Fran's Tutoring Blog

Summer should be fun! Time to wind down, relax, be with friends, go to your fav waterpark or wave pool, and take a family vacation - even if it is just a "staycation" at a local hotel with a pool and an elevator and a great breakfast buffet!

For many kids, it is also a chance to explore a new interest, (specialty camps such as drama, art, cooking,) or to hone a skill, (soccer or other sport camps,) or to (YES!) ) catch up on school work - gaps in education that are holding your child back - preventing him or her from reaching his or her full potential!

If your elementary child is behind...

It is a privilege to work with international students; I wonder if they will take part of my teaching with them back to their countries and teach others - just one thing - that I have taught them. I hope so! As well as the short term goal(s) of learning English well enough to pass a course, get into graduate school, or just have a more meaningful exchange with peers, I am hopeful that learning more about a language will contribute to citizens of all countries coming to a greater understanding of one another, and as Anna Quindlen says in one of our essays, realizing our greater "interconnectedness...

A popular TV commercial tells us how to take "Stephen" - pronounced STEVE uhn to "Stephen" pronounced Ste FAHN." Same spelling, same amount of letters, but more pizzazz... or style... (or something to that effect!)

I was reminded of this one week ago when a shy third grader - who needs help in reading - asked me about something I had just read to him.

Almost inaudibly, he said, (I thought) something about a word being "wrong."

"I'm sorry," I said, "What did you say?"

"That word," he explained softly, tentatively... "You got it wrong,"

MOI???

"Which one?" I asked, curious to know what...

If your child is in elementary school, you may wish to evaluate his academic needs before scheduling camp, special interest classes and your family vacations.

Then, plan accordingly.

How do you know if your child needs "academics" this summer? And, how do you plan around the fun you want him or her to have?

Three EZ things!

1) Is your child up with his peers - in the way he expresses himself... in the way that she initiates and plays games... in his grades... in his class participation?

2) Is your child's report card good? Notice I did not say ,"OK," but good! An elementary school...

Many articles in our popular magazines bemoan the loss of "family communication" and time spent together - whether it be "quality time" or just "down" time. If you, the parent, try to think back to your own childhood, you may remember that some of the best conversations or touching moments occurred when you least expected them.

What you may not realize, even now, is the impact that your family life had on you. All of the little conversations, the quiet moments, the time spent watching TV together - when most of us only had one or two TVs - were times when mom or dad, grandma or grandpa, or...