5 Parent Tips to Increase Students’ Math Success

And Overcome Math Challenges Mathematics Awareness Month is held each year in April and a perfect opportunity to encourage the love of math in your children. In helping children learn, one goal is to assist them in figuring out as much as they can do for themselves. Here are top five math tips that you as a parent can start using right now, to help your child become an independent math learner.

1. Strengthen Core Skills – Effort in Math matters because math skills build in time. Miss one component and you will continue to have difficulties with math. As a parent challenge your child to become better problem solvers.

2. Leverage Technology – Technology should support math instruction, and today’s ‘Net Gen’ students find technology-infused instruction especially engaging, helping them gain an understanding of the underlying reasoning and computations used in problem-solving.

3. Instill Math Confidence in Your Child. – Praise your children’s academic progress. Tell them that you are proud of their math efforts even when they struggle. When students are confident in their abilities, they enjoy learning.

4. Make Real-world Connections – There are many opportunities for parents to make math connections to everyday life – and help students to see the value of math. Think of tasks that you do every day that can be ‘teachable math moments.’

5. Encourage Your Child to Take Math – Early and Often – Many students don’t take math classes beyond their school’s minimum requirements. But math offers critical learning skills that are needed throughout life. Children should take algebra early in their educational careers if they are academically ready. Students who do not take courses covering algebraic concepts early, risk missing important opportunities for growth.

Algebra is Fundamental It is now clearly understood that algebra is the foundation for not only higher-level math and science skills, but it helps lay a solid foundation for the technological world we all now live in. Looking for resources to check your student’s algebra health? Sylvan Learning is offering a FREE, online Algebra Readiness Check-up to help determine if your child is ready for the math challenges that lie ahead. After taking the screener, you will receive a personalized Algebra Fitness Breakdown, which highlights your child’s strengths, as well as areas that require more training. You will also gain access to free online resources to help your child get in tip-top shape for algebra!
To take the screener visit - http://letsgolearn.com/fit4algebra/

Good Attendance Matters

The holidays are over. It’s a New Year, and a time for renewed academic resolutions.
Here’s a goal that many students will find compelling and achievable this year: Good Attendance.
While academic goals take a while to show results—students organize, study, break down big tasks into smaller ones, and wait for grades and report cards to appear—maintaining a good attendance record is more immediate. It’s easily understood. Each day is a small achievement.
Good attendance is not an empty achievement, either. There’s a strong correlation between attendance and achievement, behavior, post-secondary schooling, and drop-out rates. There’s plenty of research, and our common sense backs it up. Good attendance numbers also tell us something about the school and the instruction that’s going on there.
Here are some ways to motivate students to keep attendance up.
Show you care. Good attendance is important to you as a parent. Show that you don’t approve of lateness, fake illnesses, or dodging responsibilities. Have high expectations. Your child should bereally sick before missing school. High fever? Okay. Lethargy? Unprepared? Not so much.

Communicate with the school. When your child must be absent, call or e-mail the school to tell them. Let your child see you do this. Now the school will know that they can expect to hear from you in the future, and your child will know that adults are monitoring his health and academics.
Schedule when you can. Help your child keep up her good attendance record by making routine pediatrician, optometrist, and dentist appointments for days when school is not in session. This won’t always be possible, but your child will see that you’re serious about school attendance when you try.

Have back-up plans. Snow? Car trouble? Alarm not working? Have back-up plans, so your kid doesn’t get the idea that any disruption is a convenient excuse for taking a day off. If you want a good laugh, ask a teacher for some of his or her favorite absence excuses. You won’t believe what you hear.

Don’t be an accomplice. Don’t allow your child to talk you into making excuses for him. Follow your instincts. Your job is to teach him responsibility and self-discipline. His job is to go to school. Don’t upset this balance of power.

Show why good work habits are important. Good attendance is a good habit. Help your child by establishing helpful routines, having a study area, monitoring her homework, keeping her on schedule for important school projects, and celebrating success. Show how you maintain good work habits to be successful in your job or other important activities.

Watch confidence rise. Good attendance isn’t the only criterion for success, but its part of a wide range of characteristics of highly-achieving students. Watch your child’s confidence rise as he sees more success, starting with the perseverance needed for good attendance.

Don’t give up. Like so many other child-rearing goals, staying positive is key. Let your kid know that his health is paramount, but his academic achievement isn’t far behind. Absences from school are going to get your strictest attention.

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.

Seven Days of Holiday Fun and Learning For the Last Seven Days of the Year

Like many parents, we spent this past weekend gorging on turkey in preparation for that second great American holiday ritual, shopping on Black Friday! With the coming and going of this past weekend, it also means that December is just around the corner. This December, schools across our region will be closed for the last week for the holidays, and so will your local Sylvan. So, Mom and Dad, what are you to do with your kids during the last seven days of 2010?

Once the presents have been unwrapped and the initial excitement of new toys and games has faded, how do you keep your children busy for the rest of their holiday vacation? While children are out of school for the holidays, parents can keep children learning with fun and engaging projects throughout the last seven days of the year – from December 25 through December 31.

“Holiday vacation is an ideal time for parents to help instill a joy for learning in their children and show that they enjoy learning themselves,” said (Insert name, title) for Sylvan Learning. “Sharing fun, learning activities can help children improve their attitude toward learning and provides a great opportunity for busy families to spend quality time together during the holidays.”

Seven Days of Activities for Family Learning Fun is a free, activity booklet available online from Sylvan Learning Center at http://tutoring.sylvanlearning.com/learning-activities/brochure.cfm, and includes seven days of fun learning activities that the whole family can enjoy. Interactive, educational projects detailed in the booklet help nurture reading, writing, research and math skills. Activities for the final seven days of the year include:

December 25 - Start a memory book. Create a memory book of your family’s favorite holiday memories. Purchase a photo album and decorate it together.

December 26 - Family reading. Spend at least 10 to 15 minutes a day reading to your children. For help selecting great family books, visit Book Adventure - a free, reading motivation program created by Sylvan Learning - at www.bookadventure.com.

December 27 - Family history. Create a family tree and incorporate pictures of aunts, uncles and grandparents. Ask family members about what they were like when they were children.

December 28 - Make your own play dough (try this website: http://fun.familyeducation.com/sculpting/recipes/37040.html ). Use the play dough to make letters, shapes, numbers or figures. Create games using the figures you have created.

December 29 - Dress up as your favorite book character. Choose your favorite book character and play dress-up, re-enacting your favorite parts in the book.

December 30 - Have a book-inspired feast. Bring ideas from literature to life by experimenting with foods from classic books. For instance, make your morning breakfast memorable with Green Eggs & Ham by Dr. Seuss.

December 31 - Explore nature. Take a walk with the whole family to explore nature. Use the Internet to learn more about this time of year and the plants and animals in your area. Or, check out books about nature and local foliage from your public library.

For more information on fun learning activities from the experts at Sylvan Learning , or to download Sylvan's free activity booklet, Seven Days of Activities for Family Learning Fun, log onto http://tutoring.sylvanlearning.com/learning-activities/brochure.cfm or call 1-800-31-SUCCESS.

GIVE THE GIFT OF LEARNING THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

Inspire Your Child by Choosing Toys and Games That are Fun and Educational

With toy store shelves overflowing and catalogues filled with the latest gadgets, the search for the perfect toys and games can be a daunting task for parents. If you're anything like me, you are probably already starting your holiday shopping with all of the great deals already hitting the stores. Luckily, the holiday season comes only once a year and it provides a great opportunity for parents to give the gift of learning that will last throughout the year. Sylvan Learning, the leading provider of tutoring to students of all ages, grades and skill levels, encourages parents to make the most of toys and games to inspire their children to learn through play this holiday season.

While toys and games are fun for children, they also help kids develop valuable skills including imagination, creativity, problem solving and confidence. When selecting educational toys and games, parents are encouraged to consider gifts that are appropriate for their children’s ages and skill levels as well as their specific interests. In our center, we allow students to take short "Brain Breaks" to play these same types of games. Not only are they continuing to learn through play, it also allows them time to bond with their teachers and the directors at the center as well.

Children who regularly engage in play are more likely to be emotionally, mentally and physically fit. From a very early age, infants use play to develop motor skills, recognize shapes and colors and improve hand-eye coordination. As children grow, they become more interested in formal games with rules, opponents and explicit instructions.

Children are encouraged to engage in a variety of play activities to foster learning, but parents have an important role in play, too. Sylvan recommends that families make regular time for play. For example, a weekly game night teaches that playing is a part of everyone’s routine, and instills the basic rules of fair play and teamwork.

Because each child is unique, with different learning styles and academic needs, it is important to personalize the learning process. Children of all ages learn in different manners, so parents should be aware of their children’s learning needs and how it relates to play. Sylvan Learning offers the following suggestions to help parents identify toys that encourage active learning and make the most of play this holiday season:

Pre-School Students

+ Consider puzzles to help build critical thinking and reasoning skills.
+ Pre-school students are beginning to recognize colors, letters, textures and sound. To encourage these skills, look for magnetic letters and numbers, flash cards or games like See ‘n Say™ or A to Z Puzzles™.
+ To develop motor skills, try activity mats, building blocks and Tinker Toys™. As infants become more advanced, parents should find more challenging games and activities and recognize when it’s time to retire certain toys.
+ For games that help children learn to match pictures/shapes and practice counting, look for Big Deal® Slapdragon™ Card Game or Imperial™ Kids - Go Fish! Card Game.
+ To spark creativity and imagination, consider arts and crafts kits and toy musical instruments. With a Kids’ Play Workshop® Itty Bitty Puppet Show™ children can have fun creating, decorating and playing with finger puppets.
+ Make time for independent play to help children develop personality, foster motor skills and stimulate creativity.
+ Younger children are easily overwhelmed, so parents should consider rotating toys regularly, and limiting the number of toys at playtime.

Elementary School Students

- Elementary school-aged students are beginning to understand and use strategy and probability skills. To foster these developments, look for board games and computer games, including Connect Four®, Scrabble, Monopoly™ and The Game of Life™.
- Science kits, chemistry sets and telescopes help develop critical thinking skills.
- Games like Talkin’ Tango®, Blurt!™ and Petcha Didn’t Know® encourage children to pay close attention and practice listening and concentration skills.
- Parents need to recognize their child’s personal learning style, strengths and weaknesses. If children struggle with math, parents can encourage math games and activities to further develop their math skills. If science is a challenge, make science fun with a chemistry set.
- To build, boost and bolster self-esteem, play The Self-Esteem Game™.
- Consider project-based toys such as model airplanes, ships or jewelry kits to help improve fine motor skills. Not only do these projects reinforce motor skills, children also learn to follow instructions and have a project they can work on for days.
- Make playtime a regular part of a child’s routine – at school and at home. Teachers make time for playtime at recess, and parents should make sure playtime is incorporated into their child’s day.

Middle and High School Students
* Teenagers don’t like to think of it as playtime, but even older children are still learning through play as they enter their high school years.
* Science kits become more advanced for older children – and provide an opportunity for children to experiment, be creative and follow directions.
* Encourage a combination of group and individual play – team sports like a baseball or soccer team and individual activities like reading, scrapbooking or journal writing.
* Help children improve vocabulary skills with board games such as Apples to Apples® and Buzzword®.
* At this age, students may be set in their ways, so if parents want to encourage learning through play, pay close attention to their habits and hobbies. Whether it is music, reading, or painting, match toys to your children’s interests.

Ask the Directors of the Sylvan where your students may attend for suggestions on the games or activities that your children enjoy while they are learning.