November
From the Parenting Edge Newsletter
A segment from our December parent newsletter
Parties. Shopping. Baking. Decorating. Get-togethers. The holiday season is a very busy time—with the kids home from school and the hectic pace of this season, staying organized and focused on school can be quite a challenge. After all, the holidays are a break from routine — a time when the normal rules don’t apply.
There is a big market for products that help you stay organized during times of chaos, or even just during everyday life. Agendas, planners, calendars, and digital organizers help to organize time, while storage containers, baskets, and label makers help to organize things. But how do you organize your thoughts so that thinking and planning are more clear — how do you organize your brain?
Organizing the brain isn’t as impossible as it sounds. The brain is capable of great changes, including the ability to think about things in new ways such as how to process and store information. This is known as cognitive development, and the brain is always up to the challenge—it just takes some mental legwork, some practice, a little focus, and heaps of determination.
Just as you can tidy up your desk and organize your binder to find things more easily, you can declutter the brain to regroup and organize information so that thinking is better organized. As you think about things in a new way, your brain will develop new and improved neural pathways to better access information—how cool is that?
When the brain has strong organizational abilities, it can stay focused and on track, even during times of great distraction, like over the holidays.
Use a school agenda—even when not in school!
By now, you’ve seen at least one report card, and you’ve probably been to one teacher conference. Your child has completed more than a few assignments and logged some serious homework hours. Together, you’ve built good habits, established a routine, and have a focus and a plan of action.
Just because the holiday season is here it does not mean that it’s okay to abandon focus and plans. Yes, slacken the rules a little, it’s the holidays after all, but don’t ditch them entirely!
The holidays are perfect for relaxation and celebration, but not every hour of every day is a party. Studies show that children actually crave structure and routine. Over the holidays, use a holiday agenda to stay organized and focused, and to stay on top of any upcoming January assignments.
Give your Child the Gift of Time Management—use a Holiday Agenda.
Use the agenda during the holidays to underscore the idea that school doesn’t end just because kids are on break. Create a seamless transition to back-to-school by staying organized and on-track.
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It’s Children’s Book Week in Canada!
Last week was children’s book week in the US, this week it is book week in Canada—writing contests, author readings, book giveaways, read-ins… what a great way to promote literacy in young readers! It’s reading and fun combined.
Canada’s book week is the only bilingual literacy event in the nation. To find out more about how to participate in Book Week, go to BookWeek.ca.
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An SAT success story from our centre in Delaware
Hello Head Office!
We just wanted to share the joy. We enrolled Aaron last December, and he will no longer need anymore help from Oxford Learning. How do we know? Well, it turns out that Aaron has just been accepted into the University of Hartford!
This former C student, who is now on the honor roll has what it takes to go onto higher education – and early admission no less! Aaron’s SAT score reflected his new abilities and new skills, thanks to all the preparation that he did with us!
Aaron came to us because he had very few college prospects with a 2.0 GPA, and less than 750 SAT score. His new GPA is 3.2 and his new and improved SAT score? Over 1000!
We cried when he showed us his acceptance letter — we were just so proud of him!
We know that all students have this potential. It is possible. To find out more about our SAT Plus program click here, or to find a location near you, click here.
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Yeah for books!
One of the first things that my mother ever taught me was that books are our friends. (Usually preceded by a scolding such as: we do NOT color in books! or we do NOT crumple book pages!) Needless to say, my love of books and the written word was developed at an early age—which is coincidently the impetus behind Children’s Book Week… developing a love of books.
This Week is U.S. Children’s Book Week — November 13-17. This year’s theme is More Books Please! Which is based, I’m guessing, on inspiring a hunger in children so that they can’t get enough of books—or the magic, whimsy, ideas and worlds that they can discover by reading.
More on children’s book week here: http://www.cbcbooks.org/cbw/
Some of my favorite childhood books:
- Anything by Judy Blume—especially Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret, & Tales of a Forth Grade Nothing
- Memo to Myself: When I have a Teenage Kid by Carol Snyder
- The Babysitter’s Club Books
- The Berenstain Bears series
- Dr. Seuss — Horton Hatches the Egg, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas
- Richard Scarry—Is this the House of Mistress Mouse? & Good Night, Little Bear
What are some of your favorite children’s books?
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Good Work Habits Help to Ace the SAT
Dear Oxford Learning,
My name is Lynn Sampson. I have been studying at Oxford Learning for almost a year now, and have been seeing great changes in my work habits. I’m receiving a lot of school support as well as developing extended study skills. These skills have helped me through the past year at school. They have helped to organize my time, study for tests, write an essay and remember important information.
I’m really grateful to have come across such a great program, especially in my last year of high school. I’m not even worried about taking the SAT. And, these important life tools that I’ve been taught will be carried with me into university and used throughout the rest of my life.
I recommend Oxford for anyone who is seeking not only the right answers, but for carefully thought-out skills that can be used in any aspect of life.
Thanks so much!
Lynn Sampson
Fruit Cove, Florida
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University Prep
If you are feeling the pressure of the last year of high school, you are not alone.
Everything that happens this year has a direct effect on what happens next year!
But fear not — we have a program designed specifically to help senior high school students breeze through their final year and onto post secondary education, especially if they start early. Now is always the best time to get stated.
Read these letters (posted in this blog) about how we helped take away the now-what? stress. You’ll be convinced!
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How is the homework getting done when the student is frustrated and disillusioned?
This letter from a parent explains how Oxford Learning helps to get the homework done.
Dear Oxford Learning,
We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to you and your teaching associates for your remarkable accomplishments in furthering our son Mitchell’s academic capabilities. We came to you a year ago with a young boy frustrated, saddened and disillusioned with every aspect of school. We came away a year later with a young man, confident, willing to learn, to take on new challenges and complete assignments and homework in a timely and proper manner.
His entire attitude and approach to school has improved 100%. There are not enough words to covey our sincere gratitude to you and your team of professionals!
Sincerely,
D and J Burton
Evans, Georgia
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Dangerous Waters: Surfing Not Recommended?
Last week I wrote about the possibility that Instant Messaging might interfere with children’s learning curve during the early educational years… and said that IM possibly could interfere with language development, that it was potentially harmful and it’s usage should be monitored. Let’s face it—the Internet is out there, along with all its accoutrements: chat rooms, IMs, MySpace, etc. And, as long as computers and the Internet are available it will lure children with its’ technology like a sweet siren’s song.
The Internet: kids will use it—and use it they should. But to keep all things safe, little online-education and monitoring is in order — to keep the wee ones away from potential online predators, cyber-bullying and poor language development.
Online safety starts with a few basic tips. Read these, and surf safely!
Oxford Learning’s Top Ten Online Safety Tips
- Keep your online profile simple, and don’t reveal too much: first name, but last initial, city but not address, grade, but not what school you attend etc.
- Use a screen name instead of your name when possible — develop a name to use when online, like cat_girl06 or likesfido21.
- Use a kid-friendly search engine/browser. They have built-in parental control and a design that kids like.
- Install your internet provider’s parental control features—this can restrict the sites that your child can surf to, and protects from non-g rated pop ups.
- When using an IM, change the preferences to contacts-only, or invite-only — this way your child will only get messages from people in the contact list, and no outsiders can make contact.
- If necessary, purchase parental add-ons that can log all of your child’s online activities.
- Make your default page a kid-friendly one, like Yahooligans.
- When surfing around for fun, be sure to only follow links from trusted sites.
- Limit online time. Agree with your child to a set computer schedule.
- Always act online as though someone might be watching!
Link: BeWebAware.ca – tools to help keep your kids safe online
Link: KidRocket.org – Child friendly web browser (free)
Link: NetNanny.com – commercial product with many safety features
Do you have a suggestion or a review of a filtering product or service? We’d love to hear about it.
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