Dr. Linda’s School Success Newsletter | April 2011

In This Issue

Happening Now: Private Tutoring in all subjects, kindergarten through college; Regents, AP, SAT and ACT Prep for Spring Exams, and College Advisement
Note from Dr. Linda:
School Success Tips All Kids: Understanding: The Key to Learning
Family Fun: “The Adventures of Berticus Barns,” Part Nine
Now It’s Your Turn: Let Us Know What You’d Like

Happening Now at Strong Learning.com

One-to-one tutoring - all subjects, levels and grades in your home, at a convenient location near you or online. No contracts
Educational Testing – learn how your child learns, to make schooling easier and more successful
IEP Advisement - Helping parents with children with special needs
Exam prep for Regents, AP, SATs and ACTs - Private or in Groups
College Advisement - helping parents and college-bound students with college selection, essays, applications, and more

Contact Strong Learning for More Information at 845-628-7910

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

Regents Prep Classes: Schedule is published at Strong Learning. Please register early because each class is limited to 12 students.
AP Prep Classes: Schedule published at Strong Learning. Please register early because each class is limited to 12 students.

Register Today. Call Strong Learning at 845-628-7910

Note from Dr. Linda

Hi Parents, Grandparents, Teachers and Friends:

It’s the time of the year when parents are meeting with teachers to review the past year and to think about the following year.

However, before you make any decisions about your child’s future classes, about retention, or about testing for a learning disability, take a minute to think about options your child has and what’s best.

For example, if a teacher suggests holding your child back, you’ll want to consider all the solutions. Retention has negative affects written all over it especially for teenagers. If your child is still struggling with a disability that was never addressed, individualized attention can help. That makes it possible for your child to continue on to the next grade with their peers.

If testing is recommended, who should do it? Should your child’s school do the testing? Or should you ask a professional outside school to do the testing? Or who do you ask if you need advice regarding your child’s I.E.P.?

If you need suggestions about options available for your child, tutoring or testing, give us a call at Strong Learning, 845-628-7910. We’re always here for you and your children.

In this month’s newsletter, I’ve got some suggestions for helping your kids understand what they’re learning. And, of course, the continuing saga of Berticus. Poor guy. This month he gets kicked out his own club!

Happy April to you and your children.

Best wishes,
Dr. Linda

P.S. Help your children develop skills with Strong Learning’s Improve Your Study Skills, Memory Skills, Reading, Writing and Math Skills Workbooks. These workbooks offer advice and activities to improve basic skills. Appropriate for fifth grade and up. Order these books from our website.

Is homework a hassle in your home? Discover easy, effective strategies in Dr. Linda’s “25 Top Homework Tips,” a FREE mini-ebook. Subscribe now and you’ll also receive our weekly tips to help your child raise test scores, improve study skills, increase reading, writing and math abilities.

You’ll get the monthly “Dr. Linda’s School Success Newsletter” too. You’ll even receive the first chapter of our award-winning book, “Why Bad Grades Happen to Good Kids.” Sign up today and tell your friends, too.

School Success Tips: Understanding: The Key to Learning

Studying is hard enough, but when kids don’t understand what they’re learning, studying can seem impossible.

For example, I was helping a student study for a test on India. She had read the assignment and carefully marked important points. This article emphasized the over-population of cows in a section of New Delhi called Okla. So she jumped to the conclusion that India was in North America.
This then led her to conclude that the Indians in the article were Native Americans who lived in Oklahoma.

So much time and energy is wasted because kids don’t understand the vocabulary or the concepts teachers are referring to. Students often don’t have the same point of reference or experiences their teachers have.

Follow these strategies if you want your kids to understand what they’re learning:

With any subject, before your child tries to memorize all the information she needs to know, she needs to talk to someone who is knowledgeable about that subject and be sure she understands it. If she feels she understands it fully already, talking to others will help her remember the information.

Have your child review what he did before starting to learn new material. It’s much easier to understand new material when you can connect it with something that’s already in your memory. This gives him a strong foundation on which to learn something new.

If your kids are learning geography or history, be sure to have a globe or map available. Find the places they’re learning about. Think about how you might get there and how long it would take. This gives students additional information to hook into.

Just these three suggestions will go a long way toward helping your child really understand the material they’re studying.

Family Fun: “The Adventures of Berticus Barns” by Brian Silbert

If you’re living with or teaching one of those kids often labeled an “unmotivated, disorganized, procrastinating, mind-wandering underachiever,” you’ll love Berticus. He represents all those children who don’t fit into the system. I hope you enjoy this read-aloud story for the whole family.

Part Nine: The Coo

When we left Berticus last month, he was stunned as Farley Finnigan arrived at the club meeting uninvited!

Farley handed Thatch a notebook. It turned out he’d left it on the bus. And then she informed us that she had also overheard Thatch talking loudly on the bus that he was coming over to my house later on for something very important and very secretive. Plus, on the cover of his notebook in big bold letters was written,

SUPER-SECRET TOODOOLIST:
1 – DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE SUPER-SECRET MEETING TONIGHT
B – AT BERTICUS’ HOUSE
3 – FOR OUR SUPER-SECRET CLUB
4 – I LIKE HOT DOGS AND CHEESECAKE

Since Farley only lived a few doors down, she took it upon herself to make sure that Thatch had his notebook, which was really just an excuse to snoop around and find out what this super-secret meeting was about.

That was it! Thatch was out. How could he let this happen? With a stern voice I said, “Thatch, I’m sorry to inform you that your membership privileges have been, revoked, terminated, expired and canceled. Please gather your personal belongings and vacate the premises in an orderly fashion.”

He held his head low knowing what he did wrong and was just about to exit, when Farley spoke up.

She explained to us that she was raising a coup and overthrowing my leadership of this club. I had no idea what she was talking about.

“A coo?” I said. “What’s a coo?”

Farley rolled her eyes. “It’s spelled “C-O-U-P and the ‘P’ is silent. It means I’m over-throwing your leadership and taking over the club myself.”

But she couldn’t do that! It was my club! I started it! I named it! And it was my basement.

Farley ignored me, and in an authoritative voice, spoke again. “All in favor of me taking over as leader of this club say ‘aye.’”

Together, Thatch and my sister said, “aye.”

Holy cow, I couldn’t believe what was happening.

Farley then appointed Thatch the Head of Security and the next thing I knew, he was escorting me out of my own basement. This was gyp-rageous!

I knew Farley Finnigan was going to be trouble. If Dickey Snyder had been there, he never would have let this happen.

As I walked upstairs I could faintly hear Farley through the door say, “There are going to be some changes around here now that I am in charge! First, Thatch, you have to tuck in your shirt and comb that messy hair.”

Well, I guess it could have been worse. At least I wouldn’t have Farley yelling at me. Plus, there aren’t many kids who can say that they founded their very own super-secret club, even if it was only for half a day.

Before I went to bed that night, I grabbed a piece of paper and started a new ”to do” list.

1 – Think of a new “Big Idea”
2 – Explain to Thatch why NOT to write a super-secret “Toodoolist” on his notebook
3 – Think of more things to write on this list
4 – Brush my teeth

Don’t miss the May “School Success Newsletter” where Berticus has a New Big Idea

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. Leave a comment. I love to hear from you. Let me know what you’d like to see in the next newsletter and on the blog.

Thanks so much for all your emails, calls and comments.

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