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

If you are considering whether or not to place your child into French Immersion the following post may be helpful to you.  There are a variety of positive outcomes of French Immersion programs as well as some challenges.  If you are concerned that your child will have difficulty keeping up in a French Immersion environment, French Immersion tutoring is also available and can be very helpful.

The benefits of French Immersion programs

Higher test scores:

In the year 2000 research done by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) shows that students in French Immersion programs have significantly higher reading test scores than students who were in non-immersion programs.

More diverse learners:

Students in French Immersion programs tend to have a more diverse approach to learning and a greater appreciation of different cultures.  This is especially beneficial for students living in Canada where both French and English are the official languages.

Higher employment rates:

According to the 2006 census the employment rates for bilingual Canadians who are proficient in both French and English is higher than the employment rates of Canadians who speak only one of the official languages.  This is significant, and is a major reason why parents choose to enroll their children in French Immersion programs.

Economic benefits:

Another noteworthy statistic from the 2006 census is that Canadians who achieve bilingual status have a higher average income than those who only speak English or French.  This is true not only in Quebec but in a total of 6 of the provinces.

The challenges of French Immersion programs

Lack of resources for students with special needs and learning disabilities

Ideally teachers should be using various teaching strategies to accommodate all of the students in French Immersion classrooms. However, the issue in most French Immersion classrooms is that there are not always the resources to address all of the students’ needs.  According to Dr. Callie Mady once we identify the barriers that prevent students with learning disabilities from getting the proper instruction, then we can address those issues “with the goal of moving forward to greater inclusion of students with learning disabilities.”

Lack of retention of the French language

Students tend to lose their French language skills within a few years of leaving the French Immersion programs due to lack of use.  Surveys have shown that the percentage of Canadians with the knowledge of a second language (French) drops from 18.3% for students ages 15-19 to 9.4% for adults ages 25-29.

Additional learning support and French Immersion Tutoring

Removing students from French Immersion programs isn’t always the best solution

Although the common concept is that if students are struggling academically in a French Immersion school then they should be switched into an English only classroom.  Research shows that this is not always the best solution and that students who are switched into an English only classroom will end up doing worse than if they had stayed in French Immersion. Research by Fred Genesee shows that students with learning difficulties end up doing about the same in English classrooms and French Immersion classrooms.

How can French Immersion Tutoring help students in French Immersion programs?

One way to address the need for additional learning support is to arrange for students to meet regularly with a French tutor.  There is French Immersion Tutoring available that supports what the student is learning in the classroom.  French tutors can provide students with additional instruction and activities geared specifically toward that student’s particular learning needs.  Students with learning disabilities will benefit from personal French tutoring regardless of if they are in a French immersion program or in a core French program in an English speaking school.

Since French is one of Canada’s official languages, even if your child is not in French Immersion, chances are they will still study French at some point.  Regardless of whether you decide to put your child into a French Immersion program or not you will still have to consider what you can do to facilitate your child’s language learning.  Extra language practice outside of school is important to becoming fluent in French, so anyway you can encourage language practice is helpful!

Decorating the Christmas tree means something a little different in all families.  Usually it involves picking out a tree, somehow getting it home and setting it up in the living room and then pulling out the dusty box of ornaments from the attic so you can begin to hang all of the ornaments on the tree.  Some of the ornaments are ones you’ve been collecting for years and there may even be some that have been passed down from previous generations.  Some families like to make new decorations for the tree every year, like popcorn garlands and handmade ornaments.  This year making decorations can be turned into some neat holiday math activities for kids that involve making new geometric Christmas ornaments.

Holiday math activities for making geometric ornaments

Making geometric Christmas ornaments is a fun project and it will get kids to participate in holiday math activities without even realizing that they are learning something!  There are some great online tutorials for geometric paper ornaments, folded paper polyhedrons, Himmeli ornaments made from straws and string and this more difficult wooden diamond ornament that you can refer to in order to make your own geometric ornaments. These holiday math activities can be adapted for various ages according to each child’s understanding of shapes and geometry.  You can also give your kids creative license to come up with their own ornament designs out of different geometric shapes.

Making decorations using patterns are simple holiday math activities for kids

Stringing colored beads with popcorn or other craft materials onto a string to make a garland is a simple activity that can be done by children of all ages.  It can be turned into a math lesson about making patterns.  You can help your child to make a pattern like “2 red beads, 3 popcorn pieces, 2 green beads, 3 popcorn pieces” that repeats over and over again. This will help them to practice their fine motor skills, counting skills and help them start to see simple patterns.

Holiday math activities to do with colored ball ornaments

You can do a number of holiday math activities when hanging basic colored ball ornaments on the tree.  For young children you can have them count the number of green balls, red balls, yellow balls etc. You can ask them if there are more green balls than red balls or vice versa.  For older children you can practice fractions by asking them what fraction of the colored balls are yellow? These are holiday math activities that can be casually incorporated into your Christmas tree decorating.

These holiday math activities are simple, but they will keep your kids’ brains active while they are out of school during the holidays.  If you have any other holiday math activities please share them in the comments! Happy holidays and happy decorating!

If you are looking for some ideas for educational gifts for kids that are related to math and science here are some great gift ideas.

Educational gifts for kids that promote science learning

Science experiment kits are wonderful educational gifts for kids.  Kids love seeing what will happen as they follow the instructions for an experiment.  They might think a chemical reaction is magic at first, but as they learn about the science they will begin to understand why the science experiment has certain results.  Scientific books about animals make great educational gifts for kids who love animals.  There are science related books available for almost any subject area that kids could possibly be fascinated by.

Educational gifts for kids who want to be future engineers

Building sets that encourage kids to follow directions like LEGO sets and K’NEX building sets are fantastic educational gifts for kids who dream of becoming an engineer.  Building model airplanes, racecars and trains are also wonderful ways for kids to develop fine motor and building skills.

Educational gifts for kids with math and science learning disabilities

If you know a child who has a learning disability you might want to find an educational gift that provides the proper support and is geared toward the right level. Talk to your child’s teacher, science tutor or math tutor to find out if they have any other recommendations that would make great educational gifts for kids with learning disabilities.  There are some computer games like one program called Number Sense that uses fun games in order to help students develop basic math skills.

Finding educational gifts for kids who are gifted math and science leaners

Children who are gifted learners when it comes to learning math and science will be happy to receive an educational gift that will challenge them outside of what they are learning in school.  Giving a gifted student a fun math puzzle, brainteaser or a science themed toy is a  fun way for them to embrace their love for math and science.

Gift certificates for tutoring sessions

If you can’t decide on an educational gift for the students in your life you could always give them a special gift certificate for tutoring sessions.  Tutoring can be beneficial for all students regardless of their abilities.  Students can get the extra help they need from a math tutor or a science tutor or if they are gifted learners they can spend tutoring sessions exploring some exciting new subjects that interest them.  If you are interested in giving a child a gift certificate for tutoring sessions you can contact School is Easy tutoring company at 1-877-ITS-EASY.

To homeschool or not to homeschool?

When children become of school age, you as parents are faced with a decision; what school should you send your children to? Is a private school or public school a better fit for your child or is homeschooling the best for your family? What if you didn’t have a choice or the right to homeschool your children?

Homeschooling in Canada

In Canada people have the right to homeschool and it is quite common for families to do so.  There are different provincial regulations and standards for each province. These standards ensure that children who are home schooled receive an equivalent education as children in public schools. In some countries there are actually laws in place that prohibit families from homeschooling their children.

In Germany, parents do not have the right to homeschool their children

German law states that parents cannot choose to withhold their children from attending public schools and they do not have the right to homeschool their children. The government strongly enforces the mandatory attendance of public schools even to the extent that they will remove children from their parents in order to force them to receive a state education.

Homeschooling families fighting for the right to homeschool

At least two German families have been in the news because they chose to homeschool their children. In one case, the Romeike family moved to the United States seeking asylum so they could freely continue to homeschool their children. Originally they were granted asylum, but more recently asylum has been denied and they are no longer able to stay legally in the United States.

The Wunderlich family has been fighting for their right to homeschool for years and has paid thousands of dollars in fines to the government for this reason. Apparently the fines were not enough, and the government recently removed four of the children from their parents and will not let them be reunited until after a court hearing. The consequences for refusing to abide by these strict educational laws can result in the parents going to jail. This seems extreme, but yet it is happening in a country that is not so different from our own.

Do you think parents should have the right to homeschool their children?

Parents choose to homeschool for different reasons. Some families homeschool their kids because of their religious beliefs, others simply feel their children learn better in a homeschooling environment.  Learning is an amazing thing that can happen just about anywhere. As long as parents are abiding by the governmental regulations for schools they can provide the same education to their children within the home. Do you think parents should have the right to homeschool their children?