Fun Summer Learning – Read!

 How Can I Help My Child?

Read

One of the most important activities you can do with your child at any time is to read.
Summer is an excellent time to begin (or add to) your reading schedule. You can take a book almost anywhere and e-readers let you carry thousands of books with you. Once downloaded, you don’t even need a Wi-Fi connection.
Reading a variety of materials can connect you to a whole new world either in fiction or a “new-to-you” nonfiction topic. Of course, start by choosing material that is interesting to your child. That is the best jumping board into increasing reading level, reading speed, and reading breadth in the long run.
Once someone finds the joy of reading and begins to see all the benefits, he or she will start expanding the horizons.

Read
1.   Read to your child.

2.   Let your child read (or “read” *) to you.

3.   Share reading – especially great with plays or stories that contain a lot of dialogue.

4.   Model reading by reading to yourself.

There is nothing better than sitting together in a room and quietly enjoying your individual books.

* Sometimes “reading” means flipping the pages and learning how to scan from left to right without actually reading.  Sometimes “reading” means a lot of adult intervention to help move the story along.  The important bit is that you are beginning the process to become a true reader. 

Talk about the book or reading material.

This works no matter what method of reading you use because decoding and saying the words is only one piece of the true reading process.

Caution:  When talking about a story or text, don’t make it into a quiz or “test” situation.  Let the discussion be more organic and enjoyable.

Talk about plot (the events).
For example, how do the events relate to real life or current events?

Talk about characters.
For example what do you think about the protagonist?

Does the antagonist remind you of anyone?

Ask what would you have done in a given situation.

As you read, make predictions about what might happen next.

Ask about a character’s motive.

Talk about what the characters might be feeling.
Above all have fun!
Learning is all about fun. Not only do we learn more, but we retain the information better, when we enjoy the process.

Note:  I realize that with some children reading can be a chore. Don’t worry; keep at it. Sometimes you have to endure a little struggle and less fun until you get to the ‘goods.” Stay positive and enthusiastic about reading, and you will be surprised long term.

There are loads of resources online to find suitable reading material, but here are a few.

Middle School Book Lists

Children’s Choices Reading List

Popular High School Reading List

Required Reading in High School

Teen Book Lists

As always, I am here to help.  If you would like a little extra learning practice over the long summer months, please get in touch.

Website:  www.tutoringcentral.com

E-mail:  tutoringcentral@inbox.com

This week’s video:  Summer Tutoring! How Can I Help My Child?

Summer Learning – Let’s Get Started

Why bother learning in the summer?
 Are there any benefits to learning in the summer?

There are many excellent reasons to keep learning over those long summer months.

Avoid the summer slide!
Note: Water slides are acceptable
You might have already heard of this. Students, particularly those that aren’t academically strong, lose a lot of ground over the summer months. A small amount of practice makes dramatic differences come September.

It doesn’t take long
A couple of hours a week is all it takes in most cases.
Remember that an hour of tutoring is often more focused than six hours of school time.

I do understand that some students are very reluctant to take part in summer learning; however, I remind them and their parents that over the two to three months of summer tutoring, with only a couple of hours a week, they will have spent 16 to 20 hours in tutoring. There are approximately 1560 hours in that same time.

So, out of 1560 hours, you spend only 16 to 20 hours at the tutor!

It is not expensive
The fees for tutoring pay off big time in results. Not only will the student do better in the fall but he or she will be set up to excel for the whole year the results are exponential.
A student who believes in himself or herself will be happier and more willing to keep trying. Who doesn’t want happiness anyway!

If you think education is expensive – try ignorance.

Summer learning is more relaxing

The pressures of school are off for the summer. There won’t be any major projects, speeches, book reports, math tests, etc. for a couple of months.  I try to impress upon my students that the whole goal is to learn – not necessarily to pass a test.  Just keep doing better than the last time and keep moving forward.  Pay attention to the learning and the grades, when you are back at school, will take care of themselves!

Learning is elevating and tasty!
Learning new ideas and how to express them is not torture – or, at least, it shouldn’t be. (Hint: you are with the wrong tutor if it is.) We humans do better physically and emotionally when we keep learning. We are curious by nature, so we should feed that need to know. True, it sometimes takes effort and a wee bit of tedious practice, but the end result is so sweet.

Don’t hesitate

It is near! I realize that we are just now entering into May, but summer comes quickly setting up a plan now will make the transition easier. Being a consistent learner brings the best results.

Call or email to arrange online or in person tutoring lessons today.

Website: www.tutoringcentral.com

Video – Summer Learning – Let’s Get Started!

A Brain is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

A brain is a terrible thing to waste!  So don’t let that happen.

Summer learning can help stop this critical loss.

Research dating back 100 years confirms the phenomenon often referred to as “summer slide.”

                       W. White, Reviews Before and After Vacation. American Education, 1906, 185-188

Research consistently shows that students (aka people) who continue to access learning material and opportunities over the summer months retain more of the foundation they gained during the school year.

Summer slide or summer loss affects all students but particularly those who are struggling in the first place.  Those who continue to learn over those long weeks show dramatic improvement in the retention of information and the ability to reason and complete math problems as well.

            “Differences in a child’s summer learning experiences during his or her       elementary school years can impact whether that child ultimately earns a high   school diploma and continues on to college”

                             Alexander, Entwistle, & Olson, 2007.

Not only can students slow or stop the summer loss, but they can learn new material to be better prepared for next year.

Imagine your child going back to class having kept the foundation from last year.

Walking proudly into school with the full knowledge that he or she is prepared to take on the challenges to come.

Over twenty years of tutoring children has taught me that their confidence and belief in themselves (that is honest belief – not bravado) provides the strongest impetus to improvement and success compared to anything else.

But wait – There’s more!

You can be any age to learn something new, refresh your knowledge, or gain brain synapses – improving brain function.

Yes, students can “train their brain.”  Our brains are malleable – they can be adjusted.  The way our brain communicates is complex; however, in very simplified terms, the dendrites and axons make connections via synapses (small gaps) between them.  These synapses will grow and build when stimulated – in other words, when they are asked to do so through some kind of effort and performance!

Similar to your muscles, if you don’t exercise them – they weaken.

                                     If you don’t use it – you will lose it!

How to avoid summer learning loss: 

       Read!

This cannot be overstated
Reading is so important.  The choice of reading material is less a factor than the act and the follow-up.
Don’t read “blindly” – engage yourself with the material by talking about what you’ve read with others, look to learn more about the topic, write about what you’ve read, comment or blog about it.  Use any method you like to make sure that you aren’t forgetting as fast as you are reading.
Also, remember the library – often free reading material of all kinds there!

       Write !

Write a journal.
Write about what you have been reading (see above).
Start a blog about your favorite topic.
Write letters (astonish your friends and the world!).
Write some poems.

        Visit!

Visit museums, zoos, landmarks, grandparents, science centers, etc.

Yes, visiting and discussing the new facts, ideas, theories, and so one can be very helpful. This kind of learning stimulates multiple styles of learning including visual, auditory, and kinesthetic / tactile.

Why grandma & grandpa?  Don’t forget the wisdom of the entire family.  I’m only using these as representatives.  Different points of view (acceptable to you or not) are important to develop stronger reasoning and decision making skills.  People’s stories provide a different kind of context to the learning process.

Parents

Ask for opinions and comments on T.V. shows or Internet/video games, etc.
NOTE:       Be sure to ask open questions not closed questions.
An open question invites more conversation, whereas a closed question generally elicits only a “yes” or “no” response.
Example:   
            Open question –   “What did you like about the main character?”
            Closed question – “Did you like the main character?”

Don’t be too quick to judge opinions (despite the lack of logic or maturity). It is just important to keep paying attention and engaging with material.  A great deal of learning comes from talking it out and hearing one’s own ideas aloud.  Self-correction tends to happen in stages.

Tutoring

Of course – a couple hours of tutoring per week can also help retain past lessons and help to prepare for the next year!

Note:  This is not school!   Students often complete more in a couple of hours a              week than they did all week in the school year – leaving lots of time to                play, ponder, lie on the grass and look at the sky – etc.

Come see what a professional tutor and personalized program can do for you or your child!

In-person and online tutoring available.

www.tutoringcentral.com

 

E-mail:  tutoringcentral@inbox.com

Phone:  519 824 0982

Video for Summer Learning

References:

Alexander, K., Entwisle, D., and Olson, L. (2007). Lasting consequences of the summer learning gap. American Sociological Review, 72, 167-180.

Borman, G.D. (2001). Summers are for learning. Principal, 80(3), 26-29.

White, W. (1906). Reviews before and after vacation. American Education, 185-188.