When students struggle in school, tutoring is a common first line of attack. Unfortunately for students like Carlos, tutoring can mean years of extra help without seeing the desired results.
Sherrie Hardy explains this common problem by likening the learning process to a building. When a problem occurs “Tutoring works on the roof. This does not improve the overall structural stability if problems exist in the foundation and walls.” In her 35 years working with children she has found that there is a 95% chance that a students’ struggles are due to problems with one of five components of the learning foundation: poor processing speed (thinking speed) , poor print tracking, auditory processing weaknesses, sensory integration weaknesses and poor visual memory skills. The good news is once students strengthen these areas, they can find success.
The Hardy Learning Center offers a “New School” solution that helps students repair all levels of their learning. This program works to improve the brain’s most precise timing: millisecond timing. It is involved in many of our daily functions like speech and attention. By refining this timing, students like Carlos see improvements in activities that use millisecond timing. This includes: reading, math, focus, decision making, memory and following directions. “It can improve reading and math skills by about a year and a half” reports Hardy.
Hardy herself became a proponent 32 years ago when an earlier version of the program helped her struggling daughters find success. Using her information from her education and experience she uses the Interactive Metronome as a part of the Hardy Brain Training. She has helped over 900 students in the last seven years and would welcome the opportunity to talk to you about your situation.
School has not been easy for Carlos. He found himself in the vicious cycle of complicated tasks that lowered his self esteem and motivation. Soon, he felt so frustrated that he would even pretend to be unable to do tasks that he could actually perform. Because of his struggles and language delay, he was placed in a full time special education program, but he did not achieve the level his parents knew he could reach.
According to the Department of Education “Even in wealthier schools, more than a fifth of fourth-graders were unable to reach NAEP’s basic [reading]level in 2000 and about two-thirds of fourth-graders in high-poverty schools were unable to reach the basic level in that year’s survey.”
At the beginning of fourth grade, Carlos enrolled in the Hardy Brain Training Academy. Here, Sherrie Hardy and her staff worked with Carlos and his parents to identify the root of Carlos’ issues and address them. Carlos successfully completed fourth grade at the Academy and was ready to return to Rio Lindo School at the start of the school year last fall.
Fifth grade was a big year for Carlos. He attended Rio Lindo during the day and continued the Hardy Brain Training program after school. The progress he achieved allowed him to move out of the special education day class and return to the regular education class for every subject but reading – only the fourth student in the history of the school to accomplish this. With a healthy self-esteem and high motivation, Carlos excelled. On June 3rd, Carlos was one of 34 students honored by the Rio School District and awarded “Most Inspirational Student” Awards at a ceremony at the Tower Club in Oxnard. Carlos’ efforts and accomplishments earned him the title of valedictorian of his class. Way to Go Carlos!!!
As we reach the middle of summer vacation, I wanted to give you some different ideas to add fun and laughter to your days. Here are some water games, yummy summer treats, scavenger hunts and nature activities to enjoy as a family:
Water games- In the heat, refreshing water games always go over well.
Sponge Toss-Fill a bucket with water and put a big sponge in there. At first, the players stand very close together and toss the sponge to each other. After each toss, the players take a step back. The sponge should be rewet often.
Add the sprinkler to a game like tag, running bases, or Frisbee.
Ice Cube Rescue-Fill up the kiddie pool and dump in the ice from several trays. It is best if the cubes are on the big side. Two people sit around the side of the pool and try to remove the ice cubes with their feet! If there are more than two people, you can make this a relay.
Hose limbo-Get out the fun music and your hose. Turn on the water and make a stream with your thumb. Limbo under the stream. Lower it after every round.
Dunk for apples
Tasty Treats-It is fun to make summertime snacks with the kids. Try making an ice cream pie. Put about 27 of your favorite chocolate sandwich cookies and break them up in the blender. Pat them into greased pie plate. Scoop softened ice cream onto the pie crust. Pour chocolate syrup on top and add some extra cookie crumbs. Put it in the freezer for 30 minutes. Yum!
Other treats might be popsicles, yogurt pops, smoothies, or different varieties of fruit punch.
Scavenger Hunts-This is a great activity because it can take as much preparation or as little as you want it to. Scavenger Hunts that can happen anywhere include:
- Colors of the Rainbow: Write down the colors of the rainbow. Have the kids find one item that is each color.
- Letters of the alphabet: 26 letters can be long, so write out your last name or a phrase like “Scavenger Hunt” and have the kids look for items that begin with each letter in the name or phrase.
- One to Ten: List the numbers one to ten on a page. The kids need to find ten of one object (like 10 rocks), nine of something else (9 blades of grass)…etc.
Nature Fun-Go to a local forest, forest preserve, or park.
- Have a picnic.
- Nature Art-Andy Goldsworthy is an artist who makes nature art. Watch a YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HnrKiHqNvA with your kids about a group of kids inspired by him and then go make your own nature art.
- Rubbings-Bring paper and some colored pencils and crayons. Put the paper against tree bark, the back of leaves or any thing with texture and rub the crayon over the paper.
Almost every standardized test your child will take measures Reading and Math. In this part of the series we will focus on Reading Comprehension.
Much of the test is a text (or two) followed by questions. Your child will be more efficient if s/he reads the questions first and then searches the passage to find the answer.
How to Practice
Give your child a page from a practice test. Fold the page between the text and the questions. Put the question side up first. After s/he reads the questions, unfold the page and let her/him read the passage to find out the answers.
Here’s the link where you can get some practice questions:
www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/css05rtq.asp
Most of the Reading Comprehension questions are divided into one of three categories:
1. Point to it
The answer is right there in the passage and the child can point right to it.
“What is Carlos’ favorite food?”
2. Search it out
The answer exists in the text, but the child needs to gather information from various parts to create the answer. “What is the same each morning?”
3. Reflection
This type of question requires the child to use her/his own background knowledge plus what s/he knows from the passage to answer. “How do you think Carlos feels at the end?”
How to Practice
By being able to identify the type of question, your child can more efficiently understand where to look for the answer. As your child is reading the practice questions, ask her/him to identify the type of question with a hand signal: point to the paper if it is a “point to it” question. Hold your imaginary binoculars up to your eyes if it is a “search it out” question and put your finger to your brain if it is a “reflection” question.
Knowing story structure is another way that leads students to the correct answer more quickly. Most stories will have a clear beginning, middle and end.
Answers about the setting can usually be found in the beginning of the text.
Answers about the problem will normally come in the middle.
Answers about the solution will most often be at the end.
How to Practice
As your child reads the questions, ask him or her where s/he thinks the answer will be: beginning, middle, or end. Then let your child check to see if s/he was right.
If you make these techniques feel like a game then you and your child will have a fun together while gaining some great tricks for the big test.
The math portion of any standardized test brings out fear in a large number of the population. The story problem with two trains going in different directions still makes many adults’ hearts race.
Unknowingly, parents often transmit their own fears and feelings of inadequacy about math to their children. Try to look at math as a game and convey that to your child. Don’t worry if your child has more practice with math than you. Just by helping your child feel confident about her/his ability to tackle the problems, you give her/him the momentum needed to jump on the highway to success.
I just looked over the fourth grade practice questions for California’s STAR exam and with simple logic and mental math, a child would perform well. Below is an easy activity to practice mental math skills with your child. Start at a very simple level to keep your child feeling positive about the activity and math then work your way up.
Number Craze
Start by writing down a few easily added numbers on a paper like: 2+3+1+2
Ask your child to mentally add them together without using any pencil or paper. Invite her/him to tell you the answer when ready. Whether the answer is right or not, ask her/him to describe to you how s/he got the answer. If you got the answer by working things in a different order, share that. In the end, check the answer with a calculator.
As your child gets faster and more accurate, make the problems harder by adding more numbers and including different numbers. One mental math trick is finding 10´s. So, include numbers that add up to 10 in your games. A more difficult problem that keeps in mind the 10 trick might look like this:
22+37+68+13
Although there are MANY different strategies to tackle this, here is how my brain solves it:
2+8=10
7+3=10
10+10=20
20+60(from 68) =80
80+20=100
100+30=130
130+10=140
Please don’t start with a problem like that, but it is fun to work up to it. You can have fun doing a couple of these a day. Especially in the beginning, try not to make it too much about a race. The most important parts are getting the answer right and building confidence. As your child practices more, s/he will gain some speed as well.
Also, you can easily change this to multiplication (2×3x1×4) or subtraction. With subtraction, write the larger number at the top with a subtraction sign and a few numbers underneath.
25-
8 2 1
Answer would be 14
You can practice mental math anywhere. You don´t need a paper and pencil. You can ask your daughter/son to help add prices together at the grocery store. You can throw out a few numbers to add or subtract in the car on the way to school. Keep it light and fun and your child will be more efficient on the standardized exams and in many moments in her/his life. Mental math is well worth practicing any time!
Anxiety surrounding testing is very real. How many times have we heard of people having nightmares about not being able to find the exam room or showing up for the exam late? Many kids become overwhelmed during exam time. As parents, it is good for us to watch our words and actions to make sure that we do not add to our child’s stress.
Also, by helping your child anticipate the test situation you are dealing with the fears of the unknown. If the teacher has not sent a note home, write her/him asking any questions your child might have.
Feeling prepared also eliminates a lot of stress. Using practice exams, learning test taking skills and practicing the strategies mentioned in this series can help your child feel ready for the exam.
Remind your child that the test has nothing to do with your love for them. Sometimes kids start to worry about disappointing their parents or think that somehow a negative performance on the exam will change the way you think about them. Be sure to assure them that you love them no matter what!
If your child seems particularly stressed out, you can teach them some anxiety management techniques to use during the exam. Read through the ones below to see what seems most appropriate for your child’s age and personality and practice it with your child.
1. Mental Stop Sign-Envision a stop sign when your brain begins the litany of “I don’t know any of this! This is too hard! or I can’t.!” By just stopping the message, you can re-focus on the task at hand.
2. Mantra-Repeat a positive phrase or word many times in a row to help boost your confidence and remove negative thoughts. Use something like: “I can do this.” or “Just do my best.”
3. Use your Breath-When we get nervous, we often take short, shallow breaths. Take a few seconds to try to sit up straight and really breathe deeply. It will slow your heart rate and give you a better chance at turning your attention to the exam.
4. Object with Positive Association-Wear an object (like a necklace) that someone dear gave to you. When the anxiety approaches, touch the object and think about that person. It can have a calming effect. Many people also try to wear clothes that make them feel good about themselves as a way to improve confidence.
5. Humor-Before the exam think about a funny comic strip, movie quote, or joke. When you start feeling nervous during the exam, recall that humorous thought. The chuckle is a good distraction.
6. Change your Focus-If you sense your brain delving into the depths of negativity, start counting the nails in the ceiling or the number of bricks that make up the wall. By changing your focus, you can kick out the negative messages and then go back to the test with a clearer mind.
Test anxiety is something to be taken seriously, but by being able to anticipate the testing situation, feeling loved and prepared and having some relaxation tips ready, your child will better be able to manage the situation before it escalates.
California releases sample test questions that have been retired from previous tests for children to use for practicing for the exam. Here is the link where you can download some sample questions for practicing with your child:
www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/css05rtq.asp
For many of us it has been a long time since our last standardized exam. Therefore we decided to list some of the most common and helpful test taking skills so that you can practice them with your child.
BEFORE THE TEST
Simulate the testing situation.
For first time test takers, the unknown creates nervousness. By eliminating that mystery, your child can be calmer. Also, practicing with practice tests based on the standardized test to be taken will get kids in the rhythm of how long s/he has to be seated, what types of questions are asked, and how to best tackle the various situations. Practicing with a time limit is also important to learn how to budget one’s time during an exam.
If your child has a learning disability or ADD/ADHD and has and IEP, find out what the modifications will look like for exam week and who will be administering the exam.
Here’s the link where you can get some practice questions:
www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/css05rtq.asp
STRATEGIES TO PRACTICE
Read the question and try to answer it without looking at the options.
Then try to match your answer with one of the choices provided. If there is no match, then read all of the given answers to see if the correct one jumps out at you. If not, try “skip the hard ones” or “how to attack the hard ones”.
Practice All of the Above and None of the Above Questions
These types of questions can be particularly difficult for younger kids or kids who struggle. It is a good idea to create some of these questions or use practice questions from the exam, so your child knows how to tackle them.
Skip the Hard Ones.
Sometimes kids get stuck on one hard question and lose their confidence, waste time and ultimately don’t finish the exam. By answering all the easy questions first, the child succeeds in showing off the information s/he knows well and has time to go back and tackle the hard ones later.
How to Attack the Hard Ones
After reading the question and all the answer options, eliminate the absurd. Don’t just discard them in your head because it is easy to waste time continuing to read them. Cross them out.
Your first choice is often the correct choice, unless you didn’t read all the answers or misread the question/answers.
Sometimes you have no idea what the answer is. If there is no penalty for guessing, make sure to make your best guess.
What to Do When You Are Finished
Many kids are so relieved to have finished the exam that they race up to the desk and turn it in. With the few remaining minutes, kids should make sure every question has a bubble filled in.
It is not necessary to practice these skills daily for hours on end. Paying too much attention to exam week can add nervousness where little was present before. Find out from the teacher what is being done in class to prepare the students and then create a plan for your child from there.
This is an article about Adam – my first home-training student – and the amazing progress he’s made.
You can read it here.
It is standardized test time again! As a result, it is time to help get our kids prepared mentally, physically and academically. Even for parents who aren’t concerned with the test results, it is healthy to prep children for this experience that can be overwhelming. This series will help you do that. It will cover: six basic ways for parents to help, how to calm nerves, general test taking skills and some subject-based advice for the academic sections.
Even if you choose to do nothing else, you can help your child have the best opportunity to perform well by just implementing these 6 simple ideas:
1. Proper Rest
Getting enough sleep the night before is helpful, but try adjusting your child’s schedule starting a few days before exam week starts. By putting her/him to bed 15-30 minutes earlier than usual, your child will be truly well rested and you can gain those minutes in the morning to make sure suggestions #2 and #3 happen.
2. Healthy Food
During exam week, it is beneficial to pump up all the meals on the family menu with highly nutritious foods. Eating a healthy breakfast helps give your child the energy and stamina s/he will need to endure the long exam times. A healthy breakfast includes complex carbohydrates, protein, fat and fruit. Some options include:
1. Juice, whole wheat toast with peanut butter, and scrambled egg
2. Breakfast burrito (tortilla, cheese, beans, eggs, veggies, avocado) and juice
3. Peanut butter and banana sandwich and milk
4. Oatmeal or high fiber cereal, fruit, and protein
It also great to pack a healthy snack to keep your child’s energy flowing. Try to stay away from simple carbohydrates like chips and cookies that will just give your child a quick energy spike followed by a huge dip. An apple with cheese or peanut butter, cheese and crackers, or a homemade trail mix with nuts and raisins are some yummy and healthy choices.
3. On time Arrivals and Attendance
Exam time is hard enough without being distracted by the panic involved with missing 15 minutes of test time. Some children will freeze up under this extra pressure. It is best to get kids to school a little earlier than usual to eliminate this stress. Also, avoid scheduling any appointments that would take the student away during test time.
4. Materials Ready
Find out what materials your child needs for the exam and make sure that they have them. Sharpened #2 pencils, an eraser, and calculators are commonly needed supplies.
5. Physical Activity
Standardized testing involves a lot of sitting still, concentration and stress. Scheduling some physical activity for your child gets the blood pumping and reduces tension. Go for a walk or bike ride together, visit a park, or play ball in the front yard.
6. Pep talk
Sometimes standardized tests and the hype surrounding them make kids feel a large amount of pressure to perform well. Even if your child seems to be handling the situation with relative ease, it is a kind gesture to give her/him a little pep talk the morning of the exam. You will calm them and boost their confidence by saying something like: “I will be thinking about you during your exam today. Just do your best and know that I love you no matter what!”
Put these simple suggestions into place and you will help your child have the best chance at showing off all s/he knows. Good Luck!
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