language education. The great thing about it is that Duolingo is easy to use. You work on lessons to learn basic words, phrases, and grammar. You then practice what you have learned by translating real world content from blogs and websites. There are a few less languages on the apple and android apps than there are on the website. Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, Irish, Danish, Swedish, Russian, Polish, Esperanto, Turkish, Norwegian, Ukrainian Available: Apple, Android, and Windows      2. Busuu Basuu uses crowd-sourcing as part of its language learning system. When you first start out with busuu you will use a lot of flashcards for learning new words and phrases. As you advance, you will have the opportunity to practice writing and answering questions, which will be marked by other users who speak the language that you are learning. They offer 12 languages and you are encouraged to listen and speak the language by interacting with native speakers. Languages: English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Polish, Turkish, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese. Available: Apple and, Android    3. Memrise Memrise is great for visual learners. They have over 200 languages to choose from. They use a scientific learning system that is supposed to boost your brain to learn 44 words an hour. They also use multiple game modes to drill different parts of your memory. The content is user-generated, so the quality may vary. Languages: 200+ Available: Apple and, Android   4. Lingualy Lingualy uses flashcards and games to help you learn. You practice what you learn by reading articles of things that interest you. When you come across a word that you don’t know, you can click on the word and it will give you the meaning and the translation. Languages: English, Spanish, French, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Dutch, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Turkish. Available: Apple and, Android   5. HelloTalk HelloTalk helps you learn are over 100 languages to choose from. You can select your entry level and you will start learning and practicing immediately. You connect with others on the internet that also want to learn. You can type in your native language and they can type in theirs. You just tap and hold to translate or pronounce any sentence. Languages: 100+ Available: Apple and, Android Learning a new language doesn’t have to be hard or boring. Thanks to these great apps, you can learn almost any language you choose. Best of all, most of these apps are free, allowing you to learn as much as you want without investing a dime.

Fighting your child to do their homework is even more difficult when your child hates a subject. Finding ways to make the subject fun for your child can make homework time easier for both your child and yourself. There are many reasons why your child finds a subject boring. It may be because they don’t find it interesting or they are facing difficulties with the subject. If you determined that the subject truly is not interesting to them, there are a few things you can do to help them. Learn 3 key things to help make subjects more interesting. Discover the Context Make Stories and Mental Pictures Use the Knowledge. Discover the Context: Figuring out why something is useful, relevant or important is the first step to believing it is interesting for a child that is bored. Look for ways that you might use the subject or topic in a real life situation and make a game out of it. Believing something is interesting solves a common problem with students when it comes motivation and memory. Make Stories and Mental Pictures: If your child is finding a book too boring, try reading a chapter or two out loud to them. Make the story come alive by changing your voice tones and showing excitement in your voice as you read. Sometimes after the chapter is read, your child will continue to read on their own to see what happens next. You can use this technique for other subjects like history, social studies, or science. When you make the story come alive your child will remember the dull facts better. Use the Knowledge: Sometimes your student is spending too much time studying that they don’t have time to use what they are learning and they don’t see how it applies to real life. For example, if your child is having difficulty in math with fractions, you could have them try making a recipe or pizza in the kitchen. Have them use the fractions that they are learning while cooking. Have them figure out what combos they will need to make the right measurement for the recipe. If your child is able to read you a simple book, don’t get hung up on the word-by-word pronunciation that leads the story to lose the meaning to your child. Also, try to get them to tell you stories. Try to write them down to help them appreciate the importance of their words. You will also end up with a nice memento of this time in their life – silly ideas and all. Whatever your child is having difficulty with, it is important to remember to stay positive. Getting anxious or cross will only put them off more. And most important remember to make it fun. If they don’t seem interested in the simple science they are doing, perhaps you could take them out on a clear night to look at the stars. You could also buy a cheap microscope and put an ant underneath it. You will probably learn something cool along the way and it could be a great bonding experience also!

  Congratulations on your decision to go to college! It is an exciting time in your life, that may also a stressful one. There are many important areas to consider when you begin to think of the best way to be ready for college, as a student.  Preparing For College Means Two Things: Be Prepare To Work Hard Be Prepares To Take Time Inside & Outside of School To Explore Your Career Interests A strong academic foundation in high school improves your odds of getting into a good college. During high school, focus on completing the following: 1 year of High School Physics 1 year of High School Chemistry 1 year of High School Biology Math (up to Calculus) 2-4 years of a Foreign Language 4 years of English 2 years of History and/or Social Sciences To create this foundation, take at least five solid academic classes every semester. Start with the basics, and then move on to challenging yourself in advanced courses. Most colleges require students to meet certain college prep curriculum standards, so just meeting the minimum is not necessarily the best way to prepare for college. Make sure you check to see what your college of choice requires. Strong preparation means going beyond the minimum. Colleges also expect students to have interests outside of academics. Sports and other extracurricular activities show admission officers that students are well-rounded and can contribute to life on campus. Volunteering or working part-time also indicates a sense of duty and commitment, further proof that students are ready for the responsibilities college entails. It takes a lot of work to prepare for college admission. With a little effort and time, you will do great. Remember to choose extra curricular activities that you enjoy to show how unique you are.

What is tutoring? That is a very good question, When using the dictionary, tutoring is defined as “a person charged with the instruction and guidance of another.” A question many ask is why would you need a private tutor? The purpose of tutoring is to help students through teaching them to become independent learners who will eventually no longer need a tutor and have the tools to grow their education independently. A tutor provides expertise, experience, and encouragement but they do not provide “answers.” Instead a tutor assists in problem solving and helping you learn how to get the answers on your own.The challenge is to focus on assignments within the context that they are assigned. There are tremendous benefits to tutoring, let’s look at some of them. Benefits of Tutoring: Encourages a higher level of thinking Permits advanced students to study lower level material without embarrassment Increases ability to manage your own learning and study strategies Increases subject specific knowledge Increases related general knowledge Provides more empathy with the student Offers individualized, systematic, structured learning experience Provides greater congruence between teacher and learner Improves academic performance Improves attitude toward subject area Motivates self-directed learning Provides intensive practice Improves your self esteem Content knowledge is an essential ingredient for a tutor. However, to be truly effective, a tutor must combine content knowledge with empathy, honesty and humor. Empathy requires a tutor to “read” the emotional states, attitudes and perceptions of their students. It is also the ability to see others from their personal frame of reference, and to communicate this understanding to the person involved. In order for tutors to establish a supportive relationship with their students, tutors must be open and honest. We often find that students are reluctant to talk with a stranger about their academic problems. If a tutor is perceived as genuine with a strong desire to listen, students are often more willing to open up and discuss their problems. Surprisingly, Humor can play an important part in a tutoring session. Humor helps reduces tension and shared laughter is a powerful way to reinforce learning. If a tutor uses humor, it can set students at ease and increase rapport. Humor can also be used to compliment, to guide or to provide negative feedback in a positive manner. In addition, a successful tutor demonstrates a caring attitude. Caring consists of being organized for the tutoring session and being punctual. It also consists of establishing a learning relationship with the student, developing unique teaching strategies, and becoming familiar with the learning process. Ultimately, tutoring is sharing yourself with another student in a way that makes a positive difference in both your lives. All-in-all, tutoring is a wonderful resource for students of all ages and needs.

You have decided on your career and the college you want to attend. Now you have the task of finding a loan so you can afford to attend college and help your dreams come true. Paying for college is a scary thought, especially when the average public college tuition costs $24,061 and average private is $47,831. There are similarities and differences when it comes to student loans and ordinary loans. Student loans are similar to other loans in the way that you borrow money from a lender and promise to repay the loan with interest. The difference from student loans and ordinary loans comes in the repayment terms of student loans. With an ordinary loan, you are expected to begin paying the loan off in installments as soon as you receive the money. In the case of a student loan, you are traditionally expected to begin repaying the loan after your education is over because of the lack of employment needed to pay the loan is not there until you complete your schooling. As you will read below, some types of student loans are vastly superior to others. There are 2 main categories for student loans, federal and private loans. Let’s take a look at the different types of loans that come with federal and private loans: Stafford Loans are the most common type of federal loan that students apply for and use for funding their college education. Stafford loans are capped at a certain amount per year, based on whether you are dependent on or independent of your parents and what year you are in school. There are two types of Stafford Loans: Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans. Subsidized loans are awarded based on your financial need. The interest on these loans will not accrue while you are in school at least part-time. The interest will also not accrue if you apply for “deferment” following your education to help you have time to get an established job and full-time employment. Unsubsidized loans are not based on your financial needs, and the interest will begin to accrue from the moment the government gives you the loan. If you are an undergraduate, a subsidized Stafford Loan will have a lower interest rate than an unsubsidized one. Perkins Loans are for students with extreme financial need. The interest rates for Perkins Loans are a standard 5%, and the loan is limited to $5,500 per year in aid. PLUS Loans are issued to parents of students. Your parents can borrow a PLUS loan to supplement the costs that were not covered by other forms of financial aid that you have received. A consolidation loan combines one or several loans into a single loan package. According to the nonprofit American Student Assistance (ASA), interest rates on consolidation loans are calculated by doing a weighted average of the rates of each individual loan being combined and rounding up to the nearest one-eighth percent. The interest rate is capped at 8.25%. Institutional loans are offered by the school you’re attending. Unlike a scholarship, this money must be repaid to the school once you graduate. Private loans are sometimes called “alternative” or “deal” loans because they are different from government-funded Stafford, Perkins and PLUS loans. Unlike government loans (whose interest rates don’t vary and which have standard repayment schedules), the interest rates of private student loans can change over the life of the loan, and repayment schedules are not standardized. For this reason, private loans tend to be a greater financial burden for you when you take them on. These loans are recommend for you to use only when all other sources of financial aide have been exhausted. After learning about the different types of loans available, the first step is to fill out a “Free Application for Federal Student Aid” (FAFSA) form. A few things you will need for this form are: Your Social Security Number Your W-2 and Tax Return Paperwork From The Previous Year Your Parent’s W-2 and Tax Return Paperwork From The Previous Year (if still legally a dependent of your parents) Submitting the FAFSA form online is the most recommended route as it is the fastest way to apply. The next important step is to find out the total cost of the school that you are want to attend. For this you will need to factor in: Tuition Additional Fees and Charges (These vary from school to school, so ask your admissions and records office what that may be.) Housing Books and Supplies Transportation Miscellaneous After you find the total cost, find out how much your family is able to help with your education funding. Sometimes your parents will have set up a savings account to help with these cost. Once finding out what loans you are eligible for, investigate the different types and what they have to offer. What is the interest rate? Total amount owed later? Accept the loans that are right for you and ensure to budget your money to last through the year and cover everything you will need. The process of applying for loans is repeated every year, as your income can factor in State and Federal grants, depending on what your state has to offer. Your income also factors how much interest-free and interest loans you are eligible for. Don’t just assume that your loans will be the same as they were the previous year. As income and other factors change, so do your loans. If you are stuck in a difficult spot when it comes to paying for school and do not have enough loans to cover, search out grants and scholarships offered for students in your position. There are many companies offering new grants and scholarships every year.

Being a parent isn’t the easiest job. There is no manual to help guide us. When problems arise at school, it can become frustrating for both you and your child. Many times, children attempt to hide school issues from parents. This can happen from fear of getting in trouble, worrying about telling on others, and many more reason. As parents, it is our job to pay attention to our children to try and catch abnormal behavior, whether small or big. If you are worried about your child’s recent behavior, here are symptoms your child may be having problems at school: A child who usually cooperates with adults suddenly begins to be disobedient at school. This is often the first indication of learning problems in preschool and kindergarten. It is typically not a child’s goal to annoy, disrespect, or frustrate you. They are trying to figure out how to be their own person and where they fit into the world and feel significant. The more you proactively give your child constructive ways to experience personal power, the more cooperative they will be. Point out your child’s successes and be sure to point out when they are improving. A child who usually gets along well with other children gets into fights at school, hurts other children, or takes their things. Your child could be having anger issues and is not sure how to handle it. Your child has trouble staying still or seated during class. Your child could be bored because they already know the material and just need something to challenge them. Another option is to talk to your teacher or doctor about getting them tested for ADHD. ADHD can easily be treated and worked with to help your child learn the best. Your child’s grades are dropping or have never been good. Your child could be what is referred to as a shut-down learner. They have become academically discouraged or disconnected from school over time. This could have many causes that add up to a shut-down learner (cracks in the foundation + time + lack of understanding + strained family communication). Your child does well in most subjects but suddenly is failing or struggling to keep up in a subject. This is often a sign that your child needs extra help in a certain subject. Try helping him more in the subject or consider a tudor. Your child complains of headaches, stomachaches or other physical problems at school or shortly after coming home from school. Your child frequently refuses to go to school or becomes very distressed about going to school. Try talking with your child about what is bothering them. Maybe they are getting bullied in school or are having trouble with a subject and don’t want to ask for help. Your child seems to have trouble remembering things or learning new things, or your child seems to learn well at home, but does poorly on tests at school. Another symptom with this is your child becomes quieter than usual, seems discouraged, or doesn’t seem to try at schoolwork any more. Consider talking to your child’s teacher and having them tested for learning disabilities. If you are seeing these symptoms, speak with your child about what is going on to see if you can learn more about what is going on. Make sure to always remind your children that you are there whenever you need them, without fear of getting in trouble or getting others in trouble. At times, children feel they will get in trouble for things that many times they will not. If you have trouble getting answers from you child, reach out to their teacher(s) and dig for answers. Children cannot resolve these issues on their own, so try and find answers as soon as you can.

As our children grow older, they become an age where they begin to learn the concept of money. Don’t wait to teach your children until they are older, begin when they are first learning to count money in school. Starting young will help teach them tips that build skills for a lifetime. Here are a few ways to incorporate lessons about money into your children’s life.  Giving Your Child an Allowance. Teaching how money is earned is an important. Speaking to your child about chores they can do around your home to earn an allowance. Every family is different on how much allowance is given and how much work needs to be done. When it comes to their allowance, make sure to talk to them about saving a part of their allowance. Children never want to save money so it may be necessary to enforce a rule of saving a percentage of amount of all money earned to teach important habits for life. When you begin a pattern of saving your money as your grow older, it sticks with you as an adult. Play Monopoly or The Game of Life. Playing monopoly or The Game of Life may seem silly but these games create a wonderful opportunity to teach lessons on life. Money is needed to survive in the real world and these games bring in this reality in a great way. You will not just be teaching about money but spending time with your child at the same time which every child will love. Ensure to talk about life lessons while playing these games to help them understand how money is earned and spent in life. Discuss the cost of items and share experiences from your life or others you know to bring them into perspective. Bring Your Child Shopping. Bring your child with you to the store for your weekly or bi-weekly grocery shopping. Work with them to manage your list and budget throughout your shopping. I love grocery stores that have calculators on their carts but these are rarely seen any more so bring a calculator or let your child use your calculator on your phone to add up the items as you go to ensure you keep in your budget. It is amazing to put in perspective trying to not spend too much on needed items. Children know what they want when you go to the store, but to be part of this shopping allows them to learn how much these items cost. Show your child the different brands and the cost difference between them. Explain to them how much work was needed to earn this budgeted shopping money to put in perspective hard work with your grocery money.  Encourage Your Child To Earn Money. As your children older, encourage them to start earning their own money. We all know those neighborhood kid side-jobs that we saw as a child. Whether mowing, babysitting, cleaning houses, yard work, and more, there are tons of opportunities for kids to earn extra cash! Teaching your child to go out and find ways to earn money when they want a more expensive item is a great way to teach them to strive for what they want and reach goals with money saving. Open A Saving Accounts. As adults, we know money in our pocket will burn through our pocket. Open your child a savings account to teach them to save and put money away where they cannot touch it to have for when they need. Saving money should be part of everything they do, so enforce a rule of saving a part of all money earned and received as a gift to help them reach savings goals. Find a number they want to save to and help them through going to the bank and putting their earned money in the bank. It is exciting for children to feel older through having an account and putting it away at the bank. Always remember to teach about life whenever you can. Life is tough and the lessons we can teach as parents is important.

As parents, it is so important to help our children as they learn to read.  Our job is to help them grow the skills that they are working on to lead to reading growth. At times, it can be difficult to know where to begin when helping your new reader.  If you are a parent who feels lost on where to begin with your growing reader, use some of these tips below: Remember to always go slow when beginning with your new reader. When first learning to read, you can never go slow enough, at times. Always keep this in mind as you help your child. Have your child read out loud the words from the book. Reading out loud is one of the best ways a younger reader can develop their skills. While reading out loud, have your child sound out each letter to help them put together words. The best way to start helping your child is through your local Library. Begin making weekly trips to the library where there are no distractions around. The library is a quiet, easy place for the two of you to concentrate and spend time together. Spending this time alone will help your child build their confidences and get them on the road to being a great reader. Many libraries have story nights which is great for your new reader. Having them listen to the story while following along to the words in the book. Find a book that comes with a CD to listen to in the car. Have them listen and read along to the story as it is read on the CD. You can always try to find a book that also comes with a CD. That makes car rides a little more fun. They can read the words as the story is being read. This will make road trips a little more fun and keep their minds and eyes in a book. This will also keep your younger ones learning too! This will open their minds up as much as your new reader! The more you get them interested in books, the better off they are! As you read together, begin going over what they read and talking about the story. Comprehension is a strong part of reading that leads to better reading skills. Ask your child questions about the story: Who was in the story? What happened in the story? Teaching your child to pay attention to the story as they read is important to their reading growth along with something that they will be tested on later on. If your child feels frustrated by the idea of remembering what they read, then take it slowly. Always remember to be there for your child as they read. Never read what they should be reading to get the work done quicker for your child. The first year of reading in school is one of the most important years. Finding new books at their reading level helps bring interest to your child. There are plenty of reading books to pick from at your local library and/or library.

Do you have a child you think is gifted and talented ? Through the New York school system, they have a the Gifted and Talented Program. To get into this program, you need to take a test that determines if you are eligible. This test includes both verbal tests from the OLSAT (Otis-Lennon School Ability Test) and nonverbal questions from the NNAT (Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test). You should look over all the information with your child and have them practice the test that will be given through the available practice tests. This will help your child become familiar with what information they need and help them cut the stress and anxiety that your child may have! Testing begins between the ages of 4-7 for entry into grades K-3rd grade and determines eligibility for the NYC Gifted and Talented Program. There are a few steps you have to do in order to get your child in THE Gifted and Talented Schools. The first step to this process is submitting a “Request for Testing Form” (R.F.T) in the Fall of the Year before you would like your child to start participating in the Gifted and Talented Program. You can do this either online or in writing by completing the form in the appropriate Department of Education handbook and submitting it to your child’s public school or local Borough Enrollment Office. The deadlines are posted on the Department of Education’s website in late Fall. The city-wide testing for your child usually starts in January, and only children who have turned 4 years old can participate.  You will be informed of your child’s score in early Spring, and IF your child is qualified for The Gifted and Talented Program, you will be sent an application. If your child scores in or above the 90th percentile, he or she will be invited to apply to a district G&T program. If your child scored in or above the 97th percentile, he or she will be invited to apply to a citywide Gifted and Talented program. Admission to the Gifted and Talented program is only guaranteed to incoming kindergartners and first graders who rank every district option on their application. There are no guarantees for city-wide spots, as there are more children who score in or above the 97th percentile than there are seats. Placement is based on sibling priority, test score (percentile rank), family preference and available seats. A lottery is held to determine who gets a spot if there are more applicants than spaces. The completed applications are usually due in late spring, and acceptance notifications are usually sent out in early summer. Remember, even though your child may score high, these tests are based off a percentages. Even though your child may get a high score, they may not be in the right percentile and therefore not get into the school of your choice.  Be sure you have your child practice as much as they can! Learn more on their website.

Do you believe your child may be gifted and/or talented? Have began to look into the special programs that you can send them to? We wanted to take a few blogs to explain the process of looking more into the gifted and talented services. To begin, your child will need to take a few tests to determine their eligibility. These tests are for children 4-7 years of age. The tests consist of 3 parts: Verbal Selection, Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT), and The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT). The OLSAT test is verbal test that consists of about 30 questions (depending on the age of the child). These questions account for 50% of the student’s overall score. These verbal questions consist of 2 sections, Verbal Comprehension and Verbal Reasoning. Within these 2 categories are several, more specific question types revolving around: Verbal Comprehension Verbal Reasoning Following Directions Aural Reasoning Antonyms Arithmetic Reasoning Sentence Completion Word/Letter Matrix Sentence Arrangement Verbal Analogies Verbal Classification Inference The OLSAT test is used to measure the abilities related to the child’s success in school through testing critical thinking and reasoning skills. This test is intended to test memory, speed of thought and their ability to see patterns and their relationships. Questions for the OLSAT were selected to reflect the intellectual operations of cognition, convergent thinking, and evaluation. Students will have between 60 and 80 minutes to complete a 40-70 question test. This all depends on what level of the OLSAT test they are. When given to a younger child, the test will be given in a one-on-one level, while older children will take the test in a group setting. The test’s questions are arranged so that the questions do not become more difficult as the test progresses. Students earn points for each question they answer correctly, but they do not loose points for skipping or answering a question wrong. When the test is graded, your child is given a raw score, which provides the number of questions the child answered correctly. Once the raw score is calculated, it will then be converted to a School Ability Index Score (SAI). The SAI score is used to find what percentile the student falls into. The NNAT test is a nonverbal test that replaces the once Bracken Test in 21012. This test measures the abstract thinking skills and requires very little language to be spoken, therefore it is considered a better indicator of raw intelligence, as it does not matter if the child does not speak English as their first language. The NNAT test incorporates abstract shapes and designs that allow for an unbiased scoring regardless of a child’s primary language, education, and socioeconomic background. The NNAT is the 50% of the students overall score and consists of 38 multiple choice questions given in the allotted 30-minute time period. Every section becomes more difficult as it progresses, so it is a good idea to help your child become familiar with the type of questions asked prior to taking. There is a practice test available on the Gifted and Talented Program website that you can use to prepare your child. It is best to have your child practice the test 2-3 month before your child actually tests to help your child get the most of the test and do their best. The National Association for Gifted Children provides answers to many common questions that parents have about their child, the testing, and the program. Learn more on their website. Along with information and practice tests, the website provides information for your local affiliate resource to find more about testing dates, times, and more.

Having a child with ADHD can be hard as a parent, especially when it comes to school. Learn 5 simple strategies to help your ADHD child achieve success in school: The first step to helping your child achieve success is through making sure their teacher is aware of their ADHD. This information does not always get passed along the chain of teachers. Through informing their teacher, you can work together with them to be on the same page and work on the same goals. Inform their teacher of any medication the child may be on as well as they can watch and let you know how well the medication is doing for your child in during school hours. If there comes a point of the medication not working as well, the teacher can let you know of possible medication changes that may need to happen. Find ways to help your child learn to their fullest. Your child may need a few different goals than others, or more goals that are smaller. Making their goals smaller may make it easier for your child to reach their goals. Always make sure as goals are hit, you point them out and celebrate them. Even just a fun sticker or pencil to say GREAT JOB goes a long way. They need that praise. This way they feel like they are accomplishing something! This leads to them strive to reach more goals as children need to feel self-worth! When working during class time or at home, ensure to give them time. If something is too hard or they become frustrated, have them move on to the next question or problem. You can always come back to the hard ones later! During test time, if they are having problems concentrating, have them take a short walk to the drinking fountain. This short walk will help them clear their mind and walk off a little energy! This is a great plan to bring up to the teacher. Maybe during conference’s, or call or email. Not all teachers have dealt with the same degree and amount of ADHD children, so do not assume the teacher knows what is best for your child. Never do any work for your child. This may be frustrating for both of you, but there will be no success from you doing their work. If you are having a hard time, try stepping back and thinking of clues to help them find the answer. Make the clue’s easy to begin and as you move on give clues that are a little harder and require more thinking. This is a great way to help them catch on and learn how to find the answer on their own! Help your child stay organized. Children with ADHD are prone to being messy. Have your child put their work in different colored folders.  If there is a project due, begin the work together. Work together to put all your child’s notes together and organized. Have your child work a little every day on their project. Talk everyday about how many days are left before their project is due to limits stress. The main thing to always remember with ADHD children is to always be patient! Their brains work different than ours and they need to take small breaks to stay focused. Every year, you will learn more and more about what works best for your child. Just always keep teachers and other adults in their life up-to-date with this information so your child can learn to their fullest.

Preparing for college is important for every student. There are many steps that need to be completed to help students prepare for this journey. Through beginning at the right time and accomplishing certain steps, college will approach with you just waiting for the acceptance letters. Follow our student guide to preparing for college, grade by grade. 9th Grade is the starting point for preparing for college.. This is the stepping stone year that will start you working towards your college goals.  The first step in this grade is to meet your guidance counselor. This meeting can help you decide what your goals are and possibly what you want most from college. You are still young, so things may change. Getting a general idea and begin the process of brainstorming what it is you want to be after high school is important. Begin looking at different clubs or sports you like, as extracurricular activities are a great way to earn achievements, along with help you learn to set and achieve goals for yourself. Colleges love to these activities, along with your grades! These activities are a great way to look at receiving scholarships or grants! As we all know, good grades are vital and important for college. Make sure to  start your year out in a good way through working on your grades and keep them this way throughout your high school years. Colleges go back to 9th grade and see what your marks are. Everyone wants to go to college, so make sure you prove to the school of your choice that you are able to work hard and get the good grades! 9th grade is also a time to think of how you spend your summer. Try volunteering somewhere or begin your 1st job! Having a job and volunteering is a way to add a little more responsibility to your life as well as learning to juggle more than one thing. It is ok cut back on your job or volunteering during the school year. Learning to manage your time and show school being important through minimizing your work time is a great way to show people you are growing up! 10th Grade is the grade you begin thinking about your SAT or ACT test. Begin by taking the PSAT test. This test is a great way of getting your name out to colleges before other students! Speak to your guidance counselor about the Plan Assessment Program that is offered by the American College Testing. This is a great way to show your testing ability as well as getting a glimpse at your study habits and how well they are working! Make sure to pick the right classes. Having the right classes is important to helping you achieve your goals. 11th Grade is an important year. If you haven’t yet, take the PSAT course in the Fall. This qualifies you for the National Merit Scholarship Program. This is program can help you earn money, which is wonderful when it comes to paying for school! This year is a great time to attend college fairs and/or college tours. Start thinking about what you want to be even along with what schools will help you accomplish your goals. This is a great time to begin collecting recommendation letters from teachers, bosses, and other individuals that you have worked with (for pay or no pay). Recommendation letters are wonderful for those college applications! Begin looking into your high school ranks and where you stand. This way if there is something that can be fixed, you can find and begin fixing it. 12th Grade is the time that you begin registering for your ACT or SAT tests which are necessary for college acceptances. Make sure you have requested (either by mail or online) that your test scores are sent to the colleges of your choice. Make sure your grades and activities are on track. Your grades do not need to be perfect, but they need to be good to help get into the colleges you need and want. If you feel you are not on track for doing well on your ACT or SAT tests, find and hire a tutor to help you prepare. Your test results can help make up for any classes you may have not done well in. Begin to finalize your top 5 college list.  Gather the information from college visits, your interviews and research you have may have found. Be sure to apply to the schools you may feel are difficult to get into as well as schools you may think are easy. This is best way to assure you have a few different options available to you. Make sure to fill out all the forms needed and mark all the deadlines on a calendar so everything gets sent to the correct place on time. Make sure you notify all schools of your intent by May 1st. If you are not sure yet which school you want, try visiting a few school campus again and get a feel for what you truly want. Once you make that decision, make sure you send your deposit to your chosen school and ask your guidance counselor to send your final transcript to the college in June. Now is the time to enjoy the last little bit of what’s left before you start your next journey in life. Enjoy your high school years, but make sure you are working hard to keep up on everything! These are such important years of your life that affect your future.

Creative Ways To Improve Your Elementry Math Skills When it comes to math, almost everyone has problems at some point! When you are trying to help yourself, or someone else, some pointers are always nice. Here a creative ways to help you improve your Elementry math skills. Remember when it comes to kids, help them first conquer the basic math skills.  Have them practice on paper as well as flash cards.  Writing it down helps the brain as well as verbally saying the answers. If they are having a hard time with the cards, put the one down and go back to it later. This will help with the frustration that may come with it! Games are always a great way to help your kids learn math!  Games such as Uno, Crazy Eights, Memory and Concentration are games that require memory and the use of numbers, sets, and mathematical concepts. To get the most benefit from this, make sure you point out the memory strategies that lead to the success of the game. You can also try and find online games for Math. These work great to build that “fun” behind the learning. Most of the time, kid’s don’t even realize that they are learning! Another fun way to help with math is playing with a pretend cash register. Have them “buy” things and have you buy things. Have them figure out how much things are and how much is owed at the end! This is a great way to continue using math as well as learning money. You can even have them help you with the “price tags”. Using real money is a great way to learn too! Take out a few dollars and some loose change and give your child a number. Have them figure out how many ways they can come up with that number using the money. There should always be more than 1 way! They can use the loose change as well as the dollars! You can also have them subtract and multiply using the money too! You can also “go for a walk” and look for different shapes in the trees and leaves. You can look at signs. Try to name as shapes as you can and figure out if they are symmetric! Great way to spend time together while learning! You can also learn math when you are cooking or baking. Have your child help you with the measuring cup’s.  Have them help you by using a smaller size and figuring out what fraction is needed to make the whole! You could also bake a pie or a cake and as each slice or piece is eaten, have them figure out what fraction is left! Always remember to try to make learning fun! Try using these suggestions or try to make some new ones up on your own! Once your child starts catching on and having fun, you should see a rise in their grades!!

7 Days To Better Test Studying I find when it comes to studying, it’s always best to study a little bit through out the week. There are many different ways to accomplish this. Here is guide to help you study better for testing that allows you to retain more information and increase you grades in 7 days. Study Guide- Create a study guide, unless your teacher has provided one, then use that! Put all your notes into a study guide. This is a great way to look over everything and take it out when you have a few minutes. It is also a great thing to go over right before the exam.  Make sure you use the study guide your teacher may have provided. Flash cards-Flash cards are a great way to study. As you create your flash cards, writing of the information allows your brain to begin to store the information that you write. Research has shown that you retain more information through writing and repetition, so carry your flash cards on you to help you find time to review them through out your day. The more you review the flashcards, the more you remember. Quiz Yourself-Find a friend or a family member to quiz you on from your notes throughout the week. Have a friend, family, or fellow student go over them with you. Put them in a sentence, make a rhyme out of terms that are hard to remember, or associate them with something that you are familiar with. This is a great way to keep your mind in check! You will see a huge improvement on your skills. Read the Chapter Summaries-This is a great and effective way to look over all the key ideas of each of the chapters. This should jog your memory with even the little things you may have forgotten about. These are also great to use for the study guide mentioned above! Find a Study Buddy or Group-Find a few people in the class that you can study with. Try to keep these study groups smaller, as too many people can cause distractions. This is a great way for everyone to be able to learn from each other as well as a great way to quiz each other on the knowledge you’ve retained! Draw Diagrams-Drawing diagrams will help you to visualize information which could be hard to describe. This creates a visual memory in your mind which can be recalled in an exam. It also is a great tool to have to go back and look on the closer you get to test day. Through using these techniques to study for your test, you will retain the important information better to lead to better test results. Always remember that no matter what you do for test studying, getting sleep is important. Never stay up all night! Lacking your brain of sleep is one of the worst things you can do before an exam. Your mind and body need to be well rested and clear of stress. The BEST thing you can do is get a full night of sleep. There are so many tricks and techniques to helping ourselves do better in school but without rest, we are nothing. Get a good nights sleep, eat a balanced breakfast, and allow all your studying to pay off! Good luck!  

In our world of technology, we have so many resources at our fingertips. The library is used for peace and quiet more than anything because of the easy-to-access resources from any of our phones, computers, or tablets. With all this technology, there comes the problem of finding the right information for our need because of the large amount of resources. If you are struggling with your college classes and trying to find those “great resources” to bookmark and have to help you through your classes, check out these 5 websites.   Quizlet Quizlet is a website offering free study tools. You provide the curriculum through registration, then begin studying just about anything. Easily download Quizlet on your Android or iOS phone or tablet to allow you to study virtually anywhere! This wonderful resource is used by both students and teachers, and available no matter the age or grade. Learn more about Quizlet on their website. Essay Punch Essay Punch is a website helping you write that perfect essay. It is very easy to use and walks you through the whole process. You can do the free version, which will provide you with one prompt, or for $39.00 a year, you are able to receive 9 prompts, as well as have the ability to save and resume your work and copy and paste it to an email, word processor, ect. If you are looking at improving your writing skills, Essay Punch something you should try and learn more on their website. The Owl (Purdue) Writing Lab Owl Purdue is a website offering many different free resources that are great to refer to when writing research papers, no matter the class or college level. Owl Purdue helps with writing, research, grammar, and even ESL! This website is a resource that you definitely want to bookmark and use, as it helps you write the perfect paper in the format you need through helping understand the important areas your teacher requires. Learn more Owl Purdue on their website.  Open Study Open Study is a website for those out looking for others to study with! A free resource offering online study groups with people from all over the world! Offering help with Chemistry, Mathematics, English and more! 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Keep this website close in case you find yourself needing help, or just want to study with someone without having to leave your home! Learn more at Open Study’s website. StudyBlue Study Blue is a website offering ways to study through flash cards, review sheets, quizzes and more. A completely free site that you can study virtually anything and anywhere. Easy to use for all students and a great tool to help you in the areas you are struggling with classes. Learn more about Study Blue on their website. These are just 5 wonderful websites out of the thousands of resources available online to the average college student. When in doubt, always use Google Search to find what you need as help is always just a few clicks away!

Being a parent has always been a tough job as we always seem to running from one place to the next. Getting time to help our children do their homework and study seems to be even harder. I began to look for different websites and apps that could help my children study and practice while in the car or while at a sibling’s event or practice that would be fun, but also practice in the area(s) they need the most. Multiplication Table for Kid’s Math: This app is a fun one! They learn the multiplication table from 1-12.  There are 4 times tables modes: Story, Lesson, Kid Challenge, and Duel. They can play the Math Duel with a friend! There are easy and hard puzzles, simple and complex math equations, (even with addition and subtraction). The story mode gives you 3 lives per multiplication table and they need to try and get through as many as they can without losing their lives. Check Out Multiplication Table for Kid’s Math on Google Play Store!   Reading Eggs: Reading and sight words can be a hard thing for young readers. Reading Eggs sight words is a great app for both the phone and the tablet. This free app helps children learn 100 site words, such as he, she the, ect. It’s has 4 levels with 25 words in each level! This is a fun game to start at age 3 for the early learning, but has all the 100 words they need for kindergarten! And at the end of each lesson, the word is spelled! This will help them learn and have fun in no time! Check out Reading Eggs on Google Play Store! English Reading Comprehension Another hard thing for kids is comprehending what they read! Many kids can read, but can’t always remember what it was that they were reading. English Reading Comprehension is a free app for them! This app allows your child to read and take a test based off of what they read. It also has questions based off of words and phrase, spelling and grammar. They are categorized by 5 grades. There is also a mock test. After you have practiced all types of questions, you can take the mock test.  It randomly selects questions from each of the topics/ There is also no limit on how many times you can take the mock tests. This is a great app to helping that student of yours reach that goal! Check out English Reading Comprehension on Google Play Store! Check these apps out and see how much you like them and how much your child is learning!  

Tutoring is an easy and effective way to educate students. Much more is possible teaching a student one-on-one than in a classroom full of many students. Tutors can work with students on an individual level, on the skills the student needs to learn. Being an effective tutoring is more than knowing the areas you are teaching in, it is about meeting clients needs and helping them understand why you are important to have. Here is a great list to help your clients learn about you and help you be effective when it comes to clients and hiring you as a tutor:  Call the new client and leave a professional sounding message if they do not answer. For example, “Hello my name is _________ and I am calling to schedule your first tutoring session. Please call me back at ____-____-_____. Then send a text message saying the same thing. If they don’t respond, call and text them again the next day. Email them too if you have their email address. If they still don’t respond, call them one more time the third day. It is important to call and text the client as soon as possible. The longer you wait to contact them, the more likely it is they will find a different tutor.  During the first session, tell the client about your tutoring experience and educational background. Ask the client what skills the student needs to work on. Tell them a basic plan of how you will work with the student on those skills. Also, let the client know when you are available to schedule regular tutoring sessions. Most tutoring sessions last one hour and most students meet with tutors once or twice a week. Tell the client it is up to them how many hours they want to meet. Older students can work for longer than one hour. By Lara Shaffer (Tutor with Elite Home Tutoring)