Dr. Linda’s School Success Newsletter | March 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: Time for Kites, Bikes and celebrations (big anniversary of the Girl Scouts)
School Success Tips All Kids: Riding Bikes Boosts Brain Power
School Success Tips for Young Readers: Celebrate Women’s History
Family Fun: “The Adventures of Berticus Barns,” Part Eight
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.

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

Note from Dr. Linda

Hi Parents, Grandparents, Teachers and Friends:

It’s March already, that crazy month where some days it seems like winter and then other days it’s so spring-like and oh, so windy. A good month for flying kites.

Doesn’t seem possible that school will be out in just three months for many children. It’s a good time to stop and assess how your kids are doing. Of course, I hope they’re moving right along learning new things and getting good grades. But just in case they need some help to do well on those final tests and exams, be sure to ask their teachers what needs to be done? Would they benefit from help outside school? Perhaps a tutor?

If tutoring is suggested, please give Strong Learning a ring at 845-628-7910. We’re always here for you and your children.

With winter on its way out, it’s time for kids to get outdoors: play, run around, fly kites, ride bikes. Physical exercise helps the brain. Studies have shown that kids who get lots of physical exercise do better in school and perform higher on tests. So in this month’s newsletter, I’ve got some suggestions for you about safe bike riding, a great way for the whole family to get lots of exercise and have fun at the same time.

In March we celebrate Women’s History Month and the birthday of the Girl Scouts. I’ve got some book suggestions for young readers to learn about famous women in history.

Don’t forget Berticus. Finally the Super Secret Club, now called Berti-club-icus, meets and . . . oh no, an uninvited guest shows up. You and your kids will laugh as Berticus struggles with his club.

Happy March 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.

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School Success Tips for All Kids: Riding Bikes Boosts Brain Power

Healthy kids do better in school and part of being healthy includes getting plenty of exercise. Riding a bike provides exercise and most kids love it. March, or at least warm, dry days in March, is the time to get the bikes out of the garage, check them over to make sure tires are pumped up, all parts are working, the brakes are good, and the bike is the right size.

If your child has grown a lot since last summer, the bike might be too small. Or a bike handed down from an older brother or sister might be too big. Bikes that aren’t the right size can be just as unsafe as a bike that isn’t working properly.

You’ll want to review bike safety rules with your kids, where they can ride and where you don’t want them riding. Be sure to remind them that they must wear a helmet. Also, be sure they know to secure the chin strap. Too loose and it can fall off in an emergency.

Review these Bike Safety Rules for Kids. And watch this bike safety video.

While you’re at it, you might as well join your kids. Make bike riding a family event.

School Success Tips: Celebrate Women’s History

March is Women’s History Month. One fun way of celebrating is to interview a grandma or a great-grandma. Find out what school was like when she was a little girl. What did girls wear to school? What did they play with? How did they communicate with people? What was their family life like?

Even pre-schoolers can enjoy “The Keeping Quilt” by Patricia Polacco. Children up to 3rd grade will love this heartwarming story about a quilt that’s passed down through four generations. Of course kids will want to know if their family has something that’s been passed down through time.

Have kids tell you all the women they can think of who are doctors, lawyers, senators, mayors, even Secretary of State. Let Grandma or Great-Grandma explain that when they were children, few women got to do these things. They can read about women in our country in “Remember the Ladies: 100 Great American Women” by Cheryl Harness. For ages 9-12. It has good short biographies of women from Pocahontas to Eleanor Roosevelt, from Virginia Dare (the first English woman born in America) to Oprah Winfrey.

If you have a Girl Scout in the family, it’s time to celebrate the life of Juliette Gordon Low who founded the Girl Scouts on March 12, 1912. Your Girl Scout can read “Daisy and The Girl Scouts” for the story of the woman who founded the Girl Scouts.

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 Eight: A Security Breakdown at the First Meeting

When Thatch and I re-convened our power meeting at recess, we created a super-secret handshake for our club. First, shake with your right, then shake with your left, touch knuckles and bow. Not the most elaborate of handshakes, but it was a decent start. We could amend it later.

We hadn’t come up with a name yet, which I felt was very important. So, I decided to call it, Berti-club-icus. I then tried to think of a good place to hold meetings. Renting office space would be too expensive at this stage of our endeavor. So, we decided to hold the first official meeting of “Berti-club-icus” in the basement of my house that night. I made Thatch the “Director of Affairs” and out of desperation, I had my sister Lizzy act as temporary secretary until we found someone with more experience to replace her.

Later that evening, we gathered in my basement for the first official meeting of the club formally known as the “Unofficial Super-Secret Club.” Lizzy took roll call. “Berticus?”

“Here.” Lizzy checked off my name. “Thatch?… Thatch?… Thatch!!”

“Here, ma’am,” Thatch replied as Lizzy rolled her eyes and checked off his name. She then informed me that we were all in attendance.

Now, the first order of business was to collect the membership dues. Being the business tycoon that I was, I felt this was not only going to be a fun club, but also a very profitable one for me. Sure, we only had a few members thus far, but it was only our first day. I had very high hopes for Berti-club-icus. My master plan was to charge each member 75 cents per week. If I got a hundred members, times 52 weeks in a year that added up to… $3,900. I’d be rich!

I asked Lizzy to collect the dues. She quickly ran upstairs and asked my mom for her 75 cents. When she returned she collected the rest of the money from all the members, which was Thatch. I then asked her to add it all up and give me the grand total. “Eighty-seven cents,” she said. Thatch only had 12 cents in his pocket since he didn’t realize the Director of Affairs would have to pay.

Hmm, I thought. We would most certainly need more members if I were to reach my financial goal. I began to move on to a new order of business when suddenly, my sister broke into one of her infamous sneezing fits. Once she got going, she couldn’t stop.

As we waited out my sister’s sneezing attack, there was a sudden knock at the basement door. What was going on? Who could be interrupting our first meeting? As the door swung open I looked up…Holy Cow! It was Farley Finnigan?! How did she find out about this? There must have been a security leak! A breakdown in the system!

“Code Red! Code Red!” I shouted.

Don’t miss the April “School Success Newsletter” where Berticus is faced with a political coo in his club.

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.