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Keep students learning during B.C. teachers strike

Susan Cumberland September 5, 2014

Even though the B.C. teachers strike has delayed the start of school there are still ways students can continue learning in the meantime. With summer time coming to a close students might even be excited to get back into their school routine. Here are some ways to keep students learning during the B.C. teachers strike.

1. Set aside learning time at home

Since kids have been preparing to go back to school for the past few weeks, now is a good time to encourage some independent learning at home. Set up a station either at the dining room table or at your child’s desk for them to work on some educational activities. Math workbooks provide prepared pages for your child to work on, and an older child or parent can review their work and help make corrections. Students can also spend time doing silent reading and writing in their journal. Local homeschooling stores are great sources for finding workbooks for all grade levels.

2. Government funding during the B.C. teachers strike for child care options

The B.C. government has been providing parents with $40 a day for each child under the age of 13. This 40 dollars can be used for childcare or for educational activities that your family chooses. One great way to use the government funding is to arrange child care groups where kids can gather together to play and also do some group educational activities. Some neighbourhood babysitters may be willing to do group child care for neighbourhood kids. This will help prepare young children to re-enter the school setting once the strike is over.

3. Use $40 a day for private tutoring or group tutoring

Another way to use the government funding during the teachers strike is to use it for tutoring services. You can arrange for your child to have private tutoring sessions with a certified teacher tutor. You could also sign up for group tutoring with other students who are at your child’s same grade level. This will keep students learning and prepare them to get back into their daily school routine.

Regardless of how long the teachers strike continues it is always beneficial to encourage your child to do educational activities outside of school. Take advantage of the extra time you have with your children this summer but be sure to keep promoting learning in your daily routine. Once school is back in session your kids will be ready to go!

Can reading practice and doing homework help students learn?

Susan Cumberland August 29, 2014

When school is back in session this also usually means that students are required to do homework. Kids are required to read a certain amount of minutes every day, practice their math skills, study foreign languages or play a musical instrument. This seems like a lot to ask of students, especially young children. There are some good reasons behind why students are required to spend time practicing what they are learning. One major reason is that spending time doing a skill can actually change a student’s brain.

Reading experience causes changes in the brain

Some research shows that the act of reading changes our brain. An article by Annie Murphy Paul shows how the brain changes based on the amount of time we spend reading. Research shows that there tends to be less grey matter in the brain in students who are dealing with dyslexia. The article points out how this could be because people who struggle with reading because of dyslexia tend to not spend as much time reading.

Reading practice could lead to improvements in brain development

Some people used to think that the differences in the brain were hard wired or inherited and this was what caused dyslexia. Actually the research suggests that it could be that the lack of time spent reading that causes the differences in the brain. In Annie Murphy Paul’s article it points out that when dyslexic students spent more time with a tutor to practice reading their brains also showed more grey matter just like the students who did not have dyslexia.

Does doing homework help students learn and does it affect their brain development?

This leads us to consider what other parts of the brain are developing as we practice other skills. A student who struggles in math and decides to never do their math homework might be missing out on brain development. If the brain can gain grey matter just by spending the time doing math homework, then it could be benefitting the student even if they don’t realize it.

Could spending time practicing an instrument change the brain?

Some students take music lessons that require daily practice. Among those students it would be interesting to see if the students who spend more time practicing their instrument have more development of grey matter in their brain. We’ve all heard the term “practice makes perfect” and although it’s hard to see what’s actually going on inside of the brain practice could be changing the composition of our brains.

This research should motivate students to spend the recommended time doing their homework, reading books and practicing new skills. Parents can also help explain the importance of doing homework to their children. Especially if your child has difficulties reading, they can be encouraged that the time spent practicing reading has been proven to help their brains develop and even help them overcome their dyslexia to some degree. Here are some other reasons why homework is beneficial for student learning.

Literacy lunch box ideas for kids

Susan Cumberland August 22, 2014

Coming up with new ideas for school lunches can be a challenge. There are fun ways to encourage young children who are learning to read and write to practice literacy skills even during lunchtime. One way you can help your kids get familiar with their letters and sounds is to create lunches based on a letter of the week. Here are some fun literacy lunch box ideas for you to try.

Brainstorm lunch box ideas together

If kids are involved in planning their school lunches then they will be more likely to eat their lunch. If you are doing a letter of the week theme then have your kids help you come up with the ideas for the lunches at the beginning of each week. Ask them to choose some fruits and veggies that begin with the letter of the week as well as some special crackers and snacks. Making sandwiches in the shape of an animal that begins with the letter of the week can be fun too! Kids can even help put their school lunch together the night before so they get extra literacy practice and will be anticipating the yumminess that they get to enjoy the next day at school.

Use letter shaped cookie cutters to spell words

Cookie cutters can be used for more than just cookies. You can use letter shaped cookie cutters to cut out all sorts of lunch friendly foods. You can spell out your child’s name with cheese or cut a sandwich into letters that spell a word. If you are following the letter of the week theme you can spell a different word in your child’s lunch box that begins with the letter of the week. Apple slices can be cut with cookie cutters and so can slices of lunch meat. Have fun creating literacy filled lunches.

Choose foods that begin with the same letter

Pack a creative lunch where every item in the lunch box begins with the same letter of the alphabet. Have your child write a list of all of the items that they can figure out. When they get home they can check their list and see if they were able to name all of the items that begin with the letter of the week. For the letter “M” you could pack moon shaped apple slices, a meat sandwich with mayonnaise, mustard and mozzarella, mango and melon fruit cup and a mint for dessert. These are lunch box ideas that keep your kids excited about lunchtime wondering what they will find every day.

Include instructions in your kids’ lunch boxes

Send your child a list of instructions for how to make something from the items in their lunch box. This will challenge them to read the instructions and follow them in order to come up with the final result that they can then devour. You could list the steps to building a sandwich (and pack the ingredients separately in little bags or containers). You could also provide the separate components for a yogurt parfait with fruit and granola. Your child can then follow the instructions of how to layer the different ingredients to make their delicious treat. Kids like to make their own food and this will allow them to do that- plus it will save you time when making their lunch because you don’t have to put all of the items together for them.

These are just a few literacy themed lunch box ideas to get you started. Get creative with your kids lunches and encourage them to try new healthy foods. If you have fun making your child’s lunch then chances are they will have fun eating it!

3 back to school tips for parents and kids

Susan Cumberland August 15, 2014

Summer is coming to an end and fall is just around the corner. This means that school is almost back in session! Here are some helpful back to school tips to help your family prepare for the new school year.

1. Back to school tips to help you get organized

Use the new school year as an opportunity to organize your kids’ closets. Your kids can help with this task by going through their closet and finding the clothes that don’t fit them anymore. You could even turn this into a game and say for every five pieces of old clothing that you clean out of the closet you can replace it with a new outfit. All of the old clothes can be placed in a bag and donated to a local charity. Making room for new clothes by getting rid of old clothes should be a fun motivation for kids to jump on this first back to school tip!

2. Practice a school day at home

For kids starting kindergarten school is still an unknown to them. A fun way to help young children get ready for starting school is to play “school” at home. This can range from practicing to pack up backpacks to doing pretend school work at the kitchen table. Kids are excited to start something new, but they may need some help to know what to do once they arrive at their new classroom. Another important tip for kids is to practice following instructions without talking back. Teachers will expect kids to be able to follow classroom instruction without having twenty kids all talking back or asking questions at the same time. You can explain this to your kindergartener and say “when your teachers tells the class to sit at their tables and get out a pencil, you should follow the directions without talking.” Then you can practice this at home! This is also a nice way to get your kids to do their chores without talking back!

3. Get back into a normal schedule

Some kids stay on a pretty regular bedtime and rising schedule during the summer. Other families have later summer nights and enjoy sleeping in all during their vacation. If your family has gotten onto a summertime schedule then it’s a good idea to start adjusting your kids’ schedules at least one week before school starts. If you don’t get back on a regular schedule ahead of time then your kids will probably have a pretty rough first week back at school! You don’t want your kids falling asleep on their desks during silent reading time!

Going back to school can be a fun and exciting time, but it can also be a source of anxiety. Make sure you help your kids relax and prepare for the new year in a way that promotes positivity. Here are some more helpful back to school tips for reducing anxiety.

Learning spelling and grammar in the age of “spell-check”

Susan Cumberland August 8, 2014

Are students still learning spelling and grammar in schools? Or are they being taught to rely on automated spell checking tools? In an age that uses so much technology there is still the need to have a basic knowledge of the English language. If students aren’t learning spelling and grammar basics in school then no amount of technology can compensate for these skills. There is also a need to be educated in computer literacy as well.

Why is learning spelling and grammar important?

Some people think that even if students are not learning spelling and grammar in schools they will be okay because they can use computers and technology to correct their mistakes. This is not necessarily true. What happens when a student is in a situation where a computer is not available to them.

Spell check can’t solve all grammar problems

If a student is using a word processor with spell check they might think it will solve their problems. Spell check programs do work well if you spell a word slightly incorrectly or if you accidentally slip on the keyboard. If a student has absolutely no idea how to spell a word then spell check might not be able to offer the correct spelling. If the student is given a list of possible choices they may not be able to choose the correct word. This is a problem. Similarly if students rely on electronic programs to automatically place punctuation or correct sentence structure for them, this will not always work. There needs to be some basic foundation first, and then these grammar tools can be very helpful.

How can technology be used to support literacy education?

Technology is by no means a bad thing, nor is it responsible for students learning poor grammar. If technology is used properly it can actually be a huge asset to teaching literacy skills. There are electronic readers that are able to provide students with word definitions or audio help for how to pronounce a word. Some e readers are also connected to the internet. This makes it possible for students to further explore certain sections of the text if they want to dive deeper into the background or meaning of what they are reading. This just shows that if used properly technology can be a real asset to literacy education. We should also be aware that technology does not replace basic spelling and grammar education.

The need to be educated in computer literacy

With the advancements in technology there is a need to educate students on how to use computers. Computers don’t take away the need to learn spelling and grammar, but in addition students should be trained in computer literacy as well. In order to reap the benefits of technology, students and teachers need to know how to use it. Learning the basics of how to operate a computer, word processing programs and the internet are all useful skills that should be taught in schools. Parents can also introduce their children to these computer literacy skills at home. Some children know their way around a laptop or handheld device before they hit preschool, but others don’t have access to technology devices. This means that schools also need to provide computer literacy lessons for all students.

We live in a world that uses technology for almost everything. Students should also learn how to use technology and receive the many benefits from it. We also need to remember that technology doesn’t replace basic literacy skills like spelling and grammar. These literacy skills still need to be taught in schools. With both the basic skills combined with technology our students will be able to advance beyond past generations.

Prepare for the new school year with a Vancouver tutor

Susan Cumberland July 18, 2014

Getting a Vancouver tutor this summer is a good idea for students who want to be ready for next fall. Especially because of the teachers’ strike in the Vancouver school district students may have fallen behind. By working one on one with a tutor in Vancouver or other Lower Mainland cities students can make up any missed lessons and even get ahead for the next school year.

How to find a Vancouver tutor

It’s actually easier than you think to find a personal tutor in Vancouver. There are certified teachers who will come to your home to tutor students in one or multiple subjects. Visit our tutoring services page to find a tutor in your area who is a good match for your child. We have tutors in Vancouver Island, Okanagan, Comox Valley and Fraser Valley as well as other nearby cities.

Reasons to hire a Vancouver tutor this summer

When you meet with a local Vancouver tutor they will be familiar with the BC curriculum. If your child fell behind during the past school year the summer time is a great opportunity for your child to catch up. Tutors are trained to determine what academic areas a student needs help in. You can meet with a tutor and discuss what would be good for your child. You can also establish a schedule of how often your child will need tutoring sessions.

Express your hopes and concerns with your child’s tutor

You should feel free to discuss what areas you feel your child needs extra help with. You can also let your child’s tutor know what you hope the outcome of regular tutoring sessions will be. A professional tutor is highly trained in monitoring student progress and will be happy to share regular evaluations with you. It is actually very important that the parents are part of the tutoring process. Don’t be shy when it comes to communicating with your tutor and with your child about what they are learning.

Private tutors help students avoid the summer slide

A common concern parents may have for their children is the summer slide. This occurs when students are out of the classroom and get out of the habit of reading, writing, critical thinking and learning in general. Some studies have shown that students are actually further behind when they start school in the fall than they were at the end of the previous school year. Having a tutor will not only help prevent students from experiencing the summer slide, but it will help them get ahead in their studies.

Students who spend time with a tutor over the summer will receive a number of benefits. They will get caught up in difficult subjects, maintain a habit of learning, avoid the summer slide and most importantly they will be prepared to start the new school year. If your child needs a tutor we can help get you started today.