Free Tutoring

As a teacher I have seen so many people pay for tutoring, buy practice books, etc. Usually, you can get all the help your child needs for free. Teachers often get kits with their textbooks of all the things they need to supply each student. These kits have to be used for several years, so the teacher cannot give you the supplies. However, if you are a parent that can be trusted, the teacher will often let you borrow things. You could probably get things like rulers, sets of coins and bills for money practice, protractors, compasses, calculators, small clocks for practicing time, counters, shapes, fraction bars (to help with learning fractions,) etc.

Another thing that teachers get with their textbooks is extra practice books. If your child needs help, have them do some extra practice at home. Teachers cringe on the inside when you ask for extra worksheets, because they honestly don't have the time to make more copies. If you would like the extra help for your child, ask the teacher to write down the lesson numbers she has planned for the next week. Then go into school (schedule a time with her ahead) and make copies from the extra workbooks that the students don't use in class. Usually a teacher will work with you on that and be happy to give you the books if you will look up the pages and make the copies yourself. Most books have the lesson numbers on each page somewhere so you should be able to figure out what to copy from the list of lesson numbers that you asked for.

One final thing that parents often asked me about is tutoring. Honestly, tutors can be counterproductive sometimes. If the tutor doesn't teach a skill the same way that the teacher did, it can be confusing to the child. Also, the tutor doesn't know how the test will look. So, who knows all of this information besides the teacher? The textbook companies do. In most cases they are the ones that write your child's tests, so they would know how to tutor your child. They also are very likely to present the material in the same way that the teacher did, since she is teaching from their books. How are you going to get the textbook company to tutor your child? Actually, most companies provide free e-books online. This is great because your child can do homework on the computer using the e-book and not have to lug home 20 pounds of book weight. Most of the time, these sites will also provide extra practice, re-teach lessons, games, and tutoring for each lesson in the book. You will probably have to ask the teacher to give your child a user name and password to access the site. Once you have that information, you should have access to all kinds of resources (for free) that hit on the exact skills your child is covering in class.

Book Review ~ Narnia Series

Title: Narnia Series

Author: C. S. Lewis

Accelerated Reader (AR) Level: 5 (worth 6-7 points)

Ages that Will Enjoy the Book: 9-15

Movie Version Available: Yes (several versions)

Review: The popularity of this series has swelled again recently due to the new Disney movies. I enjoyed the books. They are well written and pretty well known, so not much of a review is needed. My main point in recommending these books is to say this: there are two orders in which to read this series. They were written in this order: The Magician's Nephew, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle. Yet when they were published, they were released in a different order: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy, The Magician's Nephew, and The Last Battle. People have many views on which order you should follow when you are reading them. As a person who read them first by the publishing order and later on by the order they were written in, I must say that they make a WHOLE lot more sense when read in the order they were written.

Also by C. S. Lewis

Make a Puzzle

Teachers are known for being resourceful. Nothing can be wasted! I learned a way to turn old calendars into puzzles. First, I would laminate each month's picture. (I laminated them because they were for my class. If you are making them for use at home, you could choose to skip that step.) Then, I would cut the pictures into various shapes (usually squares to save time.) Finally, cut out the small picture from the back cover of the calendar that matches the picture you just cut. This will serve as a guide. Put all of the pieces in a Ziploc bag with the guide facing out.

My third and fourth graders loved them. They seem easy to solve, but if you cut squares, it's hard to tell how they fit together because any side could be the top, and there's no curves to match up.

Website Review ~ Circus Builder

Website: http://www.sadlier-oxford.com/phonics/3_4/circus/circus.htm
Appropriate for ages: 6-10
Helps with: Phonics – Vowel sounds

Review: This is a quick game that helps children learn their vowel sounds. However, it is not as simple as it may sound. It is geared more for a second through fourth grade student. I do believe that it would be good for younger students as well, but they may need assistance reading some of the words. The basic idea is this: you read a word, then, pick from three choices the word that uses the same vowel sound. What makes this a bit more challenging is that all three words might have the same vowel, but all using different sounds. It is a good little review game if your child needs extra practice in this area.

Fractions

Often we focus on parts of a whole when we work with fractions. The age old example of using a Hershey bar to illustrate this comes to mind. This teaches about breaking something into pieces and working with the fractional parts. But, sometimes fractions are wholes that are part of a group. In other words, sometimes things don't have to be broken to be part of a fraction. M&Ms can be a great way to illustrate this kind of fraction. You may have 10 M&Ms. 5 of them are blue. None of them are broken. The 5 whole blue M&Ms show the fraction 5/10 or 1/2. Many times, children only get experience with fractions that deal with broken parts. Then, when they see whole parts of a group, they do not understand. Pull out some M&Ms and practice this kind of fraction with your child. He will gladly work on his fractions if he can "clean up" the candy when he has proven that he understands.

Book Review ~ Gooney Bird Greene

Title: Gooney Bird Greene

Author: Lois Lowry

Accelerated Reader (AR) Level: 3 (worth 2 points)

Ages that Will Enjoy the Book: 8-11

Movie Version Available: No

Review: Kids will enjoy this book because it is silly and humorous. Teachers and parents will like it because it teaches children the parts of a good story. Through the wild tales that Gooney weaves to share with her class, kids learn the elements of fiction. Gooney explains the elements in some detail to her fellow students, so they too can tell wonderful stories. Though this book is very educational, it is extremely entertaining. I read it to my class of third graders. They loved it, and I was able to gain a lot of teachable moments through this story. Another added bonus is that Gooney loves to use big words. Often, she explains what they mean. That is a great learning opportunity for kids as well.

Also in the Gooney Bird Greene series

Also by Lois Lowry

Corresponding with Teachers

There are 3 main ways to correspond with your teacher outside of scheduled meetings: phone, e-mail, and notes. Find out which your child's teacher prefers. By corresponding in the way that your teacher prefers, you are greatly increasing the chance that you will receive word back quickly. For example, some schools do not have phones readily available to teachers, and if they do, it is not usually convenient to answer the phone during school hours. Some teachers like notes because they have a hard copy that they can stack or file. Still others like e-mail because it is easily accessed on their computer desktop with no paper clutter. After you have found out the preferred method, keep these simple etiquette tips in mind:

• Be patient. Teachers are overbooked, and there is really nothing they can do about it. Realize that it may take a couple of days for your child's teacher to get back to you. Often, teachers do not even get a chance to read notes or e-mails until after school is over. Therefore, it may take awhile before the teacher can respond.
  
• Be brief. Again, teachers are overbooked. Get to the point of the message quickly. This will also help to ensure that your return message deals with the question you are asking.
  
• Be polite. Emotion does not always come through in written form as you intended it. If you are doubtful of how your message will be received, have someone else read it and give you their opinion. Be cautious about writing notes if you are upset. Teachers usually keep all notes on file for the entire year.
  
• Write legibly. This seems obvious, but I have gotten many handwritten notes that I cannot decipher.