Published monthly by Linda Silbert, Ph.D.

Listen to the Note from Dr. Linda and find out what’s in your July newsletter.

In This Issue

1. Happening Now: Terrific online savings for fun summer activities to improve school success tools: Summer School K-12, SAT & ACT Prep; summer TeleWebcasts; and lots more
2. Note from Dr. Linda: Honoring Our Country
3. School Success: History is All Around You
4. Summer Fun Equals School Success
5. Funny but True: Fireworks!
6. Fun Learning Activities: July Fact and Follow-up Activities
7. Now It’s Your Turn

Happening Now

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

• Call for one to one tutoring in Greater New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and CT, or on line. All subjects and levels. No contracts.
• Enroll in Summer School for middle schoolers in Westchester and Putnam Counties – early enrollment discount
• Enroll in Summer SAT Exam Prep - Westchester and Putnam Counties, three options to save money

Happening now at DrLindaSilbert.com

• Summer Fun Activities to Improve Reading and Writing Skills TeleWebcast, June 14 (podcast only) and June 28
• Summer Fun Activities to Improve Math Skills TeleWebcast, July 12 and July 19
• Summer Fun Activities to Improve Focus and Concentration TeleWebcast, August 2 and August 16

Find out more and sign up now for these TeleWebcasts.

Happening now at DrLinda’sBlog.com

• News and updates about our events, online, offline and TeleWebcasts plus articles (You’re welcome to reprint any article in full. Include my contact information. Great for school or community newsletters, blogs and ezines. )
• Thoughts and observations about kids and school and learning
• Your comments (I love to hear from you!)

Note from Dr. Linda

Dear Parents and Friends:

Welcome to my July newsletter. This month we’re honoring our country’s birthday on the 4th of July.

It amazes me the extent to which children love to learn about the history of our country and the importance of freedom, but instead how often they’re just memorizing facts and don’t really understand what happened in 1776.

Sandy, a fifth grader, told me, “The patriots wore red coats. They were from England. They live in Massachusetts now. I know that because my cousin, Joey, lives with them. They don’t fight anymore. They play football instead now.”

I’ve got several fun American Revolution activities in the newsletter that help kids get the facts without boring and meaningless memorizing. Have a great 4th!

Dr. Linda

School Success

History is All Around You

For kids to succeed in school, real learning needs to take place. Simply memorizing facts, as Sandy did, with little or no understanding, means real learning has not occurred.

History needs to be learned by role playing, performing in a play, watching a movie, reading historical novels and talking about them. Visiting historical sites, especially those that emphasize living history, costumed interpreters, and hands-on history are wonderful places for children to get real learning about the past.

To be sure your child understands our past, contact your local historical society and museum to learn about your geographical area or check out historic sites on the internet.

Take day trips or vacations to historical sites. Families living on the east coast have an advantage when learning about the birth of our country. A trip to Boston helps kids experience the real thing by taking a walk on the Freedom Trail and passing by Paul Revere’s house,  the Old North Church, and Boston Latin, the oldest school in America where you’ll recognize the statue of Ben Franklin.

Or go south to Williamsburg, Virginia. Eat dinner in the old tavern the colonists ate in and walk on the paths they walked on. Watch the blacksmith, the saddler, and the cooks in the Colonial kitchen. Listen to the costumed fifers and drummers as they march about.

Can’t make it to Williamsburg this summer. Middle school and high school kids can go on an online tour. Younger kids can play on Colonial Williamsburg’s kid’s page. Visiting these sights are fabulous experiences for kids and it’s fun! It’s the best education anyone can have and a great family summertime activity.

Summer Fun Equals School Success

TeleWebcasts for Improving Learning Skills This Summer Now kids can play, have fun and improve learning skills all at the same time. Learn how at my new “School Success and Summer Fun” TeleWebcasts for June, July and August. Lots of games and activities will improve your kid’s reading, writing, and math skills–plus thinking and focus. Sign up today.

Improve Phonics Skills by Playing Cards This Summer These easy-to-play games help kids learn phonics to boost their reading skills and that builds self-esteem. Ages 5-Adult. Phonics Games Special (expires July 15) All 20 phonics card games only $112.00 – a 30% savings off the individual game price. Check out the phonics card games at Strong Learning

Fun Summer Games to Improve Reading & Writing Skills Online Activities to Improve Reading (available at the June 14 Podcast) Ages 5 – 10 Online Activities to Improve Writing (available at the June 28 TeleWebcast.) Ages 7 – 11

Funny but True

Fireworks!

Every 4th of July my husband creates this beautiful display of golden fireworks out of steel wool. Friends and relatives wait till it’s dark for the beautiful show.

One year one of our friends shot a single picture of the display. He entered it in his camera club’s annual photo contest and won first prize. The other club members wanted to know all about the shot. What extreme measures did he use to get this sensational photo.

He stumbled a bit. “Actually, well, um, I just snapped the picture of my friend standing on his front lawn whirling a piece of burning steel wool round and round over his head.”

Later he told us that he guessed they were waiting for a more dramatic story. “They just stared at me. I took my award and left. I was afraid they’d change their mind and take the award back.”

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From ADHD to homework, from test-taking to phonics, 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 http://www.askdrlindasilbert.com/tips.html Check out the bonuses that come with your tips.

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Fun Learning Activities

July Fact and Follow-up Activities Fact: Born on July 4, 1776: The United States of America (Because July 4 is such an important birthday, all the activities this month relate to the Birth of our Country.)

Activity: Make a flash card deck of 50 cards. Put the state capitals on one side and names of the states on the other side. You can play by yourself or with your friends. You can even see how many your parents get right. Look for more  fun, interactive state capital quizzes on the internet.

Activity: Invent card games to play with your friends. Make 50 cards with the names of the states on them and 50 cards with the names of the state capitals. Now invent some games. What happens if you shuffle all the cards, mixing up the states and the capitals and then deal six cards to each player? How would you play the game? How would a person win this game? Hint: Think of games you already know like “Go Fish.” Can you make your game fit the rules of those games? If you want to make your game like “Old Maid,” you’ll need to make one more card.

Activity: Watch the movie version of the Broadway musical “1776.” Find the sheet music and sing along with the show. Middle  and High School kids can watch the HBO series about “John Adams” with their parents.

Activity: Go to the library and check out “The American Revolution for Kids: A History with 21 Activities” by Janis Herbert. One of the activities gives you directions for making a Tri-corner hat just like the patriots wore.  You can even put gold braid on it like this one has.

Activity: Write your own book about the Revolution with you as the main character. What do you think it would have been like to have lived during that time? What would you have been doing if you were a kid? Will you live in Boston, in Philadelphia, in Virginia, or out in the country on a farm? What do your parents and brothers and sisters do? Illustrate your book. Be sure to draw pictures for your book. If you’d like some ideas about being a kid during the American Revolution, you can read the book, “Johnny Tremain.”

Activity: Now have a puppet show based on the books you’ve read or the videos you’ve watched about the Revolution. Maybe George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson will be in your show. Once you’ve decided who will star in your puppet show, you’ll want to make costumes for the puppets. Don’t forget to have some cotton balls on hand so you can make those funny white wigs most of the men wore. And who are the women you’ll put in your puppet show?

Now It’s Your Turn

I love to hear from you. Email me at Linda@stronglearning.com Let me know what you’d like to see in the next newsletter.

If one of my tips or articles has helped, send your child’s success story or a “Funny but True’ story to share with my readers.

If we choose your story, you’ll receive a downloadable e-book version of my award winning book, “Why Bad Grades Happen to Good Kids” which I wrote with my husband, Dr. Al Silbert. The co-host of NBC’s “Today Show,” Al Roker, wrote the forward to our book.

Happy Fourth of July to all you loving, caring, hardworking Moms and Dads. Thank you for all you do.