Instilling the Joy of Reading in a Child

Educational experts agree that the more children read, the more they’ll enjoy reading and the better readers they’re likely to become.

Parents can play a key role in helping their child become a life-long reader by instilling the joy of reading from an early age. Educational experts recommend that parents spend at least one hour per week – or 10 to 15 minutes a day – reading with children as young as preschool.

Reading is an important life skill and source of great personal enjoyment. But reading skills and habits develop young, so it’s important for parents to encourage their children’s love of reading at an early age. Spending an hour a week reading with your children inside and outside your home can foster a lifetime of reading.

Instilling the joy of reading can start with preschoolers. The education experts at Sylvan Learning, the leading provider of tutoring to students of all ages, grades and skill levels, recommend that parents set aside time for reading aloud to their child while pointing to the words on the page as they are spoken - encouraging children between ages 4 and 7 to recognize words themselves.



Reading aloud continues to be important with grade school children, as it helps them to develop language skills. Encouraging discussion with a child also contributes to language development skills and can help with reading. Grade school is the time to introduce a child to the local public library, and expand reading to include newspapers and magazines. Parents can also designate shelves in their child’s room to create a child’s own “home library.”

Don’t forget to read outside the home as well. There are many opportunities to read to your child – and have him read back to you – as you’re running errands, attending events and dining out.

Parents can also take advantage of reading opportunities on the Internet. For example, Book Adventure is a free, interactive, reading motivation program created by Sylvan Learning and found online at www.BookAdventure.com. Students in grades K-8 choose their own books from more than 7,500 titles, take short comprehension quizzes and redeem their accumulated points for small prizes. Book Adventure also offers teacher and parent resources and tips to help children develop a lifelong love of reading.

Reading, Writing & Twilight

Motivating Children by Celebrating Their Interests

How can parents and homework compete with PlayStation and Edward and Bella of Twilight? The simple answer is that they can’t compete. However, parents can use these hot trends to motivate tweens and teens to learn more and, in the process, teach their children skills that will transfer to their classroom learning and, ultimately, lead to higher standardized test scores.

Writing in the journal, Neuron, in December 2009, Carnegie Mellon University brain researchers Marcel Just and Timothy Keller said that after just six weeks of intensive reading, students who had been poor readers were not only able to improve their skills, but grew new white-matter connections in their brains. This means that the brain can actually change its connections through learning and adaptation, and the study shows that white-matter improvements had more to do with how many hours students “trained” or practiced reading than how “good they were.” In essence, the more students read, the more enjoyable reading becomes and the more those skills are used in real-life situations.

Sylvan Learning has developed several techniques to turn the things students enjoy into “training” opportunities to promote a love of reading and help them build the reading comprehension and vocabulary needed for success on standardized tests, the SAT and ACT, and writing college entrance essays.

The first step for you, as a parent, is to identify what gets your child excited and to learn about it yourself. Read the “hot” tween books, watch the movies with them, and listen to the movie soundtracks together. Discuss how the book and movie differ. Did the plot change? Did the movie introduce new characters? In short, learn about the books and trends that
dominate your teenager’s world. Then, look for creative ways to add an educational component to your child’s favorite activities.

For example, if your teen can’t get enough of Twilight, leverage that interest to learn about geography and international culture. Ask her to identify locations from the books on a map – do they exist or are they fictional? Or, encourage him to find a “pen pal” in Italy to compare his life and everyday activities. Use this as an opportunity to learn new words in Italian and determine if your teen can guess the vocabulary word based on if it resembles the English pronunciation.

Discuss the similarity of Romeo and Juliet to Edward and Bella in Twilight. Ask your teenager to read Romeo & Juliet and compare the plot, the historical trends, and the story conclusions. By comparing and contrasting classic prose and trendy literature, students can further develop their critical thinking skills while obtaining additional exposure to new writers and new writing styles and practicing their reading comprehension for standardized tests.

Yes, even Linkin Park and Muse have lessons to teach. By memorizing lyrics or even writing their own, students can learn the importance of the written and spoken word. They can research the artists’ backgrounds and
find out the process to make a CD. Parents can combine these enjoyable activities with the basics of motivating a student – goalsetting,
rewards, and reinforcement. Plan out activities and classroom assignments with your child. Determine together the steps of the process and when the assignment will be finished. Sylvan recommends that you offer mini-rewards throughout the process to keep your tween motivated. Rewards can be as simple as a pat on the back or the ability to stay out an hour later on the weekend. When the project is complete, review it together, and congratulate him or her on a job well done.

The more your teen reads, the more he or she will know! All of the skills learned through these activities will translate into the classroom - and SAT and ACT success - by reinforcing geography, analytical comprehension, reading and research skills.

By joining in your tween’s fun, you’ll also demonstrate that learning takes place everywhere and that it is enjoyable.

For additional tips to instill the joy of reading and make learning a fun family endeavor, visit www.SylvanLearning.com.

Math Test Anxiety

A new survey of U.S. teens reported in Education Week reveals that students highly value the subjects of math and science and understand the important role those subjects play in their futures. Yet plenty of kids still suffer from math test anxiety, which effects learning – and performance.

“I mean, I can get it, but when test time comes I panic about the math parts because I’m afraid that I might get the wrong solution,” says 16-year-old Toni. “And you feel like you have to do well to keep up with everybody else and it just puts a lot of pressure on you,” agrees 16-year-old Sammy.

But the irony is, according to a study, all that worrying can actually lower test scores. Researchers from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas found that anxiety and worry comes from the same part of the brain that is used to take a math test – or any other test. Psychologist Ken Carter explains: “Because they’re fighting with that anxiety and that distraction, sometimes even at an unconscious level - having to compete with that and do the task decreases their performance.”

So, the more you worry, the lower your grade. And that problem gets even worse on a high stakes test, like the S-A-T or a statewide promotion exam.

Fourteen-year-old Mary Ellen has felt the pressure. “The more they talk about how it will affect the school and each person individually- the more stress it puts on the students.”

Experts say there are ways parents can help. First, it’s crucial their kids get a good night’s sleep, have them eat a healthy breakfast, and experts say, reassure them, it’s just one test, and worrying won’t help. “We want you to do well, but if you don’t do well, it’s not going to be the end of the world,” says education expert Stan Williams.

Mary Ellen’s advice: “Try not to stress about it too much, because if all you’re thinking about is how well you’re gonna do then you’re probably gonna mess up, because you’re not concentrating very well.”

Most students experience some level of anxiety during an exam. Causes of text anxiety may be linked to a lack of preparation, poor time management and study habits or worrying about past performance on exams, especially in relation to friends and other students.

Students can try these strategies to reduce test anxiety:
• Avoid “cramming” for a test. Trying to master a semester’s worth of material the day before the test is a poor way to learn and can easily produce anxiety.
• Make the most out of your study sessions. Study in a location where you can concentrate, get interested in the material, and give it your complete attention.
• Improving your perspective of the test-taking experience can actually help you enjoy studying and may improve your performance. Don’t overplay the importance of the grade - it is not a reflection of your selfworth nor does it predict your future success.
• If you feel very anxious in the exam, take a few minutes to calm yourself. Stretch your arms and legs and then relax them again. Do this a couple of times. Do some positive internal selftalk; say to yourself, “I will be OK, I can do this.” Then direct your focus on the test.

This Valentine’s Day, Encourage A Love Of Reading

Ready, Set, Read!

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, and to help parents nurture their child’s reading abilities, Sylvan Learning is offering grade-specific tips for reading at home. With more than 900 centers located throughout North America, Sylvan Learning is the leading provider of tutoring services to children of all ages and skill levels.

“Children who read regularly at home do better in school and become enthusiastic life-long readers. By encouraging children to read at home, parents can help their children establish an enduring love of books, transforming reading from a basic skill to a pleasurable activity,” says Stefanie Hickman, Center Director of Sylvan Learning in Clinton.

Sylvan Learning recommends that parents spend at least one hour per week – 10 to 15 minutes a day – reading with their children.

“Reading is an adventure that begins early in a child’s life and should extend beyond the classroom,” [Insert name, title] continued. “Children exhibit certain reading behaviors at a young age and by understanding and nurturing these behaviors, parents can make reading fun and motivate their child to develop a lifelong friendship with books.”

Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten
• Make cookies together. Read the recipe aloud to your child.
• Read directions to your child when completing a project.
• Subscribe to a magazine (Ladybug, Your Big Backyard, Zoobooks, etc.) to learn about topics of interest to your child They will be excited to have their own reading materials.
• Pick a storybook character (Arthur, Strega Nona, etc.) and pretend that character is coming for dinner. Help your child plan activities that character would enjoy.
• Help your child relate read-aloud stories to events in her life.
• Read stories aloud and act them out.

Grades One through Three
• Subscribe to a magazine for your child (Spider, Ranger Rick, etc.) to learn about topics of interest to them. Make its arrival an event.
• After reading a nonfiction story, ask why your child thinks the author wrote the story.
• Help your child create charts and posters about topics of interest .
• Read picture books by the same author (Tomie DePaola, Bill Martin, Jr., etc.) and compare and contrast them: How are they the same? How are they different?
• After reading a book, discuss it with your child – identify the characters, setting and problems in the book.
• Help your child recognize how stories are similar to or different from their life.
• Encourage your child to read various types of texts - non-fiction, plays, stories, comics and/or magazines. Ask your child to explain which type they like best.
• Introduce your child to the library and plan special library visits together.

Grades Four through Eight
• Help your child with the latest experiment in their science book. Talk through each step and discuss what you’re going to do next.
• Pick a different country each week, and challenge your child to learn a bit more about that country by visiting the library or researching it online.
• Research and select books about your child’s interests – such as a sport or hobby.
• Make a trip to the library a weekly “date” with your child.
• Read the newspaper with your child. Elicit his opinion about current events.
• Encourage your child to read series books (Harry Potter, Lemony Snicket, The Chronicles of Narnia, Little House on the Prairie).
• Create a family book club where you and your child read the same book and discuss it.
• Help your child find a favorite author. Have them create alternate stories for the author’s repetitive characters.
• Read your child’s favorite books.

Grades Nine through Twelve
• Read various types of directions (recipes, technical instructions, experiments) and determine the usefulness of the instructions to the reader’s life.
• Purchase a set of reference books, software or CD-ROMs for home use.
• Read newspaper editorials with your child and discuss them.
• Quiz your child when he has a test. This not only reinforces his note-taking skills and study habits, but also helps reading comprehension.
• Encourage your child to talk about the latest book they are reading. Ask them to share their favorite scenes with the rest of the family.
• Read classic works (novels, plays, myths, etc.) and compare the plot, characters, setting to today’s world.
• Read books by the same author, comparing and contrasting styles across the various books.

Sylvan Learning offers a free reading incentive program for children in grades K-8 at www.bookadventure.com. It’s fun and it’s free. Tell Book Adventure what your favorite kinds of books are (science fiction, comedy, mystery, Westerns), whether you like easy or challenging books, and – you can create personalized book lists from more than 7,500 recommended titles, take quizzes on the books and earn prizes!

For more tips and a Valentine’s Day Reading List, Contact your local Sylvan center at 1-800-31-SUCCESS or visit us on the web at www.sylvanlearning.com

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Beat the Winter Blues

With the impending snow forcasted for our area this week, we thought that we would share some of our favorite tips and suggestions to beat the winter blues with the cabin fever you might be experiencing shortly, if not already after last week's storms!

How did your child do in the first half of the school year? Were you pleased with his or her performance, or do you think there is room for improvement? No matter what letters appeared on your child’s report card, January is the perfect time to help him or her get excited about going back to school and learning.

This can be accomplished by creating an atmosphere in your home that encourages learning. Sylvan Learning offers a few tips concerning how to get involved with your child’s learning process and help motivate him or her in the new year.

• Have family reading time at least once a week. Utilize Book Adventure, a free Sylvan-created interactive, reading motivation program that can be found on Book Adventure. Students choose their own books from more than 7,500 titles, take short comprehension quizzes and redeem their accumulated points for small prizes. Book Adventure also offers teacher and parent resources and tips to help children develop a lifelong love of reading. A snowy day is a great time to set this up together and begin earning points.

• Set aside a specific time for homework and studying. Take advantage of this quiet time to sit with your child and work on your paperwork. This visually demonstrates the importance of “work time” to your child.

• If homework was a struggle during the first semester, set up a reward system for this semester. For example, deposit change in a small jar when homework is complete. As soon as the jar is full, treat the whole family to something everyone will enjoy.

• Refresh your child’s “study space.” Make sure that all materials, such as pencil sharpeners, erasers and extra paper are easily accessible and in adequate supply. When something is new and exciting, kids will want to use it. As one of our students recently commented after starting in our Study Skills program, he went out and bought a new agenda book because he knew he would be so excited about it he would actually use it.

• Create study plans. Have your child do his most challenging assignment first, while he is most focused, then have him work on easier tasks. Finish each homework session with a fun activity.

• Search the Internet with your child to learn more about topics being covered in school. Try TeacherTube (kind of like YouTube but more kid-friendly) for videos on different items from Social Studies or freerice.org to learn new vocabulary.

• Invite your child to participate in cooking or shopping to strengthen his or her math skills.

• Encourage your child to choose a classmate with whom he can study and swap reading books. On Amazon.com, you can download an app for your home computer or smartphone to read Kindle books, many of which you can also download for free from Project Gutenburg or other free sources.

• Get your child organized inside and outside of school. By being organized, your child will have plenty of time to complete all assignments, and she will also learn the value of time management.

• Talk to your child’s teachers. The second half of the year can be more challenging than the first. Find out if your child needs extra help in a specific subject in order to keep up with the class.

For more educational resources for children in grades pre-K through 12, please visit www.SylvanLearning.com or call your nearest center.

Clinton, NJ 908-638-6788
Hamilton, NJ 609-588-9037
Flemington, NJ 908-806-4010

Does TV Inhibit Reading?

According to the latest Neilsen survey, the average 11-year-old watches more than 28 hours of television a week; the average 5-year-old - 32 hours a week. And, new research suggests that all those hours may have an impact on their vocabulary.

Like most children, Zachary and his little sister, Brooklyn, like to watch television. “Usually I watch Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, Animal Planet,” says Zachary. Brooklyn’s favorite show is “Sponge Bob.”

The children’s parents try to set limits – usually an hour of television a day, sometimes more on the weekends. “I do think too much is not good because you are just kind of brain dead when you are watching TV. A little of the right thing can actually be okay,” says Lisa Busman, Zachary and Brooklyn’s mother.

A University of Washington study finds that the more TV that a baby watches, the smaller his or her vocabulary. In fact, for every hour of TV, a child learns six to eight fewer words compared to babies who never watch TV at all.

Psychiatrist Dr. Suzanne Starkey explains, “Television just presents material. It doesn’t question it. It’s the questioning and the
understanding that the kids really need.” She says the same rules apply to videos that claim to be educational. To learn, babies require face-to-face interaction. “When we’re learning about language, the back and forth interaction between mother and child is very important. That’s where the child will learn sounds, and that’s where the child will learn some degree of inflection.”

Experts say instead of passive activities, children of all ages are better served by being active – playing, learning an instrument, spending time with family, and, of course, reading, which is exactly what Brooklyn and Zachary love to do.

Nearly 40 years ago, a critic dubbed television a “vast wasteland.” The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is weighing in with its own opinion. AAP officials released statements that say television can have negative long-term effects, such as weight problems and lack of creativity, on children.

Nancy Beyer has pulled the cable at home and bans all television on weekends for her 12-year-old daughter. “It makes me use my imagination more than lots of kids do,” says Beyer’s daughter, Jessica.

Although Jessica’s mother hopes that the television ban will nudge her daughter to become more sociable, Jessica admits at times the opposite is true. She says she feels excluded at school when other kids are discussing what shows were on and she has to remind them that “we don’t have cable.”

Some experts say that by dismissing television, parents may miss some key teaching opportunities with their kids. Dr. Vincent Ho, a psychiatrist, says that parents should not let the television become a passive experience but should use it to stimulate discussion. He suggests that even “bad” television can be a good learning tool and that many opportunities to discuss what is going on exist.

Tips for Parents
A study completed by the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that 57% of parents with preschool children believe that television has done more good than harm. However, the opinions were different among parents with children aged 6 to 11. Their opinions were primarily based on the belief that a lack of quality programs for older children exists. Based on its study, the AAP makes two major recommendations for children and television viewing:
* Children under two years old should not watch television. Children under two need to receive stimuli from interaction with older people for proper brain development.
* Older children should not have television sets in their bedrooms. By
keeping televisions in common areas of the house, you are better able to monitor your child’s viewing.

While watching television can jumpstart discussions with your child, it is important that you encourage your child in other active and educational endeavors. The Medical College of Wisconsin offers the following advice for limiting your child’s television and other media intake:
* Ask your child to tell you what his or her favorite shows are and together predetermine which ones he or she will watch on a regular basis.
* Set limits to time spent on the computer when not engaged in schoolwork. More than one to two hours per day is excessive.
* Help your child to structure the rest of his or her time by looking for opportunities in the community, such as after-school sports, school-based clubs, scouting and school or community artistic endeavors (band, orchestra, etc.).
* Make frequent trips to the library and help your child choose age-appropriate books to read.
* Play games or sports with your child.
* Last, but not least, set a good example by limiting your own television time.

Over-Technology, Over-Tasked

An Associated Press/MTV poll of college students finds that being connected by technology 24/7 comes at a cost. While 57 percent of students surveyed said life would be more stressful without computers and cell phones, 25 percent said living without it would be a relief.

When it comes to multi-tasking, how much do students remember from
their studies when they’re also texting, checking emails and listening to their iPod? For some -- not a whole lot.

For teenagers, there’s a lot going on after school: e-mails, texting, blogs, television, iPods and talking on the phone...all while they’re trying to do their homework. The question is: does multi-tasking really
work, or are teens fooling themselves?

Some kids apparently can’t just sit down and focus on their homework at the
exclusion of everything else. “Well, I’m writing an essay about the American and French revolutions,” says 15-year-old Luke while sitting at his computer, “and I’m checking my e-mail and my Myspace [account] at the same time - and listening to my music.”

And while some kids, like Luke, say they can handle all these things at once, experts disagree. “Studies have shown that, when the children are watching TV while doing their homework, and they pick up their heads to watch a part of the program, they lose their focus on their homework and they start paying more attention to the television set,” says Bonnie Cohen-
Greenberg, who works with students with learning disabilities. And, she says, losing focus means kids won’t remember what they’ve studied.

“Well, the problem is, if you’re not really paying attention to something, you’re not really learning it,” she says. “So it’s not going to stay in your long-term memory. Many times, children can describe what
they see on TV while they’re doing their homework much easier than they can
describe the type of homework assignment they had - because the TV show is a lot more engaging to them.”

In fact, many kids get so absorbed in e-mails, texting, the Internet, and video games, they end up procrastinating on
their schoolwork. That’s often the case for 16-year-old Myles.

“I think, well, I’m going to do it later, after I get off the computer,” he admits, “but after I’m done with everything I’m so tired. So I end up going to sleep and I forget my homework. So I have to rush and do it in the morning, before class starts.”

Experts say that even young children should develop study habits that focus their attention. Set a goal, complete it and take a break. Why? Because schoolwork is their most important job.

“Realize that homework is a priority,” says Cohen-Greenberg, “and when they are doing their homework, to only do their homework. They can certainly have breaks. And when they have breaks, take a quick break - relax, do something fun - and then get right back to it.”

What We Need To Know
Many people, both teens and adults, think that multitasking is the best way
to accomplish a lot in a small amount of time. But scientific evidence says this isn’t true. Research conducted by David E. Meyer, director of the Brain, Cognition, and Action Laboratory at the University of Michigan, found that when people try to perform two or more related tasks, either at the same time or quickly switching back and forth between them, they do a worse job on both of them. Multitasking causes a kind of brownout in the brain -- there just isn’t enough power to go around.

Meyer says it can take up to 400 percent longer to do a homework assignment if you’re trying to do something else, like texting at the same time. The brain cannot process two different complex things at the same time. What your brain does instead is prioritize tasks. So if you’re listening to music and reading a book, your brain will concentrate on the music, and when that’s finished, it will focus on taking in the information from the book. The result is that neither task is done
efficiently.

WikiHow offers these tips to help control multitasking:
• Set up separate to-do lists for different tasks. Help your student create a to-do list to organize assignments and responsibilities by class and extracurricular activity.
• Identify the most important tasks (such as a paper that is due tomorrow) and work on that most important task first. Don’t do anything else until this is done.
• Turn off all other distractions. Shut off e-mail, the Internet if possible, turn off the TV, your iPod and your cell phone. Focus on that one task, and try to get it done without worrying about other stuff.
• If you feel the urge to check your email or switch to another task, stop yourself. Breathe deeply. Re-focus yourself. Get back to the task at hand.
• Take deep breaths, stretch, and take breaks now and then. Enjoy life. Go outside, and appreciate nature. Keep yourself sane.

Reposted from Connectwithkids.com
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