How to Nurture Your Reluctant Reader
While you’d like your son or daughter to disappear into the land of Narnia or be swept up in a Harry Potter spell while reading, the reality may be the opposite of this for your child. In fact, they might even say they hate reading and when they finally sit down with a book, you…
Preventing the Summer Slide
Months away from school can lead to measurable learning loss in skills like reading. Teachers know all about “the summer slide”— students come back to school out of practice, maybe forgetting some of what they learned. For this reason, your child’s teacher may have encouraged families to make reading a summer priority. We’ve gathered a…
The Imagery-Language Connection: Writing Tips
Book reports, essays, and even short responses, can cause frustration, panic, and, sometimes, even tears for many school age students. And it’s no wonder. Writing is a complex task that requires a lot: good thinking skills, organisation, spelling, grammar and punctuation, as well as ease with a pencil, or keyboard. Writing can be particularly…
5 Tips to Make Mornings Easier
If you are dreading a repeat of last year’s manic mornings, it may be time to change up your family’s routine. Below, explore ways to make school-day mornings better. We’ve included tips for how you can encourage your child to make mental pictures of everyday tasks. The imagery-language connection is key to good thinking and…
How to Help Your Child with Homework
Kids with learning or attention issues can have a tough time with homework, no matter how hard they try. As a parent, you know the importance of completing homework and developing strong study skills. But it can be hard to know how to be supportive without doing too much. Students should get the learning benefit…
How to Set Up Your Child for a Successful School Year
For many students, back-to-school season comes with the promise of a fresh start and another fun and successful year of learning. They eagerly fill their backpacks with sharpened pencils and notebooks for each subject. But for students who struggle in school, their bags quickly get weighed down with anxiety, stress and waning self-confidence as another…
Kindergarten Countdown
A generation ago, kindergarten days were only filled with activities like finger painting, “Hide-and-Go-Seek,” making friends, and learning to be peaceful at nap time. And, while reading and spelling may have been introduced in year one, there was nothing like today’s pressure for students to be performing according to year-level standards. Sure, there is…
Holiday Fun: Language Comprehension Activities Using your Favorite Movies!
Besides being fun and relaxing, movies can also be a great jumping off point for valuable conversations. We’ve rounded up four favorite holiday movies and given you some suggestions for ways to talk about bullying, what to do in an emergency and how to prepare your child for changes in routine this holiday season….
How to Incorporate Reading into Your Summer Routine
During the school year, reading is built into a child’s day. They are reading from the board, assignment sheets and books throughout school and during homework time. Parents may feel challenged when trying to squeeze reading onto the summer schedule. No matter where your summer adventures take your family, it’s important to include regular reading…
How is School Really Going? | Tips for Using Progress Reports to Ensure a Successful Marking Period
“It was fine.” “We didn’t really do anything.” “It was okay, I guess.” Students can be notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to sharing how their day at school was. It can be hard for parents to glean how things are really going: did your second grader eat their entire lunch? Is your…