How parents can use technology’s power over their kids for good.

Many children view tablets and computers as tools for having fun. They love to swipe, press, and play games, relishing in mindless entertainment. Yet tech-based tools can be used for more than just sheer entertainment. Help your child use technology to gain many new and valuable learning skills.

Build Reading, Writing, & Math Skills

‎When most of us were kids, working on a computer meant clicking a mouse and typing on a keyboard. Yet tablets and most computers today contain touch screens that allow users to engage with content and offer great opportunities for learning. To develop handwriting skills, for instance, your child can use various apps to practice forming letters and numbers while writing on the screen – such as creating the letter p while moving down, up, and around – a great kinesthetic approach that helps information stick in childrens’ long-term memories. Try the app iwritewords with your child as one option, which is designed for pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten students. With this app, players select either numbers, lowercase letters, or upper case letters, and use their fingers to practice writing with proper formations on the screen. For added fun, they work with Mr. Crab to “collect” numbers as they properly form each figure. Users are later rewarded with a colorful picture at the end of each segment.‎ By engaging with this app, they are taking advantage of technology to help improve their writing and fine motor skills.

Help Your Child Become More Focused

Your child may zone out while playing a game or listening to a story, but take advantage of iPad time to help her become actively engaged in the task at hand and foster both her learning and focusing skills. For instance, if she is playing a game or listening to a story, stop the program at certain intervals and ask her content-related questions. She may, as an example, be using an iPad to listen to (and view) the story Cinderella. Instead of having her simply listen to the story – and possibly zone out – try pausing the screen after every few lines and ask her questions about the story. You might ask her direct questions, like: Why were the stepsisters so mean to her? Why couldn’t Cinderella go to the ball? or Who gave her the beautiful dress and carriage? You can also ask her less direct, more inferential questions, like: How would you feel if you weren’t invited to a ball? Why do you think Cinderella’s stepmother didn’t buy her a dress? or What kind of traits do you think the prince had? The more you can help your child engage with the story, the more she will process and the information and develop stronger focusing abilities.

Foster creativity

Some feel that creativity has been lost with the advent of technology. Yet while our kids may not be creating medieval castles out of blocks or playing “house” with pretend animals as much as we did as kids, there are many ways to use technology to help bolster creativity. With the PicsArt for Kids app, for instance, children can develop their early learning skills while coloring and drawing with various shapes and images. They start with a blank slate and engage their imaginations to create various “silly” pictures by dragging objects and using different color options. With the Create a Car app, kids can build their own cars by selecting a car style, then choose different car parts, such has fire hoses, panels, and the like, and drive their cars through different animated scenes. With the Toontastic app, players create their own cartoons with various characters, backgrounds, sounds, and play sets. The tech options are seemingly endless for engaging the imagination and stimulating creativity.

Technology will only continue to develop and become increasingly widespread as our children grow older.‎ Embrace these new and advancing tools and help your child develop stronger learning skills while having fun along the way.

The post 3 Tips for Using Technology to Aid Learning appeared first on EBL Coaching.

In this day and age of preschools requiring interviews and extensive admissions testing, it feels like the pressure is on parents ridiculously early to give their children a jump start in their education. From getting into the right school to placing into a Gifted and Talented program, it can feel like you’re dooming your own child if you’re not helping them stay a step ahead of their peers. And then, of course, there are the plethora of learning or developmental disabilities we have to be on the look out for because we know that early intervention is key. It’s no wonder parents and children alike are completely stressed out over the whole ordeal!

To calm our nerves and get some professional insight, we consulted with Dr. Emily Levy, author of Study Success and the Flags and Stars five-part Orton Gillingham student workbook series, and Founder & Director of EBL Coaching, a specialized tutoring program offering individualized home and on-site one-on-one instruction in New York City, New Jersey and Westchester.

MN: How and when can we begin to introduce the idea of basic learning skills at home?

EL: Starting from as young as age two, parents can develop basic skills with their children in “fun” and engaging ways. For example, drawing letters with your fingers together in sugar or colored sand, or writing letters on the bottoms of rubber duckies and having your child flip them over in the bath and indicate the name or phonetic sound of the letter they found. You can also teach basic math skills through play. For example, have the child build two block towers and talk about which tower is taller or shorter and which has more or less blocks. The “Let’s Take a Trip” game is also great. The parent starts out with something like, “I took a trip to the store and bought two pieces of fruit. Show me what I bought.” The child pulls out two pieces of fruit from the fridge. Next, the parent says, for example, “I was still hungry so I went back to the store and bought three more pieces of fruit.” The child pulls out three more pieces of fruit. The parent then says, “How many pieces of fruit did I buy altogether?” The child counts the pieces of fruit and says five. The key is to keep the exercises playful, fun, and engaging.

MN: What are the most common learning disabilities and what signs should we be on the lookout for?

EL: Signs of learning disabilities can become evident at a very young age. If a child struggles with basic phonemic awareness skills such as rhyming or identifying sounds within words, or has trouble grasping sound/letter relationships or basic writing, he may be at risk for a learning disability. However, a full evaluation is needed to determine if in fact a learning disability is present. If a child does have a learning disability, using research-based, multi-sensory instruction often helps remediate any weaknesses.

MN: What are the biggest learning challenges you see in the various age groups?

EL: Preschool: Many toddlers have trouble grasping the names of letters and their corresponding sounds. They also may have trouble with rhyming, recognizing sounds in words, and identifying syllables.

Kindergarten/1st Grade: Many children have trouble decoding, or blending sounds together to form words when reading and spelling. They also may have trouble comprehending what they read, especially if reading is a slow, laborious process for them.

2nd/3rd Grade: Students often have trouble with reading fluency and understanding how to break down math word problems. They might have nice ideas but struggle to express them on paper when writing.

Upper Elementary: As students move from learning to read to reading to learn, the emphasis on reading for understanding becomes greater. Thus, many children struggle to identify salient information when reading and grasp the main idea. They also may struggle to express their ideas on paper in the form of well-written paragraphs and have trouble solving multi-step problems.

Middle/High School: At this age students often struggle with study and organizational skills. They may have trouble taking notes, managing their time, organizing their belongings, and studying for tests – along with core academic challenges, such as writing, reading comprehension, and math.

MN: We see you use the Orton Gillingham approach in the workbooks you’ve written and utilize in your tutoring program. Could you explain what this is?

EL: The Orton Gillingham approach is a research-based, multi-sensory technique for building reading and spelling skills. The approach begins with sound/letter relationships and later moves into blending simple and complex sounds to form words. It integrates the visual, auditory, and tactile/kinesthetic modalities simultaneously. I strongly believe that this is the most effective method for teaching children. In my Flags and Stars multi-sensory phonics program, students learn to understand how individual sounds blend together to form words, starting with simple two and three letter words and moving into words with blends, consonant and vowel digraphs, silent e patters, and multi-syllabic words. My Strategies for Study Success student workbook series teaches students in elementary through middle school research-based strategies for test taking, note taking, summarizing, highlighting, and writing.

MN: If you could pass along one piece of advice for parents regarding the education of their children, what would it be?

EL: It’s so important for students to build a real zest for reading and learning. They should enjoy the process of learning, rather than perceiving it as series of workbooks to complete or tests to take. When possible, parents should try to make learning fun, exciting, interesting, and playful, so that that the child ultimately develops a true love of learning.

The post Academic Success Strategies for Students with Learning Disabilities appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Understanding the differences between academic and play-based preschool philosophies can help you choose the right program for your child

Over the past ten years, enrollment in preschool programs has increased significantly. Parents yearn to enrich their child’s social, emotional, and early learning skills while effectively preparing them for Kindergarten. Yet choosing the right program for your child can be a challenging task. Each preschool seems to embody a different philosophy–some are play-based, while others emphasize more of a structured, academic approach. Both philosophies have pros and cons, and understanding their key components can help you choose the right program for your child.

Play-Based Preschools
Play-based preschools emphasize developing social and emotional skills over structured academics. Classrooms are typically set up with various stations–a water table, block area, reading section, play house, sensory table, dramatic play area, and so on, and children choose their own activities based on their interests. If a child loves building, for instance, he can venture towards the block section. If she loves dressing up and acting out scenes, she can meander over to the dramatic play area, and if he loves cooking and preparing meals, he can play in the kitchen area. Rather than providing direct instruction, the teacher acts as a facilitator, modeling effective social skills and observing children as they play.  Teachers may infuse academic principals through various themes, without actually teaching specific lessons in a structured format. Play-based preschool supporters argue that play is the modality with which young children learn best, and that children who learn to self-regulate, achieved through play, are more likely to be successful in life.

Sample Play-Based Lesson: Various play-based curricula exist, emphasizing children’s social and emotional development.  One such program is Tools of the Mind, which integrates self-regulation as a major component of its instruction, among other skills. ‎With this curriculum, children may engage in a “twist” on the Freeze Dance game. To play, music is turned on and children dance in pairs, in all different directions–left, right, on the floor, or in the air. When the music stops, the teacher holds up a poster containing stick figures and the children stop dancing. With their partner, they must try to copy the figure on the poster. As children play this game, they learn to self-regulate and control their body motions, which are important skills for future success.

Academic-Based Preschools
Many parents fret about their children being aacademically prepared for Kindergarten, particularly with the recent academic “push down.” Kindergarteners are now expected to learn the same material in many schools that first graders once did. Parents who want their children to begin building their academic foundations early-on and whose children respond well to structure may choose a preschool that embodies a more traditional, teacher-directed approach.

In these types of academically-oriented classrooms, days are ‎more structured and predictable. Students follow a set of lessons and activities that are prepared by the teacher, which are typically focused on a specific topic or theme. In this environment, instruction is guided by the teacher, and children typically learn letters, sounds, shapes, numbers, and colors, while also developing their phonemic awareness and handwriting skills.

Sample Academic Lesson:In a traditional preschool classroom, a teacher may conduct a specific lesson on phonemic awareness–or the ability to hear, recognize, and manipulate sounds in words. In doing so, she may explain a given concept, such as rhyming, and go around the room asking the children to come up with a word that rhymes with cat, dog, tree, and so on. She may also ask the children for the first sound they hear in the word cat, pig, or fish; the last sound they hear in bed, cup, or car; or how many words they hear in a given sentence. Developing such phonemic awareness skills can build a foundation for reading success.

In fact, two studies were conducted which identified preschool predictors of elementary reading success. ‎They assessed pre-reading skills in preschool-age children and followed these children into elementary school. The studies found that specific pre-reading skills, including phonemic awaress (such as rhyming and identifying sounds in words), knowledge of print (including letter names), and writing (writing a child’s own name) were strong predictors of reading achievement in elementary school. Thus, there is proven value in teaching these pre-reading skills in preschool classrooms.

What To Do?
All of this information can be downright confusing. Most parents aim to find the right preschool environment that will stage their child for future success.  But how do you know which option is best for your child? Research is conflicted on this matter. Some studies have found that play-based environments that emphasize social, emotional, and behavioral skills best predict future success, while others have found that developing academic and focusing skills using a traditional, structured approach directly correlates to such success.

Going Hybrid
Perhaps the solution for many children is a preschool that falls into the middle–one that emphasizes play, but also infuses some academic instruction. Children may start their days at various stations–dramatic play, water stations, and the like–and later transition into a more academic lesson. For instance, they may play a “ball” game for building phonemic awareness skills, where they stand in a circle and say a rhyming word as they catch a ball. Perhaps they begin to learn letter formations by tracing them in sand or shaving cream, or find items in a classroom that begin with a given sound. Learning academic principals doesn’t need to be fully structured and traditional; it can complement a play-based program, ultimately developing social, emotional, as well as key early academic skills.

The post Which Preschool Philosophy Is Right For Your Child? appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Prevent academic regression over summer break with these engaging reading activities

For many students, ‎the end of the school year represents a time for celebration. Girls and boys toss their backpacks aside, throw on their bathing suits, and jump right into recreation and exploration. Thoughts of school and reading often shift to the sidelines. Yet according to research, during the ‎summer, students can lose up to two to three months of reading skills. At the start of the school year, many teachers spend a month or longer reviewing previously taught reading concepts. Rather than watching your child follow this all-too-common path of academic regression, encourage reading enrichment with the activities described below.

Vacations: Your child might associate vacations with packing suitcases and engaging in outdoor activities. Yet he can help plan and organize your summer vacation while practicing key reading skills. To start, have him research various travel destinations online. He can surf websites for popular spots such as Disney World, Yellowstone National Park, Myrtle Beach, or Mount Rushmore, for instance. He can also take notes on the information he reads (a good time to tie in mini-lessons on shorthand and note taking!), then create a written chart detailing the pros and cons of each destination. Once you have selected a vacation spot, order guidebooks for him to read, along with reviews online about the top attractions at your destination. When you are on your vacation, he can collect brochures and plan your daily activities. Also encourage him to read billboards along the highway, signs at amusement parks, and menus at local restaurants.

Rewards: Tie in some incentives to make reading over the summer an even more appealing endeavor. Come up with a list of rewards for reading books (paper or electronic) and set point values for each one. Make sure your child is involved in the process of selecting rewards she truly wants to earn. Together, for instance, you might decide that an electronic game is worth 30 points, a pool float is worth 25, and a trip to the movies is worth 20. Then establish point values for various books. A thin book may be worth 5 points, a thicker one 10, and so on. She can “exchange” her points for prizes at the end of each week or at a pre-determined time. Just make sure the rewards are realistic and attainable.

Select a theme: Have your child choose a reading “theme” for the summer, and plan regular trips to the bookstore or library to select theme-based books. For example, your child might choose to read about sports, cooking, artists, or animals during the summer. Have him read books on this topic and also engage in other theme-based activities. If he chooses animals, for instance, he might find books at the library on bees, birds, and crocodiles; browse articles on the National Geographic website; or even build a bird’s nest or hunt for bugs outside (and perhaps write a report on his observations and findings).

Watch movies: Find a set of books for your child to read over the summer that have corresponding movies available to watch. Have your child read the book first, and then watch the movie. Be sure to tie in prediction, plot, and other comprehension questions‎ before and after the book and movie. For instance, before he starts reading the book have him predict what he thinks it will be about along with any information he might already know about the topic. As he reads the book, ask him to tell you (and even write) the plot summary, a description of each character, and reasons why he did or did not like the book. After he watches the movie, have him compare it to the book and perhaps even create a Venn diagram on a large white board or sheet of paper comparing them. Initiate a discussion with him on protagonists, antagonists, conflicts, climax, and conclusions. These activities will build reading and auditory comprehension skills, and will help make him a more active reader.

Technology: Reading paper books isn’t the only option for practicing key skills over the summer. Electronic books and games on tablets and computers serve as great tools for reinforcing reading. Your child will enjoy age and level-appropriate interactive reading games and books, while actively engaging in the learning process. For example‎, MarbleMinds Phonics and Montessori Crosswords are great apps for helping younger students practice phonics skills. Question Builder is a useful app for comprehension and reasoning skills, and Reading Eggs Sight Words is an engaging app for sight word practice. Additionally, Reading Rainbow and FarFaria offer book reading subscription services containing large libraries of books, and Starfall.com is an interactive website for practicing decoding and fluency.

The post Top 5 Summer Reading Activities for Kids appeared first on EBL Coaching.

If you answered yes to any of these questions, your child may be in need of some time management strategies. With so many tests, papers, handouts, assignments, and after school activities to keep track of, managing time can seems daunting to almost any student. So what is the best way to balance all of these demands? A helpful tool for time management success is to break tasks down into daily, weekly, and monthly views.

The Daily View

Maintaining a daily planner is of utmost importance to effective time management. Some teachers now post assignments or syllabi online. Students might feel that they just need to look on a website to figure out their assignments or test dates. To effectively manage time, however, all students, even those who attend a web-oriented school, should maintain and regularly use a daily assignment planner for all tests, assignments, and after school activities.

How should this planner be set up? A great strategy for integrating a time management strategy into a daily planner is to create five columns in each day’s box. This means that the planner should be large enough to have a wide box for each day – not one so tiny that it is nearly impossible to write legibly.

Each box should be divided into the following columns: ET, AT, O, D, and Assignment. For instance:

Students should create these columns at least two weeks ahead of time in their planners. At school, the only place where they should write their assignment is in the “Assignment” column. Each day, when they sit down at home to do their homework, the first task they should do is complete the “ET,” or “Estimated Time” Column. In this column, they should predict how long they think each task or assignment will take. Then, based on the estimated times, they should choose the order in which they would like to complete their assignments. They might choose to complete the shorter ones first to get those over with, or they may choose to work on the longer tasks fist. Either option is fine, as long as they stick with the plan.

The next step is completing the assignments in the order that they chose. They should keep a watch or clock handy and time themselves to see how long it actually takes to complete each assignment. After each assignment is complete, they should write the “AT,” or “Actual Time” for that assignment in the column. Students should always compare “Estimated Time” to “Actual Time” for each assignment. At first, they will likely be amazed at the difference between these two times. Yet the more they practice this strategy, the more realistic they will become with their time expectations, and the more these two times will likely merge. Finally, when they have completed each assignment, and it is put away in the proper place to be turned in, the student can put an “X” under the “D,” or “Done” column. A typical well-used planner might look like this:

The Weekly View

It can be easy to lose sight of long-term assignments if students only see them as part of a daily plan. Thus, looking at a weekly calendar can help students view any assignments, projects, tests, or activities that are coming up in a given week. Every Sunday night, students (parent help is okay too!) should create a weekly calendar. This weekly calendar can be created either on paper, on a large white board, or even using computer software.

Any and all upcoming events and due dates for that week should be written on that weekly calendar. Baseball games, science fairs, quizzes, projects, and assignments should all be included. Any long-term task, such as a research project or cumulative exam, should be broken down into steps, and each step should be included in the calendar. This practice will help students plan for the week and start that week on a positive note.

The Monthly View

Purchasing a magnetic monthly calendar with a white board surface is a wise investment for helping your child to build effective time management skills. At the beginning of each month, all dates should be filled into the correct square and all upcoming due dates, activities, projects, appointments, practices, and exams should be put on this calendar. After each day passes, a red dry erase marker can be used to cross out each day. This perspective will help students plan for the month ahead and know what to expect from a broad viewpoint.

Time management can be a challenging task for many people. As students progress through school, the demands on their time increase quickly as the academic rigor of school begin to rise. Learning to manage time from daily, weekly, and monthly viewpoints can help students gain perspective on their near-term and long-term expectations. The earlier students can learn these tools and put them in practice, the easier their transition through school will be. So help your child put these practices in place – the clock is ticking!

Dr. Emily Levy is the director of EBL Coaching, which offers one-on-one tutoring and 3-week intensive summer programs. For more information, call 646-342-9380 or visit www.eblacoaching.com.

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