The college application process can be exciting, confusing, and let’s face it, a bit overwhelming.
It has been estimated that millions of children nationwide are affected by severe anxiety (Hill & Wigfield, 1984). The negative impact that anxiety can have on a student is serious. While a mild amount of anxiety can actually be considered motivating for a student, student's with excessive amounts of anxiety can interfere with one’s memory, which can make it difficult to perform on a test or perform in other ways (Huberty, 2009). Students with severe anxiety can lead them to a lack of motivation, a lowered self-esteem, consistent issues with academic performance and even early withdrawal of school (Cowden, 2014).
Anxiety as it relates to academic performance is of significant importance to me due to my own experience with severe anxiety through my high school, college and early post college years. While I discovered tools in my adult years to help me cope with anxiety, I believe school would not have been so challenging for me had I had the tools then! It is in this vain that I have devoted so much of my time to researching academic anxiety. In this blog post, I share with you research supported steps that will help reduce the anxiety children experience and thus perform better academically. Ready? Let’s get started.
Read MoreIt is no secret that students of all ages are influenced by their peers. These influences can range from affecting the way a student dresses to the way a student performs in school. Even as adults our social networks can influence the way we eat, travel, work or think. As adults, we know that one person doesn’t often influence our way of life. The same concept applies to young students. While one student might not make a change in your student’s academic behavior, a group of them can – whether it be for better or for worse. In this case a tutor could help.
The size of students classrooms have always been a topic of heated debate. Parents, teachers, state and local education departments have a hard time agreeing on this topic. Studies have shown that students in smaller classrooms achieve a better education and level of learning. The problem with smaller class sizes is that schools will need to hire more teachers to accommodate the students. This leads to the problem of funding, because smaller class sizes means more money.
There is an old saying that states "education starts at home." In keeping with the spirit of that saying, it is important that you spend time reading to your pre-schooler on a regular basis. Not only will the bond between you and your child become stronger, you'll be setting them up for academic success moving forward. Here is a look at some of the many reasons that reading to your pre-schooler is beneficial.
Each year, our school systems require students to be taught a standard curriculum. Since there is such a vast amount of topics that are required to be taught, lessons are often rushed and or skimmed over in order to begin next lesson.
Due to this, students are often deprived the proper amount of time that is needed to explore the concepts they are taught. In essence, children miss the opportunity to “play” with those ideas and tasks. Playful learning can help make those lessons more memorable, tactile and enjoyable.
Playful learning does not have to be complicated. It can be as easy as gamifying everyday tasks.
For example, one way to work on math is to have your child help you the kitchen. Not only can those tasks be yummy and enjoyable for you both, but they can also help your child to conceptualize measurement, time, calculation and basic counting.
Another example is to have fun with spring cleaning by having your student race to count how many action figures they have, or have them guess how many toys can fit into a bin. These spatial and counting skills are great assets to develop and finding active ways to include them into daily tasks can be easy and fun.
Geometry and physics are examples that can be difficult for many students. Investing in blocks, engineering toys such as Littlebits, Legos and rector sets help to set a student up with an understanding of the scientific method. Through continued use, students will learn from their mistakes as well as how perseverance pays off.
Take a short afternoon trip to a Lego store and work with your student on not just creating the image on the box, but the infinite other creations that can be built. Another benefical game is to task your student with getting a marble from one end of the room to the other. Student will hone their spatial and engineering mind in order to come up with a solution
Not convinced? Call us for some added tips. Our tutors can help you devise some playful learning opportunities for you and your family.
Indoor/Outdoor Gardening/CultivationSuch activities might include:
There are so many ways to make learning playful and productive. In the end, these types of activities are more beneficial than the common routines of cartoon, video games and social media.Playful learning makes learning simple and even complex concepts more tangible, relatable and fun. Take some time and think about how you can integrate more playful learning into your student’s life.
This is the month you’ve been waiting for, working towards over the past three years of high school, and now it’s time to make your choice. Here are some things to think about:
How do you know when your child needs a tutor?
Are their grades slipping? Do they have trouble managing time? Can you see the frustration on their face when they do homework?
These are all signs that your child needs help and support from a qualified tutor. Once the decision has been made to hire a tutor, an even harder decision awaits- choosing the right tutoring service.
Several types of academic tutoring services are out there, all with different tutoring styles. So, where do you start? Which one should you pick? How do you know if the tutor will actually help?
Below are 5 steps to help you find the perfect tutor for your child.
We at The House understand the frustration that comes with watching your child struggle in school. With often overcrowded classrooms and increasingly difficult curriculum, it can be a struggle for students to keep up, much less excel. We would love to help!
©Copyright by Chicago Academic