Challenging students to New Year’s resolutions

Do you remember celebrating New Year’s Eve when you were still a child? Perhaps you have faint memories of staying up until midnight and sharing your excitement with friends, snacks and the T.V. But even that excitement never compared to the REAL New Years when you were younger…the last day of school. This is the time when the excitement really hits grade school students. Another year down – this means they are officially another grade older and let’s face it, grade school seniority is awfully important. The last day of school means months of sunny days without a class on the horizon. Without doubt, the school year is the calendar students live by and unfortunately that may mean that they consider the real New Year’s celebration as less important.

One way to get students excited about the New Year (the one in January that is) is challenging them to make a New Year’s resolution. This is a great way to hone in on a particular subject in school that a student is struggling with. For example, a New Year’s resolution could be to improve his/her math grade by an entire letter. Children love a good challenge and the excitement and determination of sticking to a New Year’s resolution could motivate them to seek out a tutoring service or even academic coaches to help them stick with their resolution.

Another option for a good New Year’s resolution is to challenge students on their reading capacity. Set a number of books that he or she must read before the end of the year or perhaps challenge them to read a certain number of books outside of their normal reading materials (newspapers, magazines, novels, etc.).

New Year resolutions are not for adults only. By celebrating the New Year with children, you can help them appreciate the holiday at a deeper level as well as challenge them to their own resolution. While it may not be as exciting as the last day of school, it is still fun and a great way to enhance their studying skills.

Merry Christmas

The tutors at Swan Learning Center would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas this holiday season!

Ways To Improve Your Kids Reading Comprehension

Books are Special Time
Turn books and reading into something special by taking your kids to the library, helping them get their own library card, reading with them, and buying them books as gifts. Have a favorite place for books in your home, or even better, put books everywhere.

Use the Dictionary
Let your child see you using a dictionary and encourage them to use it also. If they want to know what a word means, tell them to look it up in the dictionary.


Mind Tricks
You can give your child tips for figuring out the meaning of what he or she reads. Show your child how to summarize a story in a few sentences, for example, or how to make predictions about what might happen next. Both strategies help a child comprehend and remember. After reading a story together, think out loud so your child can see how you summarize and predict. Say something like, "I bet D.W. would have eaten some more if she hadn't known that it was spinach."

According to the American Library Association (ALA), "A child's early experiences with language contribute to healthy brain development and lay the foundation for learning to read when a child enters school." As a result, parents and caretakers are the child?s most important teachers before that child reaches school age. Basically, children learn better when they enjoy reading.

Tips For Teaching Your Kids Math

Teach Counting at a Young Age

Counting it is the foundation for math, and learning to count is the first math skill that any child learns. You can start teaching your child as early as 2-years old when counting is largely a game. Count with blocks, toys or any other objects and focus on repetition. Songs and nursery rhymes about numbers may also be helpful. Additionally, there are numerous children's books dedicated to counting and numbers as well as television programs and DVDs you can use.

Use Math for Problem-Solving

While multiplication tables and other math drills still have their place, the "new math" that is taught in schools today focuses primarily on problem-solving. By inserting mathematics into real-life practical situations, children can connect more with the material. Teach your child math as a problem-solving skill. Present problems that require math to be solved. For example, you could ask your child, "If I have five cookies and each of the three of you gets one, how many will I have left?" Pose only age-appropriate problems. You can gauge your child's level of comprehension by what she is learning at preschool, kindergarten or grade school.

Use Money to Teach Math

Most kids are fascinated with money, so it makes a good teaching tool when it comes to learning math skills. Money can be used to teach basic addition and subtraction. Play"store" at home with your children and use real money or play money to purchase different items. For example, you could ask questions like, "This item is $5 and this item is $3. How much will it cost to buy them both?" Later, take these games into the real world when shopping with your child. Put two items in your basket and give their price, then ask how much they cost together. Remove an item to teach subtraction. Offer positive reinforcement when your child gets the right answer. Even if he doesn't get the right answer, help him work out the problem instead of revealing the answer.