Ever have difficulty helping your children understand their homework? Do your children ever try to convince you that it's easier to study with the TV or music blaring? Or with friends over? Well ... they may be right! It all depends on their learning style. You likely already know something about … [Read more...]
3 Keys to Overcoming Learned Helplessness
Do any of your children suffer from learned helplessness? Do they seem to give up or quit as soon as a task gets difficult? Do they ever refuse to try activities, or get labeled as lazy or unmotivated? Are mistakes or failures usually blamed on other people or conditions? Well, the good news is that … [Read more...]
Learning to Remember
How would you rate your memory? Excellent? Good? Fair? (Or perhaps you've already forgotten the question?!)Every day many demands are made on your child's memory--be it learning the sounds letters make, new words, math facts, or perhaps even difficult scientific formulas. For some, this complex and … [Read more...]
Be Firm, Fair & Consistent
As a teacher and parenting coach, I am often asked to share tips on how parents can control their one or two kids as effortlessly as many teachers manage a class of twenty-five or thirty. Although setting limits and boundaries is a necessary part of teaching and parenting, it isn't always … [Read more...]
Fun with Dice & Cards
Looking for ways to keep your kids engaged on rainy days or long car rides and fight off "summer learning loss?" (39 separate studies have shown student can loose up to 2.6 months of learning over the summer.) It's easy! All you need is a deck of cards, some dice, and a little imagination. Here are … [Read more...]
Defining Success
Final report cards are almost here, and with them comes an excellent opportunity to reflect upon and celebrate the growth and success your child has achieved at school this year. But what does success look like? Is it just about marks and favourable comments? Or are there other components, like … [Read more...]
Does Your Child Have a Learning Disability?
Is your child struggling in school, or perhaps in one or two specific subjects or areas? While there can be many reasons for this, one reason many children fail to achieve good grades in school is the existence of an undiagnosed learning disability. WHAT IS A LD? Learning disabilities come in many … [Read more...]
Tips to Support Struggling Learners
As a parent you hate to see your kids struggle--be it physically, emotionally, or academically. Luckily for them (and you) most of these times are likely short lived and your children soon forget. But what if struggle has become part of their daily lives .. especially at school? This month I'd like … [Read more...]
Helping Children Master the Basic Facts
Do you or your child still struggle with your basic facts? Does the thought of adding or subtracting two numbers in your head make you cringe? Every teacher knows someone who still counts on his/her fingers, or guesses when asked to calculate a simple addition or subtraction question. But it doesn't … [Read more...]
5 Tips to Nurture Improved Thinking Skills
While the teaching of content such as math facts, grammar rules, and capital cities has always been part of the school experience, there is now a greater emphasis to also focus on the development of thinking skills. After all, learning how to analyze, evaluate, and come up with creative … [Read more...]