A Parent's Blog About Parent Interests by our Tutoring Company

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Keep students learning during B.C. teachers strike

Susan Cumberland Published: September 5, 2014 Last Updated Date: May 4, 2023

Even though the B.C. teachers strike has delayed the start of school there are still ways students can continue learning in the meantime. With summer time coming to a close students might even be excited to get back into their school routine. Here are some ways to keep students learning during the B.C. teachers strike.

1. Set aside learning time at home

Since kids have been preparing to go back to school for the past few weeks, now is a good time to encourage some independent learning at home. Set up a station either at the dining room table or at your child’s desk for them to work on some educational activities. Math workbooks provide prepared pages for your child to work on, and an older child or parent can review their work and help make corrections. Students can also spend time doing silent reading and writing in their journal. Local homeschooling stores are great sources for finding workbooks for all grade levels.

2. Government funding during the B.C. teachers strike for child care options

The B.C. government has been providing parents with $40 a day for each child under the age of 13. This 40 dollars can be used for childcare or for educational activities that your family chooses. One great way to use the government funding is to arrange child care groups where kids can gather together to play and also do some group educational activities. Some neighbourhood babysitters may be willing to do group child care for neighbourhood kids. This will help prepare young children to re-enter the school setting once the strike is over.

3. Use $40 a day for private tutoring or group tutoring

Another way to use the government funding during the teachers strike is to use it for tutoring services. You can arrange for your child to have private tutoring sessions with a certified teacher tutor. You could also sign up for group tutoring with other students who are at your child’s same grade level. This will keep students learning and prepare them to get back into their daily school routine.

Regardless of how long the teachers strike continues it is always beneficial to encourage your child to do educational activities outside of school. Take advantage of the extra time you have with your children this summer but be sure to keep promoting learning in your daily routine. Once school is back in session your kids will be ready to go!

Literacy lunch box ideas for kids

Susan Cumberland Published: August 22, 2014 Last Updated Date: May 30, 2016

Coming up with new ideas for school lunches can be a challenge. There are fun ways to encourage young children who are learning to read and write to practice literacy skills even during lunchtime. One way you can help your kids get familiar with their letters and sounds is to create lunches based on a letter of the week. Here are some fun literacy lunch box ideas for you to try.

Brainstorm lunch box ideas together

If kids are involved in planning their school lunches then they will be more likely to eat their lunch. If you are doing a letter of the week theme then have your kids help you come up with the ideas for the lunches at the beginning of each week. Ask them to choose some fruits and veggies that begin with the letter of the week as well as some special crackers and snacks. Making sandwiches in the shape of an animal that begins with the letter of the week can be fun too! Kids can even help put their school lunch together the night before so they get extra literacy practice and will be anticipating the yumminess that they get to enjoy the next day at school.

Use letter shaped cookie cutters to spell words

Cookie cutters can be used for more than just cookies. You can use letter shaped cookie cutters to cut out all sorts of lunch friendly foods. You can spell out your child’s name with cheese or cut a sandwich into letters that spell a word. If you are following the letter of the week theme you can spell a different word in your child’s lunch box that begins with the letter of the week. Apple slices can be cut with cookie cutters and so can slices of lunch meat. Have fun creating literacy filled lunches.

Choose foods that begin with the same letter

Pack a creative lunch where every item in the lunch box begins with the same letter of the alphabet. Have your child write a list of all of the items that they can figure out. When they get home they can check their list and see if they were able to name all of the items that begin with the letter of the week. For the letter “M” you could pack moon shaped apple slices, a meat sandwich with mayonnaise, mustard and mozzarella, mango and melon fruit cup and a mint for dessert. These are lunch box ideas that keep your kids excited about lunchtime wondering what they will find every day.

Include instructions in your kids’ lunch boxes

Send your child a list of instructions for how to make something from the items in their lunch box. This will challenge them to read the instructions and follow them in order to come up with the final result that they can then devour. You could list the steps to building a sandwich (and pack the ingredients separately in little bags or containers). You could also provide the separate components for a yogurt parfait with fruit and granola. Your child can then follow the instructions of how to layer the different ingredients to make their delicious treat. Kids like to make their own food and this will allow them to do that- plus it will save you time when making their lunch because you don’t have to put all of the items together for them.

These are just a few literacy themed lunch box ideas to get you started. Get creative with your kids lunches and encourage them to try new healthy foods. If you have fun making your child’s lunch then chances are they will have fun eating it!

3 back to school tips for parents and kids

Susan Cumberland Published: August 15, 2014 Last Updated Date: February 2, 2022

Summer is coming to an end and fall is just around the corner. This means that school is almost back in session! Here are some helpful back to school tips to help your family prepare for the new school year.

1. Back to school tips to help you get organized

Use the new school year as an opportunity to organize your kids’ closets. Your kids can help with this task by going through their closet and finding the clothes that don’t fit them anymore. You could even turn this into a game and say for every five pieces of old clothing that you clean out of the closet you can replace it with a new outfit. All of the old clothes can be placed in a bag and donated to a local charity. Making room for new clothes by getting rid of old clothes should be a fun motivation for kids to jump on this first back to school tip!

2. Practice a school day at home

For kids starting kindergarten school is still an unknown to them. A fun way to help young children get ready for starting school is to play “school” at home. This can range from practicing to pack up backpacks to doing pretend school work at the kitchen table. Kids are excited to start something new, but they may need some help to know what to do once they arrive at their new classroom. Another important tip for kids is to practice following instructions without talking back. Teachers will expect kids to be able to follow classroom instruction without having twenty kids all talking back or asking questions at the same time. You can explain this to your kindergartener and say “when your teachers tells the class to sit at their tables and get out a pencil, you should follow the directions without talking.” Then you can practice this at home! This is also a nice way to get your kids to do their chores without talking back!

3. Get back into a normal schedule

Some kids stay on a pretty regular bedtime and rising schedule during the summer. Other families have later summer nights and enjoy sleeping in all during their vacation. If your family has gotten onto a summertime schedule then it’s a good idea to start adjusting your kids’ schedules at least one week before school starts. If you don’t get back on a regular schedule ahead of time then your kids will probably have a pretty rough first week back at school! You don’t want your kids falling asleep on their desks during silent reading time!

Going back to school can be a fun and exciting time, but it can also be a source of anxiety. Make sure you help your kids relax and prepare for the new year in a way that promotes positivity. Here are some more helpful back to school tips for reducing anxiety.

Prepare for the new school year with a Vancouver tutor

Susan Cumberland Published: July 18, 2014 Last Updated Date: May 4, 2023

Getting a Vancouver tutor this summer is a good idea for students who want to be ready for next fall. Especially because of the teachers’ strike in the Vancouver school district students may have fallen behind. By working one on one with a tutor in Vancouver or other Lower Mainland cities students can make up any missed lessons and even get ahead for the next school year.

How to find a Vancouver tutor

It’s actually easier than you think to find a personal tutor in Vancouver. There are certified teachers who will come to your home to tutor students in one or multiple subjects. Visit our tutoring services page to find a tutor in your area who is a good match for your child. We have tutors in Vancouver Island, Okanagan, Comox Valley and Fraser Valley as well as other nearby cities.

Reasons to hire a Vancouver tutor this summer

When you meet with a local Vancouver tutor they will be familiar with the BC curriculum. If your child fell behind during the past school year the summer time is a great opportunity for your child to catch up. Tutors are trained to determine what academic areas a student needs help in. You can meet with a tutor and discuss what would be good for your child. You can also establish a schedule of how often your child will need tutoring sessions.

Express your hopes and concerns with your child’s tutor

You should feel free to discuss what areas you feel your child needs extra help with. You can also let your child’s tutor know what you hope the outcome of regular tutoring sessions will be. A professional tutor is highly trained in monitoring student progress and will be happy to share regular evaluations with you. It is actually very important that the parents are part of the tutoring process. Don’t be shy when it comes to communicating with your tutor and with your child about what they are learning.

Private tutors help students avoid the summer slide

A common concern parents may have for their children is the summer slide. This occurs when students are out of the classroom and get out of the habit of reading, writing, critical thinking and learning in general. Some studies have shown that students are actually further behind when they start school in the fall than they were at the end of the previous school year. Having a tutor will not only help prevent students from experiencing the summer slide, but it will help them get ahead in their studies.

Students who spend time with a tutor over the summer will receive a number of benefits. They will get caught up in difficult subjects, maintain a habit of learning, avoid the summer slide and most importantly they will be prepared to start the new school year. If your child needs a tutor we can help get you started today.

Inspirational Educators on Film

Susan Cumberland Published: June 27, 2014 Last Updated Date: June 20, 2023

Countless books and films have been created to honor the dedication of some outstanding educators throughout history. Most of these educators experienced some amount of ridicule and disbelief as they attempted to teach seemingly impossible students do seemingly impossible things.

What are the common qualities of inspirational educators?

Inspirational educators first and foremost have to care about their students. Jamie Escalante is a perfect example of a teacher who went above and beyond his required duty as a high school teacher. Teachers, tutors and parents must truly care about students and have a genuine desire for them to succeed. Another common characteristic of these educators is the amount of time that they are willing to spend working with students. It is the patience and dedication of these adults that have made such life changing impacts on so many students.

A High School math teacher with perseverance

Jamie Escalante a high school teacher in Los Angeles in early 1980s was able to motivate his students to excel in AP Mathematics. Most of the students in his class were not interested in passing the class, let alone doing well on the AP test. He labored outside of regular school hours to prepare them for the AP test. This proved to his students that he wasn’t there to do the bare minimum, but he actually cared about his students and their futures. His story was so inspiring that the movie, Stand and Deliver was made about his class at Garfield High.

An inspirational educator who defied the odds

The movie The Miracle Worker portrays an outstanding personal tutor named Anne Sullivan who was able to help a blind, deaf and mute girl named Helen Keller to speak. Anne Sullivan helped Helen Keller to defy all the obstacles stacked up against her and become a forerunner for women and people with disabilities who desired to pursue education.

Graduation gifts that promote continued learning

Susan Cumberland Published: May 23, 2014 Last Updated Date: June 20, 2023

Graduation gifts can be a perfect opportunity to congratulate the graduate and help support them for the next step of their lives. Cash is a nice graduation gift especially when it is intended to go toward a college fund or future career. Sometimes, however cash gets used for pure entertainment rather than being put toward future learning. Here are some ideas for graduation gifts that will hopefully encourage and promote more learning post graduation.

Graduation gifts for readers:

1. Biographies of persons that the graduate has an interest in make thoughtful graduation gifts. As do inspirational books about entrepreneurs, well known scholars and life-long learners.

2. Books related to topics of future study. If a student is planning to study a foreign language or study abroad you could purchase them a book written in that foreign language. A language dictionary would also be very useful and appreciated.

Graduation gifts for high school graduates:

3. Gift certificate to a University bookstore or amazon.com. Tuition is not the only financial burden on students. They also often have to spend quite a large sum on required books and course materials. Your gift can help them cover these costs so they don’t have to stress about finances and they can focus on their education.

4. A laptop or gift card for an electronics store is a generous gift for students going off to University. You should specify that the gift card is specifically for an electronic device that can be used for learning purposes (not entertainment). An e-reader would be a nice gift especially since students are beginning to buy digital textbooks.

Gifts that promote learning new skills

5. Gift certificate for summer tutoring sessions are a great gift that can be used to prepare the graduate for the next step in life. Whether it is tutoring for upcoming courses or reviewing old topics that need additional study, tutoring is a valuable gift.

6. A gift certificate for music, dance or language lessons may give the graduate an opportunity to learn something new. For the serious students who haven’t had a chance to tap into their creative side taking more artistic classes could be a fun experience. Plus, using both sides of the brain is important!

All of these graduation gifts can be customized to the particular graduate depending on their interests and future goals. Helping a graduate continue their education is the greatest gift that can be given.

A popular Dr. Seuss book that is commonly given as a graduation gift is “Oh the Places You’ll Go”. It emphasizes that graduation is just the beginning of a life that will lead to many new places and experiences with opportunities for future learning, some inevitable failures and wonderful accomplishments. You can help the graduates in your life along their way to success by giving them a graduation gift that encourages continued learning.