Tutor and Teacher Educational Resources

As much as our culture preaches to ‘live in the moment,’ it’s important we balance that sentiment by engaging with our rich history. Teaching kids about our history is important because our present day is a direct result of it.

Stonehenge exists as a blatant reminder that our existence is pre-dated by a world much different than ours. Using the monument of Stonehenge is a great way to open the door on conversations about our history with your child! Here are tips to get you started when teaching kids about Stonehenge.

What is Stonehenge?

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument existing on an entire landscape of ceremonial monuments. It is located in Wiltshire, England where its construction dates back nearly 5000 years. Some of the stones weigh up to 30 tons! Ask your child how they would move a stone so large without a truck or train!

Kids learning ancient architecture with Stonehenge

Stonehenge is considered to be architecturally sophisticated for its time. The stones are arranged with interlocking joints, something that is non-existent in any other prehistoric monument. And so the mystery begins.

There isn’t any concrete evidence of the purpose for building Stonehenge. When it comes to teaching your child history, sometimes it’s best to analyze many different theories and ask them why or why not that theory may be right. Here is a great documentary suitable for kids about Stonehenge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP2DlTwQuIY

Learn about solstices using Stonehenge

Today, one of Stonehenge’s most popular reasons for relevance, is its alignment with the sun. And by sun, we mean the changing seasons: the summer and winter solstices.

Here is a resource for building your own Stonehenge so your child can understand how it relates to the sun’s patterns.

Perhaps Stonehenge is how our ancestors observed the patterns of the sun? Maybe planting the seeds of what would become our calendar? These are questions and possibilities you can discuss with your child. After all, the calendar didn’t just ‘appear,’ it was developed based on a stream of acquired knowledge throughout the ages.

History as an opportunity to learn

Stonehenge, like any historical monument, is meant to act as an invitation to learn. Take the time to dig a little deeper with your child. Help them realize that the ground they walk on today was inhabited by many before them. Monuments like Stonehenge are a way we can discover a tiny piece of what life might have been like in the past.

If you don’t know where to start with teaching children history, we wrote a previous blog on Khan Academy— a great resource for finding kid-friendly history lessons! Here’s their resource for children learning about Stonehenge:

Finally, here is inspiration for a stonehenge lesson plan, so you and your private tutor can get a head start!

Learning multiplication tables. It’s almost like a rite of passage for children. If your child hasn’t yet come across time tables in their curriculum, you can bet they are coming!

Like our article on ways to memorize the periodic table, here are a few tips for learning times tables so your child won’t feel overwhelmed or confused when testing time comes.

1) Make a daily commitment

As it goes for learning any subject, cramming never really works. As soon as your child brings home their first times table task, you should begin regular daily practice. When you’re driving in the car, at the dinner table (a quick round will do!), or doing chores around the house– do a run through with your child! By making small daily commitments, your child will eventually get faster and more competent at memorizing them.

2) Repeat, repeat, repeat!

Since the majority of learning multiplication tables comes down to memorization, repetition is key. Yes, we mean the drills. Or mad-minutes, or whatever you remember them as. There is a reason this method has stuck around for so long– it’s effective! Here’s where you can create and print your very own multiplication worksheets for your child.

Also, see this article on our blog about photographic memory and helping to develop memorization skills.

3) Make it fun

Interactive online games for times tables might be what incentives your child needs to learn multiplication. Here are two sources where you can find a variety of multiplication games:

• Topmarks.co.uk
• TimesTables.com

4) Strategize

If the above methods haven’t worked, there are a couple of unique strategies you can use for learning times tables. And, keep a note that different kids may learn differently, which is why as tutors and teachers, we can use methods that focus on their learning styles. Read these two blogs on our site that discuss this in more detail:

• How Parents and Tutors Can Help Children Recognize Their Learning Styles
• Math Tutoring Tips for Children with Different Learning Styles

First, you can use music. Music is known to benefit brain function, so why not try it as a platform for multiplication? Interchange the lyrics of a familiar tune (ie; Happy Birthday or B-I-N-G-O) with numbers and sing away!

Also see on our blog:

• How music heals students
• Benefits of teaching kids music at an early age

Second, you can actually use your hands for multiplication. Although the practicality of this may be questionable, it’s still amazing how the numbers work out every time. Check out this cool step-by-step to learn how to multiply numbers 6-10!

Get those tables turning!

Teaching your child multiplication tables should be as easy as following the tips above. Chemistry or trigonometry might not be life-applicable for everyone after grade school, but learning how to multiply is a life skill your child will undoubtedly use in the future. It’s 10×10% the truth!

Looking for a fun science lesson that could make a difference in a kid’s future? Teach kids about the science of honeybees! These small, but mighty insects are responsible for some of our favourite fruits and vegetables and, for fostering the reproduction of many different plant species. They are an integral part of the world’s ecosystems, and unfortunately, their numbers have been falling in recent years.

There are two main reasons why it’s imperative children must be educated on sustaining the honeybee population:

1. Honeybees pollinate crops that provide us with a variety of food sources.
2. Honeybees pollinate a substantial amount of the earth’s vegetation (plants, flowers, trees) that have an effect on the entire food chain.

Our kids are our future. Learning about these topics not only make for great science lessons for teachers and tutors, it also could affect our future food sources.

Read on to learn more about these magnificent insects– hopefully you will be inspired to share with your child! Or, use this as a teaching resource to teach kids the science of honeybees.

Honeybees pollinate the food we eat

A plant is only able to reproduce seeds if there is a transfer of pollen from the male part of the plant to the female part of the plant. As bees go in search of nectar (to create honey) they visit a number of plants or flowers in the process. Through visiting all of these different plants, the pollen sticks to their bodies and is able to be transferred to the female parts of the plants they subsequently visit. Thus, pollen is able to travel from male to female, producing fertilization and seeds that keep plant growth going!

The above process is what makes it possible for a number of food crops to grow, since they aren’t usually able to pollinate themselves. Perhaps your child could imagine a world without broccoli, but watermelon or blueberries would be tough to let go. This list of crops that need honeybee pollination is quite substantial, so your child should be aware of the necessity of bee populations.

Honeybees sustain vegetation and wildlife worldwide

With reference to the process of pollination above, be sure to teach your kids that this doesn’t just apply to the food humans eat. Many animals in the wild also rely on the food sources of plants that are pollinated by bees. And not only just their food– many components of the food chain could be affected, discussed here.

Last but not least, honey is imperative not only for our sweet tooth, but, for fuelling the worker bees that go out and pollinate! The nectar they seek to make honey is what gives them their energy source to survive.

Life without honeybees: a desolate future for us all

When a child thinks about bees, they might associate it with the fear of getting stung (usually mistaken for wasps!), an allergy a classmate has, or a cute Halloween costume idea. However, it’s imperative that we educate children on just how important bees are in fuelling the world we live in. Eventually, this is so they can strive to make conscious environmental decisions as adults that won’t negatively impact the bee population. A lot of our livelihood depends on their survival!

Intuitive designs, and the logistical implementation of those designs, have truly made our world’s infrastructure the mega, modern giant that it is today. Thank the engineers!

Kids will learn plenty about the natural world in science class, but they don’t often get insight into the human-engineered world that we are very much a part of. Here’s how you can get kids interested in engineering, while having them benefit from the intellectual value that it offers.

Talk about engineering feats in the world around them

A great place to start is to point out what engineering looks like in real life. It looks like a bridge. It looks like the highways you drive on. It looks like the engine under the car hood. It looks like turning on your tap and having the water drain out of sight. Engineering is essentially involved in everything. But, a child may not be able to grasp vastness on that scale.

To really spark interest in your child, you can mention some of the biggest and most impressive engineering feats around the world. Whether it’s the tallest tower in Canada or a famed bridge in the USA, it’s important for kids to understand that humans with an idea (that were also once kids) were responsible for making these achievements happen.

Introduce games with an engineering focus

Games are a great way to get children interested in engineering. This site has engineering games for kids that includes fun building exercises, puzzles, and creative challenges:

Also, the game phenomenon Minecraft is being used to spark interest in engineering and science in an educational setting. This might just make an extra hour of Minecraft on a school night not so bad after all!

The value of thinking like an engineer

By introducing engineering to kids, you are also introducing a new way to think and process information.

Engineering has been known to develop a number of desirable skills:

• Problem solving and resourcefulness: Children can learn how to imagine the ‘big picture’ and solve problems simply and efficiently.
• Critical thinking and ‘reverse engineering’: This is being able to understand how things work. Being able to take things apart and know each piece’s function as it relates to a whole. We all know a telephone places a call after we dial, but how does it actually happen?
• Leadership and teamwork: Engineering is often a collaborative process when it comes to implementing ideas. Knowing how to work effectively with others is a huge component to any successful engineering feat.

If you have a young child especially, it’s likely the term ‘engineering’ will be a word they’ve never heard before. That’s why you should start talking to them about engineering early! This is so they can potentially benefit from the skills listed above and forever appreciate the human-made world around them!

In the current age of the internet, it’s no surprise that education and learning has found its way online. Khan Academy is a not-for-profit online learning tool. They are making learning more efficient and accessible by putting entire school curriculums into a simple, easy-to-navigate online format.

Khan Academy can be a useful tool for parents and tutors because it can easily gauge a child’s progress. As a child goes through the free online courses, parents and tutors can see exactly the kinds of struggles the child is having in real time. It can also be the tool that helps your child stay motivated in their schoolwork!

Have a tutor understand your child’s methods with collaborative online learning

One of the challenges that teachers sometimes face is catering course content to each child’s learning abilities. This is why private tutoring is important. It gives children individual attention so they can absorb a curriculum at their own pace. This is exactly what Khan Academy can help facilitate.

When a tutor is working with your child, the tutor hasn’t actually sat through the class with your child. Yes, they have your child’s textbooks and homework to reference, and are very familiar with the curriculum. They also have a wealth of their own teaching resources. However, they don’t necessarily get to see how your child is learning day-to-day in the classroom.

It’s a tutor’s job to come up with a customized learning plan and strategy for your child’s education. By having a child go through Khan Academy’s online lessons with a tutor, it’s possible that an even more customized learning plan will come to fruition for your child. This is because a tutor can witness your child’s approaches to problems, how they comprehend information, and how they fare when it comes to testing.

Get your child motivated in school by using fun online lessons with Khan Academy

Classrooms are already integrating laptops, tablets, web lessons, YouTube video resources, etc. With the onset of the technological age, more and more of free online education tools like Khan Academy are beginning to pop up.

There are no massive textbooks to lug around, unruly notebooks, or pencil scribbles. Khan Academy is a visually appealing – dare we say alluring – website that is so beautifully laid out, you almost feel excited to start seeing progress bars light up. So if you’ve ever asked yourself how to get your child motivated in school, a good starting point would be to explore the interactive realm of fun, online learning.

Teachers and tutors will do their best to keep things exciting, but learning starts and ends with your child– they have to find the motivation and incentive to keep going! An online learning program with Khan Academy might be the missing piece of the pie to keep your child consistently interested in their education.