It shouldn’t surprise you that many university students can’t remember how to form cursive letters…

Their argument is that  handwriting skills are essentially irrelevant because the majority of the time, student work is done on the computer.

Some schools are even doing away with teaching cursive handwriting beyond the primary grades, preferring to  focus on keyboarding skills and other digital communication.

Even so, proper cursive writing still has its place in education. Yes, more and more students use the computer for their assignments, but keyboarding skills can’t help when writing exams or tests, or when taking notes in class–not everybody has a laptop!

You might argue that printing works just as well during exams and for taking notes in class… if you can print what is the purpose of cursive? The answer is that when time is limited, cursive writing is quicker and more fluid because the pen doesn’t leave the page as much as with printing, and there are fewer stops and starts. This means that you can write more during an exam, or take down more of what the teacher said during class.

But, like everything else, practice makes perfect. You’ve got to practice penmanship daily, or you’ll end up with comments about illegibility on your tests.

Want to read more about handwriting? Read our post about neatness here.

Building good eating habits leads to better performance in school. Studies have shown that poor diets, especially diets that are too high in fats and sugars, can have a detrimental effect on behavior — particularly behaviors that can help children succeed in school. Poor eating habits can cause problems with concentration, mood, energy, and focus, and can directly impact a child’s ability to learn, not to mention that fats and sugars can cause childhood obesity.

Develop Healthy Morning Habits

Be sure to start the day off right by eating a healthy breakfast. Skipping breakfast can disrupt metabolism resulting in the same symptoms as a poor diet — and who can focus on the teacher over the rumble of a hungry belly?

Eating a healthy breakfast is part of a good morning routine. Keep it simple and nutritious, something that both you and your children can agree on. Is your family too busy for a sit down breakfast every morning? Cut up apples, a banana and some trail mix for a healthy meal that travels well. It’s easy for kids to eat during the morning commute.

A Mid-Day Habit

Beat feeling sluggish mid-day. High in sugar, sodas or soft drinks might seem like a good pick-me-up to get over the afternoon slump, but the energy boost they provide is only temporary, causing a crash to follow. Scientific research continually examines the link between refined sugar intake and hyperactivity and aggression. Simple carbohydrates like sugar, flours, and juices can all affect the body the same way. That’s why it’s important to choose whole grains, fruits, veggies, and other foods with a minimum of refined sugar.

A better snacking alternative is small amounts of proteins and carbohydrates, like natural peanut butter on celery sticks — it will provide more sustained energy to carry through to the next meal.

Healthy eating habits at home provide a good foundation for optimum performance in school.

Want to read more about how nutrition affects learning? Check out this article on nutrition and cognitive learning from the University of Mississippi.

A nationwide effort promoting stringent guidelines for stocking school vending machines called Alliance for a Healthier Generation will be launched in the US early in the New Year. (New York Times 10/07/2006)

Five of the largest producers of snack foods are set to replace fat and sugar-laden foods with healthier options in vending machines across the US. Here are some of issues that are being addressed by the Alliance:

• The Department of Agriculture, responsible for developing national nutrition guidelines, is under pressure from parents and school boards to put forth stringent regulations on snack foods. Currently, the Department has policy surrounding nutrition and caloric intake for school lunches, but does not have formal regulations for snack foods. But the Department has been working with the Institute of Medicine and is hoping to create some formal regulations on snack foods in the near future.
• Soft drink manufacturers and vendors have agreed to provide healthier alternatives in vending machines but independent vendors of snack foods who stock the vending machines are not part of the agreement. Participants in the Alliance are hopeful that strength is in numbers—and the snack producers and distributors will comply given that many vendors are complying.
• Some states are already compliant with state and federal nutrition guidelines and have their own efforts to provide better nutrition. Colorado, for example, conforms to caloric and nutritional guidelines for cafeteria school lunches. As well, Colorado has Bill 103, legislation to ensure all school vending machines provide healthier snacks and beverages by the 2006-07 school year. But many school districts still don’t have any policy surrounding snack items or vending policies at all.
• Vending machine policy is especially critical because for many students it is the primary source of nutrition as school cafeteria lineups can be too long, or meals are too expensive. The Alliance for a Healthier Generation was formed, with the help of various partners, to help reduce childhood obesity issues.
• The links between good nutrition and school go beyond just issues of obesity. Poor diets—ones that are too high in fats and refined sugars have been linked to problems with concentration and focus, mood disorders, and behavioral issues.

Learn more: Alliance for a Healthier Generation

New York Times piece

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.

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.

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.

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?

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

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!

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