 In March and May, students all over Hampton Roads will spend a long Saturday morning hunched over a desk, wiping sweaty palms nervously on their jeans, brows furrowed as they bubble in responses to the questions that will determine their futures. Okay, maybe not their entire futures, but at least their college options.
Ah, SAT testing season. If your child's taking this test in the spring, now is the time to start preparing. A little knowledge goes a long way with test prep, and we like our students to feel calm and ready come test day. Share our list of pro tips with your child: 1. Get a good night's sleep. No amount of hail-Mary cramming the night before a test is going to improve your score. You'll be exhausted and prone to careless errors. Too much caffeine will just make you a jittery mess. Go to bed, set an early alarm so you're not rushed, and eat a good, filling breakfast. Have your ID and test documents ready to go so the morning is calm is stress-free. 2. Know thy enemy. Well, that's probably dramatic -- the test isn't your enemy -- but you definitely need to know what to expect and how to navigate the questions. For instance:
3. Slow down. Timed tests can lead panicky students to make mistakes that don't reflect their true ability. You are better off answering the questions correctly, even if you run out of time and don't finish completely. Put it this way -- if you finish only 80% of the questions but answer them correctly, you've done better than if you finish the test and get about half of them wrong. 4. Mind your answer document. The very worst thing you could do would be to skip a question and start bubbling in all the wrong answers in on your answer document as a result. Stop every few questions or so and make sure you're bubbling in your answer to #22 in the #22 bubble, not #21 or #23. 5. Mark up your test booklet. You're allowed to write on this, so use that! Cross out wrong answers, underline key words and phrases, write out your math memory mnemonics in the margin. 6. Be strategic with your time. Don't use precious minutes trying to figure out what a question is asking or how to solve it if you really have no idea. Skip it! You can always come back to the question later. One strategy involves categorizing the questions as follows:
What are your best tips for test prep? Leave us a note in the comments with your ideas! As we all know, the very best way to feel confident on test day is to be well-prepared with the math and verbal knowledge being tested. Let us know if our tutors can help you get ready! Just 2-3 hours of test prep tutoring, in your home and on your schedule, can significantly improve your score.
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 Many a mother has sighed at the sight of an overflowing, messy backpack. Pens, papers, red ink everywhere on our kitchen counters. We’re accustomed to seeing piles of graded papers make their way home often. While we don’t like the mess, at least this time-tested process afforded us the opportunity to review our kids’ work, discuss areas for improvement, and generally keep an eye on their academic progress. Keeping track of homework was also fairly easy to monitor: a paper planner, worksheets for homework, or even a scratch of paper where your son feverishly wrote down his assignments from the chalkboard as he raced from the classroom. Times have changed incredibly quickly. Now, you might see far fewer papers in your daughter’s backpack. She takes her tests and quizzes online these days. Apparently there are portals we can jump through to see her work, and there are electronic classrooms where her assignments are not only posted, but submitted. The grades are detailed online and you can see them, but you have to know where and when to look. It can be challenging to keep with up each teacher’s chosen online tools. Who has time to log in to four different places just to find out this week’s homework? Each school district in Hampton Roads uses a different online grade book tool.
Once you have accessed your student’s record through one of these tools, what’s next in keeping up with all the different programs and tools used in the classroom? Here are some great tips for staying in touch with your student’s academic progress in the digital age:
 You can then use it (or even better -- direct your son to use it!) when you’re in a hurry on a Tuesday night.
Tutor A Team wants to partner with you to make the most of your child’s academic journey. We will work with you to ensure you know the ins and outs of your school system’s online tools, and how to use them to monitor progress. Our tutors promote a “team” concept, where the parents, teachers, tutor, and student communicate regularly on goals and progress. A tutor can help you build a system for effectively supporting your child. What are your thoughts on how to maximize these powerful online tools to support our students? What tips do you have to share?  Maybe you saw this coming, or maybe it was a bolt of lightning out of the clear blue sky. Either way, there's no feeling like the sinking feeling you get when your child brings home a bad report card.
You might feel angry with your child, frustrated with your child's teacher, or ashamed that you didn't know or couldn't help your child. Those feelings are all understandable, but there are some very specific ways you should NOT react when you first lay eyes on that sub-par report. Here are five things NOT to do when your child shows you (or you discover) the poor grades: 1. Don't yell. The situation is already intense. You feel frustrated and upset, and your child probably does, too. Yelling only ups the intensity for all involved, and it usually causes your child to shut down. Even if your child lied to you or blew off major assignments, yelling on your part does nothing except communicates to your child that you're angry and out of control. If you can't have a calm conversation right away, let your child know that you'll discuss the report when you're feeling calmer and have had time to think about how to react constructively. 2. Don't lecture. When you're ready to have that conversation, make sure it's a two-way dialogue. If you go into "Charlie Brown's teacher" mode (you know, WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH), you're not going to learn anything about why this problem exists and what you and your child can do to fix it. Most kids, when asked in a non-threatening, respectful manner, will be able to tell you exactly what's going wrong and what they think might help improve the situation. But if you start the conversation with an angry rant about how your child is "disappointing you" and "ruining her future," your child will kick into a defensive, defiant mode of her own. 3. Don't blame the teacher. Even if you're child's teacher isn't setting the world on fire, help your child see where he has some control over the situation and what he can do to improve his performance. If he says, "I don't like how he teaches" or "He doesn't like me," re-focus the conversation on your child's role and responsibilities as a learner. Allowing your child to blame the teacher sets your child up to believe that his success or failure in life is in someone else's hands, and he doesn't have control over his life or responsibility for his choices. 4. Don't focus only on the negatives. Chances are, your child's report card contains good information, too. Maybe she earned an A in art, or maybe a teacher noted how well she works with other students. Find something positive to talk about so your child doesn't feel like all you see is what she can't or didn't do. If you really can't find something positive about the report, contact her teachers and ask. Just say, "I'd like to talk to my child about how she can improve her performance in school, and I'd like that conversation to include a discussion of her strengths and weaknesses. Can you share some positive observations, as well as your specific suggestions for improvement?" 5. Don't just talk about grades. Those grades matter. Of course they do. But they are only indicators of small areas in your child's life -- one subject here, one subject there, and most important, one moment in time. They are not permanent indicators of your child's character or destiny, or for that matter, your parenting. So when you talk to your child, instead of focusing on grades as the final outcome, focus on work habits, school routines, and daily actions and choices that can get your child back on track. Talk to your child about self esteem and taking pride in one's work and contributions. Research shows that focusing on grades, and not the growth and process by which those grades are earned, sets your child up to be completely unmotivated in school. Finally, if you feel stuck, please call us. We absolutely have strategies that can help your child get back on track, and we'd love to talk to you about the resources available for your child. What are your best tips for handling poor grades?  Ask any teacher or student about their favorite day of the week, and you'll get varied responses. Some will say they like Fridays, when the work week winds down and the weekend stretches ahead. Some will declare a love for Saturdays, when they've had a good night's sleep and have nothing pressing on the agenda for the next day.
No teachers will express enthusiasm for Sunday, and here's why: it's the day teachers spend getting ready for the week ahead. It's a work day. And while it's kind of a pain, teachers have figured out a secret that smart students would be wise to adopt. The secret is that those who do their Sunday work reap the benefits for the rest of the week. Sunday is a day to get ahead, get organized, and get on top of the tasks unfolding Monday through Friday. In other words, Sunday matters! Six reasons why Sunday matters to your student:
For some families, Sunday might not be the best day to make these things happen, due to sports schedules or church commitments. It actually doesn't matter if you do your "Sunday work" on Saturday. What matters is that students get the time to process the past week, plan for the week ahead, get organized, and invest time in their studies. What Sunday routines work best for your family? Leave us a note in the comments!  Last week, one of our new tutors sent us this message (with names changed to protect privacy), following a back-to-school session with her student:
I had an excellent session with my client, Becky, last night. When I first came, her dad said she was not happy because he had just yelled at her for forgetting her math homework at school. She was feeling like a failure. By the time we were done, she had gotten the math problems texted to her by a friend, we had worked on getting her planner and binder organized and we had gotten the rest of her homework nearly done -- all in good spirits. She was so happy, telling her dad corny states jokes I had just told while going over her map homework, and best of all, she felt so much more confident than when I had arrived there. I left feeling like she was ready to take on school the next day. Times like this truly inspire me as a teacher and validate why I love to teach. I had to share it with you since you are the reason I am tutoring right now. I am so happy to have an outlet for doing what I love to do most -- motivate and inspire struggling students. And there it is, the very best reason to get your child a tutor: "She felt so much more confident than when I had arrived there." There was a situation in that home that night that most of us are all too familiar with -- a stressed and unhappy child, a frustrated parent, and no homework getting done. By the end of just that one tutoring session, that child was relaxed, confident, and ready to tackle the next day of school. That's a priceless result, for both the child and the parent. Getting your child a tutor is an investment in her self-efficacy as a learner. You're not just trying to get her math homework done; you're trying to equip her with the skills and confidence to continue learning and succeeding on her own, long after the tutor is out of the picture. How can we help your child build that kind of learning mindset? Leave us a comment below, or give us a call today!  As summer draws to a close, many families in Hampton Roads are rushing around to get ready to go back to school. It can be an exciting, yet hectic and stressful, time for students and their parents. Back-to-school is one situation where it pays to be proactive, so consider these three tips for making this school year the best one yet.
1. Get Organized Think about your routines from last year. Were you losing permission forms? Was homework left behind on the kitchen counter? Were you rushing back in from the bus stop to grab shoes for PE? Was every morning a mad dash to make it to school on time with all needed papers and supplies? Start this year right by implementing a few systems to help your routines run smoothly. Decide where your child will do homework (hint: not near the TV), and stock up on the needed supplies. Set up a basket or paper tray (on the counter or mounted on the wall) where you can keep school papers and forms. Think through your evening routine and make a plan with your child to get school things organized the night before -- backpack stuffed, papers signed, clothes selected and shoes located, and everything ready in a designated spot. Keep a family calendar in a shared spot so everyone's on the same page. These are simple modifications that can really de-stress your mornings. 2. Get On Schedule Don't wait until Labor Day weekend to get your child's bedtime back on school hours -- that's too late! Start the shift now if you haven't already. You want your child to be rested and bright-eyed on the first day of school. In our house, we've been kind of terrible with enforcing a bed time. If bedtime is supposed to be 8:30, we find that pajama-selecting, teeth-brushing, story-reading, water-getting, etc. all add up to kids who are still awake at 10:00 p.m. Lately, we've been doing a "head to bed time," and it's working much better. Instead of shooing the kids upstairs at 8:28 for 8:30 bedtime, we start the routines much earlier, around 7:45. This gives everyone time to unplug from iPods and TV, handle their bedtime routines, and have quiet moments to read and talk before lights out. 3. Get In Touch with School Now is the time to think about any special communications that could help your child as the school year starts. If your child has allergies or special medical needs, get in touch with the school nurse. If your child has learning needs and has an IEP or 504 plan, get in touch with her teacher or the school's case manager and make sure that everyone is aware of your child's learning needs. If your child has a weak subject or needs remediation, get in touch with us! We can talk about back-to-school tutoring programs. If you can, consider reaching out to your child's teacher and offering to help with back-to-school set-up and parent communication. Even if you can't volunteer in the classroom, introducing yourself and staying in the loop is a great way to show support for your child's education. Teachers and parents, what strategies will YOU use to make this school year the best one yet? Leave us a comment with your great tips!  It's August, the time of year when everyone's thoughts turn back to school. While we still have a few (hopefully sunny) weeks left of summer, you need to start thinking about how to prepare your kids for a successful academic year.
For some kids, back to school is an exciting time to get some new shoes, shop for colorful supplies, and compare class assignments with friends. For other children, however, this is a time of anxiety and dread. Will I know anyone in my class? Will my teacher like me? Will I like her? Am I going to bomb math again? I barely survived Spanish last year. I know I'm not ready for Spanish II. I procrastinated on my summer assignments, and now I don't know if I can finish. You can address this kind of back-to-school anxiety with some easy steps to ease the transition in the weeks ahead. Here's what we recommend: 1. Keep a positive attitude. Even if you are also dreading school (and the ensuing homework battles), don't model negativity for your child. Be positive and encouraging. Remind your child of the good things, such as seeing friends each day and playing at PE. Tell your child that the year is a new beginning, and you are confident he can succeed. 2. Involve your child in the preparation. Let your child open the school mailers, and have her mark the calendar with important dates (such as Open House). Make a shopping list with your child, and when you can, let him pick out the colors of his notebook or the style of his lunchbox. Little things like this give your child a sense of control and excitement about school. 3. Ease back into school routines. If your kids have been staying up late and sleeping in, now is the time to start adjusting the schedule so you don't have to do it all at once on Labor Day weekend. Same thing goes with meal schedules and other household routines. Has your child been reading this summer? Make it a part of her daily routine now. Everyone fares better if the first week of school doesn't come as a mental and physical shock. 4. Consider summer tutoring. If your child's back-to-school stress is related to a history of difficulty in school, do what you can to make sure he starts of strong this year. For many kids, the right thing is a few hours of summer tutoring. This can offset "summer brain drain" and also give your child a jump start to the curriculum for the fall. Nothing eases anxiety like early success and confidence. We have learned that a little summer tutoring -- being proactive -- is more effective, less stressful, and cheaper than playing catch-up in September. How do you get your children ready to go back to school? Leave us a note in the comments!  We're super excited to introduce a new feature for our Tutor A Team community -- this blog! We have a wonderful group of parents, teachers, tutors, and students who work with Tutor A Team, and in that group, we have a lot of shared experiences and knowledge about what it takes for kids to be successful in school. Our goal with this blog is to bring you the news and information you can use to help your children (or students) achieve to their fullest academic potential. We'll blog about tutoring and school issues, our programs, and success stories from the Tutor A Team community. We'll also offer the best school tips for parents and students from our experienced tutors and teachers.
As we get started, let us know -- what interests you most? What kinds of news and information would you like to see on our blog? Thanks for being part of our Tutor A Team community! Let's keep in touch! |
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Tutor A Team, LLC
serving all Southside communities: Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Suffolk,
as well as Elizabeth City, NC
(757) 410-1919
jimwaldman@tutorAteam.com
serving all Southside communities: Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Suffolk,
as well as Elizabeth City, NC
(757) 410-1919
jimwaldman@tutorAteam.com
Let's keep in touch! Follow us on Facebook, read our reviews on Angie's List, and check out our blog.
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