Published monthly by Linda Silbert, PhD and Strong Learning, Inc.

In This Issue

• Happening Now: Private Tutoring, Test Prep, Summer School Programs, and College Advisement
• Note from Dr. Linda: How did April Fools’ Day Begin?
• School Success Tip for Little Kids: How to Make Rain
• School Success Tip for All Kids: Paul Revere’s Ride
• School Success Tip for Teens: Preparing for Finals, Step 3
• Kids Say the Funniest Things: Who is Adam?
• Now It’s Your Turn

Happening Now

Happening Now at StrongLearning.com Call 845-628-7910 today.

• One-to-one tutoring – all subjects, levels and grades.
• Registration for June Regents Review Classes
• Summer AP Preview classes
• Summer School Programs
• Exam prep for SAT, ACT, PSAT, ISEE, TACHS, COOP & SSAT in your home, at a convenient location near you or online.
• College Advisement — college selection, essays, applications and more

Registration for the following Small Group Courses offered by Strong Learning in Westchester and Putnam Counties, NY. Enrollment limited.

• Regents Review courses in all subjects beginning in May
• SAT Prep course for the October & November tests beginning in July
• AP Preview courses to give AP students an advantage beginning in July
• Middle School survival course to help with school success beginning in July
• High School Regents Prep courses for August Regents beginning in July
• Learn Spanish, French and/or Italian by playing games, singing and talking.  Third grade through adult, Call for info.

Call Strong Learning today at 845-628-7910.

Happening Now at DrLindasBlog.com

• Find news and updates about our events, online & offline
• Read articles – You’re welcome to reprint any article in full. Include my contact information. Great for a school or community newsletter, a blog or ezine.
• Email your comments, thoughts and observations about kids, school and learning. I love to hear from you!

Note from Dr. Linda

Hi Parents, Teachers and Friends:

April is that special month in which the grass turns green, flowers start to bloom, and birds and insects reappear.  April Fool’s Day  is also that fun day in which kids love to play tricks on their parents, teachers and friends.

It’s amazing how a tradition that started over 400 years ago is still alive and well. Here’s a little trivia – over 400 years ago, New Year’s Day was on March 25 and people celebrated from then until April 1.

When the French began celebrating New Year’s Day on January 1, people were confused for for years…no phones, emails, twitter, facebook. It took a long time for the word to get out. The lucky people who remembered the day was switched started playing tricks on those unfortunate souls who forgot. The reason for April Fool’s Day seems to be as simple as that. If you have another story as to why we have April Fool’s Day, please share it with us.

April is also known as the rainy month, so this month’s newsletter gives you a simple experiment you can do with your children to explain where rain comes from.

As the people of Massachusetts know, on April 18, 1775, Paul Revere, a Boston patriot, rode through the countryside during the night, alerting the colonists that the “The British are Coming!” In honor of Paul Revere’s historic ride,  you’ll find links for discovering even more about Paul Revere, the famous poem written about him, even games to play that Paul Revere’s children might have played.

The third step to acing finals is included in your April newsletter.  Finally,  you’ll find a funny story about Adam!

Happy April,

Dr. Linda

From test taking to homework, from math to reading, twice a week, you’ll get short, effective tips to help your child learn. Sign up now and invite other parents to sign up. It’s my FREE gift to you and your children. Check out the bonuses you’ll get when you subscribe to the tips http://www.askdrlindasilbert.com/tips.html.

School Success Tips for Mom and Dad

For Little Kids:

Dr. Al’s Fun Science Experiment
How to Make Rain in a Jar (age 6 and up)

Have you ever wondered what makes it rain?  Do you want to see it rain inside a large glass jar? With this fun science experiment, you can make it rain. It’s easy.

All you need is a large clean glass jar with a metal cap (such as a mayonnaise jar), some hot tap water, and some ice cubes.

Procedure:

1. With a parent’s help, carefully fill the jar about a quarter full with very hot tap water.
2. Place the jar on a table or kitchen counter.
3. Place the jar lid upside down on top of the jar.
4. Fill the metal lid with ice cubes.

That’s it. Now watch the bottom of the lid and the inside of the jar. Pretty soon they’ll be covered with the rain drops you made.

This is a lot like how rain is formed outside. Warm air absorbs water vapor and becomes moist and it rises. As it rises higher and higher it gets colder and colder. When it is cold enough, the water vapor condenses and forms clouds. Eventually, if the drops get heavy enough, they fall from the cloud as rain–a lot like the rain in your jar.

For All Kids: Paul Revere’s Ride

On April 18, 1775 Paul Revere made his famous ride to warn the Colonists that the British were coming. You can read all about his ride , look at the map of where he rode, and recreate the ride yourself.

Paul Revere, a silversmith, lived in Boston with his family. You can visit his house if you’re in the Boston area. If you can’t visit, you can look at some pictures of the house. You can even play some of the games his children might have played.

In 1860, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a famous poem about Paul Revere’s ride. You can read the poem, maybe memorize a verse or two, or listen to the first couple of verses.

For Teens: Start Preparing for Finals

Steps 1 and 2 are in your February and March newsletters.

Step Three: Understand the Material before Memorizing It

So much time and energy is wasted because students do not understand the vocabulary or the concepts they are trying to memorize. Some super strategies to help kids understand what they’re learning include:

• Students need to talk to someone who is knowledgeable about that subject and be sure they understand it. They need to test themselves by explaining back to that person by talking, drawing or writing.
• Students need to review what they know about the subject before starting to learn new material. This will give them a strong foundation on which to learn something new.
• If students are learning geography or history, they always need to have a globe and/or map at their fingertips. They need to find the place they’re learning about and then think about how they might get there and how long it would take. This gives them additional information to hook into.

My May newsletter will list the fourth step you and your teen need to do to ace the finals.

Kids Say the Funniest Things

Joey told me that he was learning about some guy Adam. He said, “I am very confused.” I asked him “Which Adam? Adam from the bible?” He shook his head no. Presidents John Adams or John Quincy Adams?” He shook his head again.

His perplexed look prompted me to ask if this Adam guy had something to do with electrons and protons? He said “yes, I think he invented them.” Every time the teacher said “atom” Joey thought the teacher was saying “Adam!” Do you see why I stress that before children memorize facts, they need to understand them?

If you have a funny story about your child, please email me and I’ll try to include it in a future newsletter.

Now It’s Your Turn

Go over to Dr Linda’s Blog now and subscribe by email or RSS feed so you won’t miss anything. I love to hear from you. Let me know what you’d like to see in the next newsletter.

Thanks so much for all your emails, calls and comments. If one of my tips or articles has helped, please let me know and I’ll try to include it in as the next success story to share with my readers.

Wishing your children and all you loving and hard-working Moms and Dads, a happy and successful school year.

I’ll have more School Success Tips for you in the May Newsletter.