There are many different reasons to love flash cards. Maybe you haven’t found your reason to love flashcards yet and think they are very boring. Here are some of the reasons that we love flashcards and thing that you should too. Let’s start off with why flashcards are important. There are tons of articles online talking about flashcards and what they can do for you as a student. In case you missed all these great articles, check out our list of reasons to use flashcards… Study flashcards burn information into the brain as they engage active recall. They aid in spaced repetition. If you’re unfamiliar with the idea of spacing in learning, it basically involves spacing learning events apart rather than massing them together. They activate metacognitive faculties. An example of this is when you believe something to be true and suddenly find out that it isn’t true. Because the answer shocked you, it has become ingrained in your memory and has deepened the learning association. This type of self-reflection is known as metacognition. They are a method of self-testing. They enhance retention. They improve comprehension skills. They allow for visual learning. With improved learning comes better exam results. Now that you know the importance, it is time to make flashcards! There is a great article online titled “8 Ways to Create Better Flashcards”. Here is some ideas from this great article: Use Pictures. For best results use pictures with words. More is Better. Create a variety of cards of the same thing to help you remember it in different ways. Keep it Simple. Sometimes you may be tempted to group things together in categories. This makes it harder to remember stuff. Try to keep the cards to 1 thing instead of grouping them together. When you’re right, you’re right. Sometimes you have words that are synonyms. As long as you get one of them, call it a win. Eventually you will remember both words. Opposites Attract. Don’t let them. Using phrases like the opposite of hot is _____ are a bad idea. This will not help you remember the words. It will only confuse you. Keep it Short. Keep your questions simple and direct. Our brains are lazy will try and find the easiest way to remember the thing on the card and forget the rest. Learn, then memorize. Understand what you’re teaching yourself before you memorize it. Be careful with corrections. If you use cards like ones that have you fix the error, your mind may remember the error in the future instead of the correct thing. There are many ways to make using flash cards fun. A fun article “Becoming a Flash Card Master” lists cool ways to make flashcards more fun. One of the things this article talks about it using a scorecard to keep track of scores while playing games with the flashcards to make it more interesting. Make a game out of flashcards and have a competition to see who can get the highest score! Here are 5 games they wrote about: The Magic Show The Quick Flip The Hint/ Gesture Game The Slow Reveal The Pictionary
Being a teenager has its pitfalls, which can include overwhelming pressure and stress with school and grades. Classes become more difficult and teachers often demand a tremendous amount of general homework, projects, and reports to be completed. As a parent, it is imperative that you be there for your high school student to make sure your child performs well to help with college and beyond, even if extra help may be needed. High school is a common time for tutoring to be needed. Here are 7 strong signs that your high school student needs a tutor… Different methods: Times have changed and so have the teaching methods they use in schools. You may know how to get the answer yourself, but do you know how your child is being taught to get the answer? Your child may be learning how to do things differently than you did them. This will make it harder for you to help them when you don’t know the current methods being taught. It Has Been Too Long Or You Do Not Remember Enough To Help: If your child is studying long division or fractions and those aren’t something that you deal with on a daily basis, then it may just have been too long since you’ve done some of these things for you to be the best tutor for your child. Could you look at a book and remind yourself. Maybe math wasn’t your thing or you don’t remember how to do signs and cosigns. You can look over the worksheet your child brings home, but you weren’t in class with them. Even if you were getting the concept across to your child, if you don’t really understand how they are trying to do it, then it may not work. Tutors will have several different ways to approach a subject in order to help your child. Need A Someone To Help Who Has More Patience: Let’s face it, our children know how to push our buttons and make us mad. Often we do not have as much patience with our children as we would like. I know there are times when I have more patience with other people’s children than I do with my own. This is where a professional tutor come is. This is what they do. Your child will learn better if they have someone that is more patient with them. Plus, maybe it is just me, but there are times when it seems like your child will listen to everyone else except you, especially teenagers. Time Commitment: How much of a time commitment can you make to help your child? Sometimes it can be hard to find the time needed to help your child. Fitting a solid hour with no distractions, 3 times a week may not be something that you can do. If you get your child a tutor, they can often meet at the school either before or after classes. Your Child Is Trying Not To Disappoint You: Our children don’t want to disappoint us, so they may say that they understand something when really they don’t. They may also feel stupid asking a question for the third time if they still don’t understand the answer. Tutors are used to this kind of thing so they can try to rephrase an answer in order to explain it differently. This way it may click with your child so the finally understand it. More Convenient: Work can be exhausting, so there are pros to having your child meet with a tutor. Having your child meet with a tutor before or after school would be a lot more convenient than having to try to find a time after you get home from work. Since your child is already in the learning mode at those times and more awake it should be easier for them to learn it during those times. Let’s say you get home from work at 6, eat at 7, and finally get around to helping them at 8, chances are your child is already out of school mode and not pick it up as easy. Specialization: Your child could have a learning issue like dyslexia. Finding a tutor that specializes in teaching children like yours will help your child way more than you can. Sometimes it is hard to admit that you can’t do it all as a parent, especially once your child reaches high school. Deciding if your high school student needs a tutor may be a difficult one, but the end result may be worth it.
Dyslexia is a problem is a learning disability that is undiagnosed in children, even though they struggle in school.There are many symptoms that your child is struggling with dyslexia. Some of them depend on the age of your child and how severe they have it. Dyslexia is most noticeable in children. It can affect your child’s ability to read, write, spell, or even speak. Dyslexia is the most common learning disability in children and it can persist into adulthood. The sooner it is recognized and treated, the better the outcome will be for your child. Here are 5 symptoms that your child is struggling with dyslexia. Reading Problems – You may notice your child can easily read a word on one page but on another page won’t recognize it. Other times you will notice that your child knows phonics but can’t or won’t try to sound out a word they don’t know. They may also switch letters when reading a word. For example the word “from” might be “form”. Or “was” might be “saw”, “now” might be “won”. They might also misspell common words that they see all the time such as they, what, where, does, and because despite practicing them a lot. Spelling Problems – Your child might also misspell words when copying them off a board or a book. Your child might also try and avoid writing whenever possible. Some children with dyslexia are also up-down confused. They might confuse letters like b-p or d-q, n-u, and m-w. Writing Problems – Children with dyslexia also have problems writing. You may notice that your child’s handwriting is either poor or unreadable. They might also have poorly spaced words and take a long time to write out their letters. Your child may also write their letters in an unusual way. This is because they can’t remember the correct order to write the letters. So they start somewhere and keep going until the letter looks right to them. Math Problems – Children with dyslexia are often time very gifted in math. This is because of their ability to visualize the problems in a 3 dimensional way. It allows them to “see” the math concepts more quickly. Despite this your child may still be having difficulty with math. Your child may know all the steps in long division. But your child often mixes up steps, despite knowing how to do it and then comes up with the wrong answer. Many problems are see in directions, rote memorization, reading and sequencing. They can make the math tasks so difficult that their math gifts are never discovered. Directionality Problems – Most children with dyslexia have problems with directions. You may notice that your child has problems reading and understanding a map. They have problems with North, South, East, or West. They also have problems with telling the difference between right or left. Dyslexia can be very different from one child to the next. Children with dyslexia can have a mix or cluster of different signs and symptoms. Dyslexia is commonly diagnosed on a child that actually is suffering from another learning disability because of the similar signs and symptoms between Dyslexia and other learning disabilities. A great way to test for Dyslexia is through taking the Dyslexia test online to dig deeper into what may be going on with your child. Print the results and bring them to your child’s physician to review. Watch your child and make notes as things come up. Having examples is extremely helpful when it comes to properly diagnosing your child. The sooner you solve the problem, the quicker you can find a solution to help guide your child. Many amazing people have grown to overcome dyslexia through learning to work with the issue. With time and effort, your child can too.
Studies have shown time and time again that children with parents who are involved in their education have more success than children without parental support. Children are found to have better behavior, have higher grades, and better all around attitude towards education that results in a more successful life. Getting involved with your child’s education begins at home through simply asking your child about their school day. It is natural for children to not give much information when asked about their school day. How they respond and what they share truly comes to the relationship you have with your child. Keeping an open line of communication is important for the parent-child relationship, especially when it comes to school. Some children do not like to open up and talk about their day or school. If you find your child not saying much than ask questions that do not require only one word answers. Get familiar with their school routine to help bring up more specific questions. Taking time every evening to go through your child’s schoolwork with them is an important part of being involved with their education. Taking the time to look through their bag and asking them to explain some of the items to you can help you get the conversation going with your child about their school day. Unless the teacher sent tons of paperwork home, this process does not have to be long and detailed. Just enough time to see what your child has for the day and show them that you care about their school education and life. Many parents find they can keep up with their child’s education, even if they are not home after school, through making a rule of informing the parent about schoolwork when they arrive home and needing to complete it before anything else. If you have a younger child that you are trying to work with, check their planner every day for notes from the teacher. Many times, teachers will write notes to you, as the parent, or have the child write a note regarding work that needs to be done. No matter your child’s age, ensuring that they keep you informed on what is going on is important. If your teacher is willing to give you their phone number or email address, it is helpful to communicate with them about your child via phone or email. Every teacher and school is different on the best line of communication, so make sure to follow what is best for the teacher to help be better connected. Most schools have 2 official parent/ teacher conferences a year. Try and make these a priority. Conferences are a great opportunity for teachers to give a full update on your child’s progress for the year. Before the conferences come, try to write down questions you may have regarding your child’s work, so you can ask the teacher. Listen to what the teacher has to say. Most teachers are skilled at observing the children and what goes on. It is important to visit your child’s classroom and see where they spend their day. Busy parents tend to overlook visit your child’s classroom. It is amazing what parents can be learn about their child from spending a short period watching what goes on in the classroom. If your time schedule allows it, try and volunteer in your child’s classroom. This is not always possible though. If this is something that you are able to do, get with your child’s teacher. Tell them that you would like to help, but don’t know what to do. There is a good chance the teacher can find something for you to do. Some schools have guidelines on the type and amount of assistance a parent can give. Make sure you talk with the principle to find out what those are. Sometimes teachers just need help behind the scenes. Stuff like planning holiday parties, advising on a computer installation, helping with fundraising, or even writing a grant. It is harder to keep in touch with your child’s teacher once they start middle school. There are more teachers to communicate with. At this age your child is less likely to want to talk to you about what is going on. Participation at this age is still important and recommended. Typically each child is assigned either a guidance counselor or a primary teacher. Use this person as your contact and develop a line of communication with them throughout the year. Even in middle and high school, the teachers may still appreciate your help with planning field trips or organizing fund-raising projects for the school. Information received from your child’s teachers can be helpful at the middle and high school grades. In fact, for college-bound children, these talks are as important as ever. The teacher may have insights about your child that may affect selection of college and career. Although participation is important, you must learn to become less directly involved with your children’s schoolwork. By middle school, your child should be taking most of the responsibility for their own homework. If you are a parent that has not been involved with your child’s education, it is never too late to begin. If you are just beginning when your child is older, keep at it. Never give up, as it is about finding the way that works for your child. Children who are not used to their parents being involved with school may be more hesitant to your sudden involvement. Communicate with your child about your desire to be involved with their education to help your child feel more comfortable talking about school. A pattern of poor involvement with your child’s education can lead to your child feeling any conversation about school means they are in trouble. Ensure your child that you are there to learn and be apart of their school life and education, not find things they are doing wrong. There are many ways to participate in your child’s education. You do not
You may find yourself wondering why tutoring is important for kids or when it is needed. There are many reasons that tutoring is important for kids, more than could ever be explained in a single blog post, but we did our best collecting information on why children need tutoring and what tutoring can do for them. Every child learns in their own way. What works for one child does not always work for another. At times, it does not matter how well your child’s teacher explains the material, your child may need more time to practice the skill or understand the content. Tutoring provides an opportunity for one-on-one instruction to help a child learn in their own way. One good need for tutoring occurs when children move in the middle of the school year and the new school is at a different place than the old school. Children are to be taught certain standards every year for their grade, but how or when they are taught is up to that school district. Your child may struggle because they may have missed things they should know already for their new school. A tutor can help fill the gaps that happened as a result of the move and change of curriculum timing. There are many other reasons why a child may struggle and need a tutor. It does not mean that the parent, student, or the teacher did anything wrong. Some of it has to do with the cognitive ability to receive the information and receive it well. As you may have noticed, schools have become more sophisticated with the way subjects are taught. Through these innovations, subject matters become more integrated and developed. Because of this they are more challenging for students. Sometimes, kids may find it hard to cope with their lessons. Tutoring allows your child to cope with the material they learn in school. It provides your child with the leverage that they need in handling the subject matter. Tutoring is a personal approach that allows you to convey the information to the person you’re tutoring effectively, helping them improve in school performance. Tutoring is also important because it helps children prepare for future standard tests. This is accomplished because the tutor and your child work on mastering what they are having problems with. This will effectively allow your child to tackle tests with full preparation and confidence. Many high-profile executives and inventors struggled in school at different points in their life. Some had tutors and others did not. Albert Einstein was a great example of a genius who admittedly did terrible in school. Imagine what would have come if he had tutor to help him through the difficult times? Tutoring is an important asset to the development of your child’s performance and confidence. It helps your child learn and grow to their full potential when it comes to subjects at school. This effectively provides a sense of fulfillment and progress in their studies, as challenges are becoming more evident at school. As a result, tutoring is important if you want to help your child cope with the increasing difficulty of the school system. A tutoring service will help your child out in building that confidence and coping with school. Tutoring can be very important to kids. I am not saying that every child needs a tutor. You have to use your judgment to decide what is best for you and your child.
Starting preschool is a big step in your child’s life. To help them get off to the right start, we can help prepare our children through working with them weeks before they begin. Remember to keep it slow paced to keep from overwhelming your child with too much at once and always make it fun to help them interact and retain information better. A great way to get started is through incorporating preschool routines at home and using pretend play to help your child learn about preschool. Take turns being the parent, child, and teacher. Act out daily routines like saying good-bye to mommy and/or daddy, taking off your coat, reading stories, singing songs, playing outside, having circle time, and taking naps. Help your child feel in control by answering their questions patiently. Reassure your child that preschool is a good place and that they will have fun, learn, and make new friends. These different actions, like taking a nap, eating at a certain time, and more are useful to help get your pre-preschooler into a routine, especially for those struggling with a schedule for their child. You can find books about preschool at your local library and online full of information to help you with your specific child needs. Read children books on preschool together and talk about the books after you are done. Ask your child how they are feeling when learning about preschool. Read books for parents to help you learn how to help your child through the transition, and more. Start reading the books over the summer that are geared towards them to help.. Make a game of self-help skills like unzipping their coat, hanging their coat on the hook, putting on their backpack, and tying their shoes. You can have races with your child to see who can put on their shoes the fastest. When you play school together you can practice the things they have learned. If they will be bringing packed lunch, have a picnic a couple of times so they can practice taking out their food. Take a tour of the preschool with your child and allow them to ask questions. Show them where their room will be. Make it a fun day. Every child is different, and being at daycare daily before starting preschool does not mean that preschool start will be easy. Some children are overly comfortable and some struggle at first. Try to pick up on any cues you see along the way to help when and where you can, if your child struggles with this new change. Listen to your child’s worries and fears. Do not dismiss them. Also watch for nonverbal messages. Sometimes your child does not know how to tell you what they are feeling. About 2 weeks before the big day, take them to purchase their first backpack. If possible, let your child pick out the backpack. This will help give them a sense of control. Make sure to point out that they are a big kid now. Label all of your child’s items with their name on it. You will also want to talk to your child about the morning and afternoon routine. Let them know what to expect. Around this time you will want to start having them go to bed at the time they will when they start school. This will give them time to adjust to the new schedule. The night asking different questions to try and answer any questions your child has as our little ones are still at a time where it is hard to explain their feelings. Let your child choose the clothes they will be wearing for their first day. Try to not make a big deal out of the first day and don’t focus on it too much unless they want to. Try to keep the bedtime routine smoothly and relaxing. The morning of the big day, make sure you wake your child up with plenty of time so they don’t feel rushed. Make breakfast for your child and if possible sit down to eat with them. If you can’t sit down, at least talk with them while you get ready and they eat. Review the day’s routine with your child. Pack your child’s backpack. If they are bringing a lunch, try and pick out their favorite snacks. Plan to stay an extra 15 minutes after you get to the preschool. Explore the classroom together and meet some of the other children. Remember to keep your tone upbeat and positive. When you are leaving, if you hear your child crying, try and resist running back to them. This will be the hard part because we all hate to hear our child cry. Instead, you can wait outside the classroom for a few minutes to ensure that all is well, or call the school later in the morning to check-in. If you feel your child may not be ready for preschool education-wise than begin early and work through getting fun flashcards and games to focus on building basic counting, colors, and shape skills needed. Testing for preschool allows us as parents to have laid out the areas of struggle, but many times we can see problems before. Begin working with them if you see problems but ensure to focus on struggle areas you find during testing. Preparing your child for their first day of preschool does not have to be complicated. Remember to have fun and not overdo it.
