Progress reports, report cards. Parent teacher interviews… it’s that time of year for the first formal report of how kids are doing do far this grade.

The first report card can be a stressful time for parents and kids alike.  Maybe there might be a few unpleasant surprises, and maybe a few red flags, which can be stressful enough, but then to add to the stress, it’s also time for parent-teacher interviews.

Here’s the thing: parent–teacher interviews don’t have to be stressful!

Check out these tips for de-stressing the meeting-the-teacher process, and helping your kids get on the path to better grades.

Go to the interview. Even if your kid is pulling in straight A’s, going to the interview is a key part in parental involvement in education.  Studies show that the more parents are involved in their child’s education, the better grades their child gets. So go, meet the teachers that instruct and test your children, even if it’s just to shake hands and say, “nice to meet you.”

Prepare. Read the report card over before going to the interview.  Also, review any returned test or assignments that your child has be given to see if marks on the report card are aligned with marks on homework.  Bring examples of your child’s work with you to the interview if you have specific concerns.

Ask Questions. It’s not enough to just show up; parents should go into the interview informed. Have specific questions in mind in order to gain better insight classroom performance. Not sure what to ask? Asking how your child is performing in relation to the other students in the class is always a good conversation starting point. Try to keep the discussion academic.  It’s nice to hear that your child is the class charmer, but it doesn’t help help him reach his academic goals.

Set Goals.  If your child is getting a C+ and you’d like it to be a B+, then discuss actionable steps that can be taken starting right away to make this goal happen. Take notes, and set the actions in motion immediately—the next report card will be here before you know it! (Need some help setting goals?  Download our Academic Action Plan.)

Keep it Short and Friendly. Teachers and parents are on the same team when it comes to education, so being confrontational benefits no one. Also, keep in mind that the teacher has somewhere between 20 and 30 parents to meet with.  Your time is short, so maximize it!

Call Oxford Learning. Confused by report card jargon? Worried about poor grades? Concerned that your child is not being challenged enough? Call Oxford Learning to schedule a free report card consultation.  We can help you make sense of the report card! And, we’re a valuable part of your child’s academic support team.

According to an article on CNN, recent study is showing that too much online time can actually change brain structure.

The study looked at college students who spent about 10 hours a day online in comparison to those who spent less than two hours a day.  The study showed that the heavy Internet users actually had different brain structures in the “thinking” part of the brain.

Research says that the constant online stimulation can activate pleasure centres in the brain, and that the brain is wired to crave the instantaneous pleasures that online multitasking can give. But, the brain also needs the downtime—the slower pace of being offline—to process and rest.

Not so surprisingly, a surplus of online time didn’t just have cognitive implications— social ramifications of spending too much time online were observed, such as not being able to properly identify the emotions of people in stories.

While it can be difficult to cut back online time, the article offers tip to help heavy online multitaskers reduce their reliance on technology, which is important for parents and children alike. These guidelines can go a long way to helping establish Online Guidelines in your home that everyone can follow.

1. Keep track of how many hours a day that you are online.  Some studies show that students are online up to 7 hours a day! What websites do you visit?  What takes up the most time?
2. Set some time limits—balance is key.  The article suggests no more than two hours online at a time. 
3. Train your brain to slow down. Stare out the window, and daydream.  Pay attention to what your brain is thinking about. Try to focus on a single subject for a period of time. If you get off track, pull yourself back to the subject that you are supposed to be thinking about. 
4. Have offline time. Set a rule in your house to have offline time where everyone puts away the gadgets and powers down.  Other studies show that being offline in the hours before bed can improve sleep.
5. Get some exercise. Find an activity to do that takes you away from all electronics and gets your blood pumping.

When spring is in the air, it’s natural to start thinking about what summer will bring. Our Spring Newsletter can help! It’s packed with tips to help make spring great, and get your family ready to have a great summer!

Click on image to download and print our Spring Newsletter!

There was an article the other day about how video games are actually good for your brain. They make it work better, improve hand-eye coordination, and help you make decisions. Take that, Dad!

I know that this doesn’t mean that sitting in front of the TV or computer for six hours a day is good, but a little gaming every day is okay. I like playing video games because they are relaxing, and challenging. I can that tell my brain is working. I like solving the puzzles, and learning new stuff, and video games help with that. I also really, really enjoy killing zombies, and where else can I do that but on my PS3?

About me: I go to South Secondary School in London, ON and I have two younger siblings. I have always been a movie guy. But movies aren’t the only thing I enjoy. In the summer I love to bike with my friends down to the Thames River and ride along the trails. The sights and the entire ride are always beautiful. Anyway, hopefully you’ll enjoy my posts! Remember to leave feedback and comments at the bottom! – Dylan.

We already know why it’s important to make learning part of your holidays, so, with the holidays fast approaching, we compiled 12 ideas to keep your kids mentally engaged over the holiday season. Check in often for new ideas, and if you have your own idea, we’d love to hear it!

Day 2: Snuggle Up With A Book.

Reading is one of the greatest ways to work on school skills over the holidays. Books not only tell stories of great adventures they help media-saturated children unplug. It helps children learn how to sustain their attention and develop vocabulary and reading comprehension—all great skills that are necessary in the classroom.

Need some ideas on what books are appropriate for what age? Visit Family Education’s reading list for some great book suggestions broken down by age groups

Tip One: Get Crafty Together

Report Cards can be very stressful for families. Kids don’t want to disappoint their parents, or be punished for bad grades, and parents don’t want to find out that their child is struggling academically. While report cards can be stressful, they don’t have to be.

Before stress levels reaches the danger zone, consider the following:

It’s Still Early—this is the first report card, which means that there is still ample opportunity to make improvements this school year.

Language—report cards often contain confusing educational jargon, which can be frustrating. Forget the gobbledygook and focus on the teacher’s comments. These comments can give you a better idea of how your child is performing overall.

Context—some school years are more challenging than others. Certain grades are transition years, such as the first year of high school, or the shift from early to middle school. These years can be challenging to all students, regardless of their academic abilities.

Now that parents have read the report card, it’s time to have a chat with the kids about their grades. Here are some tips that will help parents—and kids—banish any icky report-card feelings:

1. Be calm, cool, and collected. If you’re upset or angry about grades, hold off on the discussion until you can speak calmly and rationally.
2. Say something nice. Start with empathetic and positive comments. Highlight something positive about the report card, no matter how trivial. For instance, “You are really kicking butt in English.”
3. Listen to your child. Recognize the struggles. School can be tough. It is helpful to students to know that you are listening to their concerns and complaints.

The final report card takeaway is this:

Problems Require Action! Remember that the report card is a red flag. There may be plenty of time left in the school year, but if you don’t act now, the urgency of poor grades will be forgotten.

Our fall newsletter is packed full of great tips and techniques to help your make sure that this school year starts off on the right foot!

Click to download our 4 page, printer-friendly newsletter

When asked by an ambitious high school student what leads to success, TED Talks presenter Richard St. John didn’t know how to answer. But, after 7 years and over 500 interviews of successful people, he finally had his answer.  He shares what he learned about what leads to success in this short video.

Oxford Learning Winnipeg franchisee Alexis Yildir suggested posting this video as a great way to inspire teens to succeed in school.  The tips are simple and easy-to-follow, and they drive home the message that anyone can be successful. Watch this video together as a family as a great way to get motivated about the new school year.

The link between nutrition, thinking, and learning is not a new concept.

The idea holds that if certain foods can promote better thinking and learning—fresh fruits and veggies, fish, vitamins, etc.— then it stands to reason that other foods can detract from the ability to learn.

There are many foods on this list, but sugars are the most common substance linked to behavioural and learning challenges.

Often, it’s not food itself that causes problems, but what is ADDED to the food.

The Centre for Science in the Public Interest has published an in-depth study called “A Rainbow of Risks” that links food colouring to attention deficit issues.

Food colouring is not an easy substance to avoid—it is in many everyday foods—even used (according to the report) to colour the rinds of oranges.

The danger is that food colouring appears in foods that are most popular with children: candy, soft drinks, milkshakes, etc. Even more important is that these foods make up a large portion of children’s diets, and developmentally, children are the most vulnerable to developing issues from the food that they eat.

Food colouring is not alone in its link to ADD and ADHD. www.Care2.com lists the 5 foods linked to ADD and ADHD as:

1. Fast foods
2. Processed meats
3. Red meat
4. High fat dairy products
5. Sweets

Food colouring is not just linked to attention deficit issues. An article on Babble.com notes that Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 cause allergic reactions, and Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, the three most widely used dyes, are also known carcinogens.

This information can be very helpful for families with children on the ADD/ADHD spectrum. Label reading and eliminating foods high in food colouring may help these families see improvement in ADD and ADHD symptoms.

Or, 13 more ways to make learning part of your summer.

N: Nature. Take a nature hike, stopping along the path to look at plants and animals. This is a great place to practice description skills. Engage children to think actively about what they encounter by asking questions, “why do you think that tree is dead?” “What kind of animal might have left that footprint?”

O: Oxford Learning. Oxford Learning Camps and programs are an easy way to maintain learning momentum over the summer. Our programs help students catch up in trouble areas, keep up with their classmates, and get a head start on next year’s subjects.

P: Puzzles. Like board games puzzles are great downtime activities that keep the brain challenged. Whether playing Sudoku, Crosswords, search-a-words, or traditional puzzles, this is a fun way to challenge your mind and learn skills such as persistence and problem solving.

Q: Quiet time. Make a time every day to have some peace and quiet. Engage in some active thinking, a little daydreaming, or just spend some down time simply being together. It’s a great way to let the brain make important connections.

R: Read. If there is one summer activity that is equal parts fun and education, it is reading. It doesn’t take science and research to know that reading keeps the mind active all summer long. It also helps develop vocabulary, and increases reading comprehension, which both pay off in the classroom.

S: Scrapbook. Turn summer memories into a hobby that encourages children to engage their brain by writing and drawing about the day’s activities. Cut pictures from magazines and newspapers and gather items such as feathers, or seashells to paste onto the pages for a colourful way to document summer fun. (This is different from “scrapbooking,” but that can be fun too!)

T: Travel. You don’t have to leave your city to experience the spirit of wanderlust. Visit your local tourist bureau and become a tourist in your own backyard. Head to the other side of town to visit a park that you’ve never been do. This is also a great opportunity for children to learn about the city they live in—major street names, directions, and local history.

U: University. For teens heading off to university in the fall, summer is the best time to prepare for what comes next. It’s also a time for summer jobs and, as the last summer of high school, it’s a major life milestone—it’s important to take advantage of this opportunity.

V: Vocabulary. Vocabulary is linked to school success—the greater a child’s vocabulary, the greater the reading comprehension skills are. The best way to develop vocabulary? Reading. Write down new words and definitions in the summer scrapbook.

W: Write. Despite the prevalence of keyboards, penmanship and handwriting are still very important! Personal handwriting style is always developing, so it’s critical to maintain skills. Journaling and writing in a scrapbook are a great ways to improve penmanship over the summer.

X: X Marks the Spot. Organize a fun scavenger hunt or a pirate-theme day and have a little bit of silly fun. Make crafts and invite neighbourhood friends. It doesn’t have to be a holiday or a birthday to celebrate the summer! It’s a great way to break up summer boredom.

Y: Yard Sale. Summer is the perfect time to hold a yard sale. It’s also a great opportunity to teach kids lessons about organization. Kids can help gather up clothing, books, and toys that they no longer use, and sort what they’ve gathered into categories. They can also help with money and counting.

Z: Go to the Zoo. Zoos are a great opportunity to learn something new about the animals we share the planet with. Spend some time before hand researching a favourite animal either online or at the library.

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