Published monthly by Linda Silbert, Ph.D.

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

In This Issue

1. Happening Now: Terrific online savings for fun summer activities to improve reading & writing skills: Summer School K-12, SAT & ACT Prep; Summer TeleWebcasts; and lots more
2. Note from Dr. Linda: Honoring Dads
3. School Success: Dyslexic Dad’s Wish
4.  Summer Fun Equals School Success
5. Funny but True: Grandpa, the Chauffeur
6. Fun Learning Activities: June Facts 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

Happening now at DrLindaSilbert.com

• Summer Fun Activities to Improve Reading and Writing Skills TeleWebcast, June 14 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 newsletter. Since Father’s Day is coming up, we’re honoring Dads. My “School Success” story is about a dad with dyslexia who was determined to read bedtime stories to his son. My “Funny but True” story is focused on a loving but absent-minded Grandpa

Dads are such important people in kids’ lives. They’re right up there with mom. And just as we do for Mom on Mother’s Day, we give presents to Dad for Father’s Day.

Finding a Father’s Day gift has always been a challenge in our home. Since my husband is a bicyclist and runner, it seems obvious that something in those categories would be the ideal gift. But, no! My kids and I tried many times, and it was never the exact item he needed.

So we decided one year to avoid anything to do with biking or running. He rarely shops for clothes, so we surprised him with a complete outfit for casual dress: jacket, slacks, shirt and tie. We thought we were brilliant. He thanked us enthusiastically, hugged each of us, and carefully placed each item back in it’s place in the fancy shopping bag.

TWO years later when he needed a new outfit, he got the clothes out of the fancy bag, straightened out each piece, and tried them on for the first time. He only put it on the new outfit because he didn’t want to go shopping . . . lucky for him, it fit!

What are you getting Dad for Father’s Day? Do you or your kids have thoughts or stories about Father’s Day and dads?

Please send me an email so I can share them with my readers in my mid-June update.

Best wishes for a Happy Father’s Day,

Dr. Linda

School Success

Dyslexic Dad’s Wish

Mikey’s Dad called. Could I help him? His wife reads Mikey a bedtime story. Every night Mikey asks him to read it. “Night after night I make up excuses as to why I can’t read to him,” Mikey’s Dad told me.

He continued, “My wife has begged me to go back to school. But, when I think of school I break out into a sweat. I don’t know if I’m just stupid, but I could never read or write. So I finally dropped out of school in eleventh grade.

I’m so afraid Mikey will find out I can’t read. Last year, I couldn’t even read my father’s day card from Mikey! Dr. Linda, can you help me”? After a few tests, I explained to Mikey’s dad, that he was an intelligent man who had dyslexia, a reading disorder.

The good news is that there are strategies that can help him learn to read. We worked together for quite some time. He never missed an appointment or even one homework assignment. He wanted so much to be able to read a bedtime story to Mikey.

Week by week he improved. He stopped thinking he was stupid. He began reading Mikey bedtime stories. We started with “Danny and the Dinosaur,” proceeded to Clifford books and then to “Curious George.”

And yes, when Mikey gave his dad a Happy Father’s Day card that June, his dad, with tears in his eyes, read it aloud to Mikey.

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 June 15) All 20 phonics card games only $97.00, reduced from $120.00 – a 40% 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 TeleWebcast.) Ages 5 – 10

Online Activities to Improve Writing (available at the June 28 TeleWebcast.) Ages 5 – 1

Funny but True

Grandpa, the Chauffeur

Timmy and his Grandpa were best friends. Grandpa always brought Timmy in for his sessions with me. He sat in the waiting room reading his magazines while Timmy worked with me. Everybody knew Timmy’s Grandpa. He was Timmy’s best pal.
One day, when Timmy and Grandpa left, Grandpa got in the driver’s seat as always, but Timmy realized he had forgotten some books in the office. He said he told Grandpa that he had to run back in for a minute, but Grandpa didn’t hear him.

When Timmy ran back outside, Grandpa had driven away without him. Timmy came rushing back in the office yelling “Grandpa left!” In fact Grandpa drove all the way home. It was only after he walked in the house that he realized Timmy wasn’t there. He was with us, as we were still frantically trying to get Grandpa on his cell phone which he often forgets to turn on.

We all had a good laugh, even Timmy. And for Grandpa . . . well, Grandma and Mom weren’t so kind, but Dad kind of understood how it could happen.

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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

June Facts and Follow-up Activities Fact: Born on June 8, 1867: Frank Lloyd Wright, an American architect. Click here to see some of the homes he designed. Interestingly, there is an authentic original Frank Lloyd Wright house on the lake in my town. The picture shows a house he built on top of a water fall.

Activity: Do original research. Find out the most popular house style where you live. To do this, make a list of all the people you can think of in your town or city.

Then create a chart entitled, “House Styles”. For example, Ranch, Colonial, Dutch Colonial, etc. Under each style write the name of the family who lives in that style house. Think about which house style is most common. Why? Which is least common on your list? Why?

Tell me about your findings. I’d love to share this with our readers. Click here to find out about different house styles and what they look like.

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Fact: Born on June 18, 1942: Paul McCartney, an English rock star. He played with the music group called The Beatles. Read about The Beatles

Activity: Listen to Beatles songs. Dance to the music, if you play a musical instrument, find the sheet music and try to play some of the songs. Form a rock group with your friends or family.

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Fact: June 14, 1777: The American Flag, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the Continental Congress, was officially adopted to symbolize the colonies’ united effort for independence. The stripes represent the original 13 colonies, and each state is represented by a star. The one you see here is called the “Betsy Ross Flag.”

Activity: Cities, states and countries use symbols to represent themselves. For example, the United States has an official bird, flower, and flag. Research the official bird, flower and flag for your state. Design a family T-shirt Select a symbol for each category to represent your family and draw it on a T-shirt.

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 to put in the mid-June newsletter, 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 Father’s Day to all you loving, caring, hardworking and handsome Dads. Thank you for all you do.