Sylvan Learning Center Sponsors Donation Drive Benefitting Local Animal Shelter

The Clinton and Flemington Sylvan Learning, the leading provider of tutoring to students of all ages, grades and skill levels, has been collecting donations for Common Sense for Animals, a no-kill shelter in Broadway, New Jersey since November. Sylvan Learning offers a variety of educational programs and personalized learning plans that help children reach their full potential and help families reach their academic goals, but the Directors have also encouraged students to reach beyond the classroom.


With the help of the parents and students at Sylvan as well as Sylvan teachers and friends, Directors Stefanie Hickman, Lisa Hubright, Lauren Baker and Erin Merritt collected nearly 200 pounds of dog and cat food, nearly a 100 rolls of paper towels, plus multiple cleaners and treats for the animals. “We are so thankful to everyone who has helped to make this so successful. It is our hope that our students can take away from this drive the spirit of giving at this time of year in addition to the supplemental education that we are already providing for them,” says Stefanie of the Clinton Center.

The donations collected at both centers were delivered to Common Sense for Animals on December 16, 2010 using a pick-up truck. Common Sense for Animals was chosen by directors for its mission “to promote animal welfare through education and community service. [They] strive to educate all people, particularly children, as to what constitutes proper care and the importance of protecting our environment, wildlife, habitat and endangered species.” For more information about Common Sense for Animals, to donate or to adopt please visit www.commonsenseforanimals.org.

Stefanie Hickman, Center Director of the Clinton Sylvan Learning, explains, “Our goal is to assist local students in developing the skills, habits and attitudes needed for lifelong success. Only Sylvan offers a proven process that sets us apart from tutors and other educational services. At our centers, we aim to aid students in developing these skills but also to be a role model for community service.”


Outside the Shelter


Common Sense for Animals


The Donations we brought


One of the Kitties playing with a toy that we brought

Regular Practice Creates Better Writers

With winter break just around the corner, children are enjoying the cold weather, the fun activities with friends and family and some vacation time. But winter break can also be an enjoyable learning experience. The winter break provides many memorable moments, and writing about them is a good way to record those memories and practice writing skills at the same time.

Parents tend to focus on their children's reading and math skills, overlooking that writing is an education fundamental. It's fast becoming the forgotten ‘R’, This is unfortunate, as writing is an important part of every facet of education, not just in English class. Writing proficiency can have a major impact on other subject areas too.

Winter Break provides an excellent opportunity for children to explore their creative writing skills. Sylvan Learning, the leading provider of in-center and live, online tutoring at home to students of all ages and skill levels, has developed the following tips to help parents encourage their children to write over the holidays:

Pick an Engaging Topic
Persuading your child to write over the winter break may be easier if you help them identify fun and engaging topics. Suggest timely subjects.


• For example, Christmas Day or New Year's Day are good opportunities for your children to explore their own feelings about family and to reflect upon the year that was as well as to plan for the year ahead.

• Ask them if they would like to write about a New Year's Resolution for the start of 2011 and help them come up with short, measurable goals to attain this Resolution. Mom and Dad, you can be a great example by setting one for yourself!

Give Story Starters
Sometimes the most difficult part of writing can be getting started. Help your children write their essays by giving them topic ideas, such as:

• I am proud to be part of this family because….
• On Christmas (or Hannukah or Kwanzaa), my family and I usually…
• If someone asked me what the holidays mean to me, I would say…

Sylvan Tips on Writing
• Good writing takes time. Spend time organizing your ideas and thinking about what you really want to say in your essay.
• Use the Internet or library to research your topic.
• Prepare an outline before you begin to write.
• Use transition words – such as “after,” “although,” “before,” “however” and “therefore” to help your ideas flow together.
• Be willing to revise. Change your sentences and paragraphs around, add material that lends to your writing and delete material that doesn’t work.
• Avoid clichés and jargon.
• Always keep a dictionary handy to help with spelling.
• Use a thesaurus to help you think of a new way to say something.
• Ask someone else to edit your work.
• Proofread everything. Make sure grammar, spelling and punctuation are perfect before you declare anything “finished.”
• Don’t rely on a computer’s spellchecker to ensure proper spelling.

Sylvan Learning can help students improve their writing skills before the beginning of the new school year. The Sylvan Academic Writing program is designed to help students understand many writing formats and styles, including illustrative and descriptive essays, comparative passages, persuasive writing, expository writing, summaries and outlines. Students in the program also complete exercises in grammar, spelling, vocabulary, paragraph structure and essay development. In addition, Sylvan can help juniors and seniors in high school prepare for college and the workplace with its new College Prep Writing program. College Prep Writing is a 36-hour program providing a solid foundation in upper-level writing, including “how-to” help with college applications and essays, targeting efforts on SAT* and ACT® writing sections, refining research skills and understanding source documentation.

The Power of Free Play

Everybody needs a little playtime – even turtles – according to new research from the University of Tennessee. They say that playtime, may, in fact, make for a life worth living. So what about kids, who with academics and sports and dance and theater are too-often often-scheduled and over stressed? Some experts have a solution...to schedule in free time. Tessa, for example, spends five days a week, four hours a day after school at gymnastics class. “By the time I get home, it’s like eight [o’clock] or so,” she says, “and I eat and do my homework and take a shower and talk to my parents about how the day’s gone - and then I go to bed.”

Experts have come up with a solution for kids like Tessa: Schedule in free time. “Almost by definition a ‘schedule of free time’ sounds kind of paradoxical to all of us,” says psychologist Nadine Kaslow, “but I do think planning for free time or for down time is very, very important for
children.” She says along with creative play and spending time with family and friends, free time provides moments away from competition. “With all these activities and schoolwork, there’s tremendous pressure to perform - often to compete, to excel,” says Kaslow, “and that leisure time and free time doesn’t have those demands.”

On the other hand, she says, some kids don’t handle free time very well. That’s something Tessa discovered last year, when she decided to take a break. “I didn’t like it as much as being in gymnastics, even though I had time,” she remembers.

Experts say let your children choose their after school activities, choose how busy they want to be, but watch for signs of burnout. “They will tell you, whether it’s through words or tears - or they’ll say, ‘when are we going again,’ or they’ll start screaming when you say it’s time to go,” says Kaslow.

What We Need To Know
Organized activities outside of a child’s school day certainly have their benefits: social skills, self-discipline, physical exercise and sportsmanship, exploration and enjoyment, to name a few. For some families, however, an over-scheduled existence may be fueled by a desire not to be left out or to build the resume of extracurricular activities that students and parents view as necessary for college admissions.

According to experts at Kids Health, even those parents who try to help their children cut back on some activities can run up against coaches who won’t tolerate absences and kids who want to keep up with their friends. The key is to schedule things in moderation and choose activities with a child’s age, temperament, interests, and abilities in mind. Here are some
simple suggestions:

Agree on ground rules ahead of time:
For instance, plan on kids playing one sport per season or limit activities to two afternoons or evenings during the school week.

Know how much time is required:
For example, will there be time to practice between lessons? Does your child realize that soccer practice is twice a week, right after school until dinnertime? Then there’s the weekly game, too. Will homework suffer?

Keep a calendar to stay organized:
Display it on the refrigerator or other prominent spot so that everybody can stay up-to-date. And if you find an empty space on the calendar, leave it alone!

Try to balance activities for all of your kids — and yourself:
It hardly seems fair to expend time and energy carting one kid to activities, leaving little time for another. And take time for yourself, to do the things you enjoy, and to spend time together as a family.

Create family time:
If you’re eating pizza on the run every night, plan a few dinners when everyone can be home at the same time — even if it means eating a little later. Schedule a family fun time, too, whether it’s playing a board game or going on bike ride or hike.

Know when to say no:
If your child is already doing a lot but really wants to take on another activity, discuss what other activity or activities need to be dropped to make room for the new one.

Prioritize:
If your child's grades are beginning to slip, would it be wise to sacrifice extra help for school for soccer, football or basketball? Getting them the help they need for school is critical to helping them to foster their independence, and tutoring may only be for one of the sports seasons for the year.

Remember the importance of downtime:
Everyone needs a chance to relax, reflect on the day, or just do
nothing.

Signs that your family and your child are overscheduled include always eating meals on the go, the kids are always tired, there’s a drop in grades, and constant complaints about going to practice or games. Make sure, despite their busy schedule, to keep lines of communication open with
your children. Use time in the car to listen - and to talk about their lives.