Why Not Sylvan?

Sylvan's easy. So are all those other tutoring places, such as, The Tutoring Club, Tutor Time, and Kumon.

They're easy because they tell you that they test your child and start their program where your child tests. They offer a preplanned educational schedule for your child, in order to go to the next level you need to complete the assignments in the current level. Some of these places employ credentialed teachers, reward good behavior with tokens, and have a comprehensive payment schedule. On paper these educational tutoring chains look like the perfect place for your child to get ahead in school.

What parents don't know is that however well your child does on their initiation test they are placed on the lowest level program. Hence, some children will spend 3 or 4 tutoring sessions completing basic level work that is too easy for them. The worst and most disturbing part of these tutoring facilities is that for the entire hour your child is completing worksheet after worksheet and booklet after booklet while being supervised by a paid adult. There is no specific instruction on what each child maybe struggling in. For example, a child who has a hard time with long vowel spellings will do the same exact worksheet as a child who is having a difficult time recognizing when to use the wh, sh, ch, th sounds in their spelling. Even though these are two completely different problems each child does the same work.

Specialized instruction is always better. Worksheets, computer clicking, and choosing abc doesn't teach a child. Always look into all the options for your child's tutoring needs and choose the best program, company, or facility to help and easy your child's educational experience. Just because you see that car driving around town or ads saying it is the leading tutoring company may not mean it is truly the best for your family.

Homework Time

You're in the kitchen preparing dinner, the TV's on, your toddler is playing with the train tracks in the Living Room, the dog is outside barking at the squirrels, the piano teacher is giving lessons to your preteen in the Family Room, and dad just got home. Meanwhile, your 3rd grader is at the kitchenette table trying to get his/her nightly homework done.

More often then not this is the scenario that I see in the average household. It's loud, busy, and sometimes chaotic. Although this may sound like your norm it is not the best scenario for your child when they are trying to get their homework done. When I meet with families like this one I mention the importance of having a desk in each of your children's rooms. Usually, the parents say, "Oh, we do." Usually, those desks are cluttered, the drawers overflowing, papers and books are unorganized, and there are important supplies missing.

Children need a quiet, clean, organized, functional space to call their very own homework time place. This place should have little to no distractions, a lot of light, and all necessary school supplies.

All homework spaces should have:
- plenty of sharp pencils with erasers
- one set of crayons, one box of markers, one box of colored pencils
- a dictionary
- a homework folder
- scrap paper
- lamp
-any necessarily manipulatives (pertaining to what your child is learning in class-ask the classroom teacher)
- safe scissors
-glue stick
optional:
- flash cards
- extra practice workbooks

The more personal and organized the space is, the safer and more successful your child will feel while completing each night's homework. Here are some inspirations for your schooler(s) homework time space.