INSTEAD OF PLAYING FORTNITE INTO THE WEE HOURS, YOUR CHILD SHOULD BE SLEEPING!

We need a good night's sleep, so 

• we can focus better and respond more quickly to questions and problems
• we can learn more effectively and have a better grasp of complex information
• we can remember what we’ve learned the day before more easily
• we can think more quickly
• we may wake up with a solution to a problem or a new idea for a project

DOES MY CHILD NEED AN IEP OR A 504 PLAN?

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was created by the U.S. Department of Education to provide eligible students with special education ... so long as the student has a disability under one of the qualifying conditions. Each student who receives special education is required to have an Individualized Education Program (IEP). An IEP is written for one specific student, so the document is individualized. Some students have disabilities that do not fall under any of the qualifying conditions. In that case, a 504 Plan is available to provide accommodations. Both the IEP and the 504 are legal documents, and the specified accommodations MUST be followed by a public school and its teachers.

SUMMER - THE TIME FOR FUN, SUN, and TUTORING??

It may seem outrageous to have your student tutored over the summer, but contemplate this....

Many parents consider this the greatest learning opportunity because:

• there are few distractions from the "business" at hand
• the student doesn't have a full day of school plus homework
• any learning gaps in a subject can be more easily addressed during the summer
• in the absence of school, learning is less stressful and more fun

"WHEN WILL I NEED MATH IN REAL LIFE?"

“WHEN WILL I NEED MATH IN REAL LIFE?”

Here’s our answer to this common question - - -

We need math for:

• cooking (doubling a recipe, for example)
• creating a budget
• understanding and figuring out the cost of utilities
• figuring out miles per gallon when we fill our tank
  (The car’s computer doesn’t give us the actual amount due to idling. It’s usually off as much as 2 mpg.)
• figuring out discounts so we can get the best price
• understanding and figuring out our GPA (Grade Point Average) in school
• reading a pay check and determining whether we’re being paid properly

TUTORING HOME-SCHOOLED STUDENTS

Home-schooling has become a popular means of educating students. Though some parents are equipped to teach all subjects, some aren’t confident about their ability with math and English. We’re here to reassure you that, if you need professional assistance with one or more subjects, a tutor can help. Some well-known, corporately-owned companies will be able to assist with many subjects and will offer group as well as individual instruction, whereas Top Flight Tutor only does one-on-one instruction in an effort to meet each student precisely where s/he is, so we can offer customized tutoring. In a case where a parent wants us to teach the entire curriculum, we will work many days per week; when we’re supplementing or assisting with what’s being done at home, once a week may be all that’s required. Feel free to reach out to us!

MY ANXIETY HAS ANXIETY!

Anxiety is common among all of us; unfortunately, this includes our children.   When any of us are feeling anxious, our brains don't function as they normally do.  At home, we have many opportunities to defuse tension - - going outside, exercising, writing in a gratitude journal -- but in the classroom, if the teacher or counselor doesn't address anxiety with the entire group, individual students may not know how to cope.  Here are a few things they can do that may help:

• Taking slow, deep breaths will slow their heart rate and also help their muscles relax.  (It will be helpful if they don't wait to feel anxious to do this; practicing when they're not stressed will build the habit of breathing deeply and slowly all the time!)
• Visualizing a tranquil, favorite spot while closing their eyes and breathing deeply and slowly will also help.
• Tensing each muscle group (e.g., neck and shoulders, shoulders and arms, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves) for five-ten seconds and then releasing will enhance relaxation. They can do this from head to toe and should feel calmer.

When students have anxiety issues that don't improve with the above-mentioned activities, it may be wise to examine their eating and sleeping habits and possibly consult with the school psychologist to see if they qualify for an IEP or 504.  Those who do qualify will receive accommodations that will help them academically and emotionally.

THE "RIGHT" LEARNING STYLE + INTELLIGENCES = FUN!

After we meet a new student, our first task is to administer a Learning Styles Inventory. Many of our students don't know how they learn best, so it's enlightening for them and us to see if they are visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learners – or a combination of any of those three styles. Having an understanding of each student's learning style helps us avoid a "one-size-fits-all" approach to tutoring, so we can customize how we teach the student how to best learn the material. As we get to know our students, we also learn about their "intelligences," which are different intellectual abilities that we all possess. This differs from learning styles, which are the ways an individual approaches different tasks; our intelligences are different ways of processing information.

There are eight different intelligences: verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, visual-spatial, musical, naturalistic, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Although we usually don't administer an intelligences inventory, we and our students generally get a sense of their intelligences fairly quickly. Our goal is not to label a student, but rather to obtain as much information as we can to understand who our students are as human beings and how we can help them learn.

An example: Many years ago, an out-of-state friend shared that her granddaughter was struggling with learning her multiplication tables. When I questioned her about the girl's learning style and intelligences, she had no clue. I sent her electronic versions of the Learning Style Inventory and the Multiple Intelligences Inventory. In a fairly short period of time, they had identified her learning style and intelligences and, with a few suggestions from us, the girl learned all of her multiplication tables rather by dancing to and singing all of the tables. There were no flash cards - no fights - no complaints! She had fun memorizing the tables in a way that suited her learning style and intelligences!