The core of EBL Coaching’s methodology is a profound respect for the learner. This isn’t just about delivering information; it’s about fostering understanding, building confidence, and equipping students with the tools they need to become independent, lifelong learners. We often hear about students who feel “left behind” or “not smart enough.” These are typically indicators that their learning style isn’t being met by the prevailing teaching methods. EBL Coaching seeks to bridge this gap by offering a learning environment that is responsive, adaptive, and, most importantly, empowering. Every student has the potential to succeed, and EBL Coaching is dedicated to unlocking that potential through a meticulously individualized approach.

The Philosophy Behind EBL Coaching
At its heart, the philosophy of EBL Coaching is rooted in the understanding that learning is not a linear, uniform process. It’s a complex tapestry woven from individual cognitive styles, prior experiences, emotional well-being, and environmental factors. Dr. Emily Levy, the visionary behind EBL Coaching, recognized early on that generic educational approaches often fail to account for this inherent individuality. The philosophy therefore centers on:

• Individualization: Every student is unique, and their educational support should reflect this. This means no two students will receive the exact same program, even if they have similar academic goals.
• Strengths-Based Approach: While addressing areas of difficulty is crucial, EBL Coaching also emphasizes identifying and leveraging a student’s existing strengths. This builds confidence and creates positive learning associations.
• Empowerment: The ultimate goal is not just to improve grades, but to empower students with the skills and self-belief to navigate their academic journey independently and confidently.
• Research-Based Practice: EBL Coaching is deeply committed to utilizing strategies and methodologies that are scientifically proven to be effective.
• Multi-Sensory Engagement: Recognizing that people learn through different modalities, EBL Coaching integrates visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile methods to create a richer and more effective learning experience.

This holistic philosophy extends beyond mere academic remediation. It seeks to build resilience, foster a growth mindset, and nurture a positive relationship with learning. By understanding the “why” behind a student’s struggles, EBL Coaching can create a supportive environment where challenges are seen as opportunities for growth, not insurmountable barriers.

Dr. Emily Levy’s Expertise and Journey
The exceptional quality of EBL Coaching is inextricably linked to the profound expertise and personal journey of its founder, Dr. Emily Levy. Her academic and professional path is a testament to a lifelong dedication to understanding and improving the learning process. Dr. Levy’s impressive academic credentials, including a Master’s and Doctorate from Nova University and her undergraduate studies at Brown University, provided her with a strong theoretical foundation. However, it was her early recognition of the nuances of reading comprehension, highlighted by her Westinghouse Science and Talent Award for a five-year study on the subject, that set her apart.

This early research likely ignited a deep curiosity about how individuals process information and the diverse factors that influence comprehension and academic success. Her experience presenting at national and international conferences further signifies her commitment to advancing the field of education and sharing best practices. It’s this blend of rigorous academic inquiry and practical application that forms the bedrock of EBL Coaching. Dr. Levy’s personal journey is not just about acquiring knowledge, but about translating that knowledge into tangible, life-changing support for students. Her authorship of the “Strategies for Study Success” workbook series, addressing crucial skills like test-taking, reading comprehension, and executive functioning, and the development of programs like “Flags and Stars Orton Gillingham and Multi-Sensory Math,” are concrete examples of her dedication to creating accessible, effective learning tools that are now used in schools nationwide.

This deep well of knowledge and experience directly informs the individualized approach at EBL Coaching, ensuring that every student benefits from strategies that are not only evidence-based but also developed by an expert who truly understands the intricacies of learning.

How EBL Coaching Delivers Tailored Support
The “EBL” in EBL Coaching stands for Exceptional, Best, and Learned, a powerful acronym that encapsulates their commitment to excellence in educational support. The delivery of this tailored support is a multi-faceted process that begins with a comprehensive understanding of each student.

Initial Assessment and Goal Setting
The journey with EBL Coaching begins with a thorough assessment. This isn’t a superficial quiz; it’s an in-depth evaluation designed to pinpoint a student’s specific learning profile, including their strengths, weaknesses, learning style preferences, and any underlying challenges that might be hindering their academic progress. This assessment might involve diagnostic testing, detailed interviews with the student and their parents, and an analysis of past academic performance. Based on this comprehensive understanding, personalized learning goals are collaboratively set, ensuring that both the student and the coaching team are aligned on what success looks like.

Individualized Learning Plans
Once the assessment is complete and goals are established, EBL Coaching develops a highly individualized learning plan. This plan is a roadmap that outlines the specific strategies, techniques, and resources that will be used to help the student achieve their goals. It’s a dynamic document, meaning it’s regularly reviewed and updated as the student progresses and their needs evolve. The plan might incorporate:

• Targeted skill development in areas such as reading, writing, math, or executive functioning.
• Strategies for improving study habits, organization, and time management.
• Techniques for enhancing test-taking skills and reducing test anxiety.
• Support for specific learning differences or challenges.

Highly Trained and Dedicated Tutors
The effectiveness of any coaching program hinges on the quality of its coaches. EBL Coaching employs a team of highly trained and dedicated tutors who are not only experts in their subject areas but are also skilled in implementing research-based, multi-sensory teaching methods. These tutors undergo continuous professional development to stay abreast of the latest educational research and best practices. They are passionate about fostering a positive and supportive learning environment, building strong rapport with their students, and celebrating every milestone achieved.

Flexible Delivery Options
Understanding that students have diverse needs and schedules, EBL Coaching offers flexible delivery options. Tutoring can be provided in-person, allowing for direct interaction and immediate feedback, or online, offering convenience and accessibility. This flexibility ensures that students can receive the support they need, where and when they need it, without compromising the quality or personalization of the instruction.

Multi-Sensory Methods and Research-Based Strategies
The cornerstone of EBL Coaching’s success lies in its unwavering commitment to employing multi-sensory methods and research-based strategies. This approach is not arbitrary; it’s grounded in a deep understanding of how the brain learns most effectively.

Traditional educational methods often rely heavily on auditory and visual input. While these are important, they can leave out students who learn more effectively through physical engagement or tactile experiences. Multi-sensory learning, as implemented by EBL Coaching, engages multiple senses simultaneously, creating stronger neural pathways and enhancing memory retention. For example:

• Visual: Using diagrams, graphic organizers, color-coding, and visual aids to explain concepts.
• Auditory: Explaining concepts verbally, using mnemonics, rhymes, and encouraging students to explain concepts in their own words.
• Kinesthetic: Incorporating movement, role-playing, building models, and using manipulatives.
• Tactile: Using hands-on materials, tracing letters or numbers, using textured objects, and writing on different surfaces.

These methods are not just engaging; they are proven effective. Dr. Levy’s work, including the “Flags and Stars Orton Gillingham” program, is a prime example of applying these principles in a structured and highly effective manner. Orton-Gillingham, in particular, is a renowned approach for literacy instruction that is systematic, explicit, and multi-sensory, making it highly beneficial for students with dyslexia and other reading challenges. Similarly, the “Strategies for Study Success” workbooks are designed with these principles in mind, offering practical tools and techniques that students can immediately apply.

The research-based aspect means that every strategy and technique is backed by scientific evidence. EBL Coaching doesn’t guess; they implement what works. This commitment to evidence-based practice ensures that students are receiving the most effective interventions available, maximizing their potential for growth and achievement. It’s about providing learners with the tools and techniques that have been rigorously tested and proven to enhance understanding, improve retention, and build lasting academic skills.

The Impact of Personalized Learning on Student Success
The impact of EBL Coaching’s personalized approach extends far beyond improved test scores. While academic gains are certainly a significant outcome, the true value lies in the profound and lasting transformation of the student themselves. When learning is tailored to an individual’s needs and strengths, several key areas experience significant positive shifts:

• Increased Confidence and Self-Esteem: Students who have struggled often internalize their difficulties, leading to feelings of inadequacy. Personalized support helps them experience success, fostering a belief in their own abilities. As they master new skills and overcome challenges, their confidence soars, spilling over into other areas of their lives.
• Enhanced Motivation and Engagement: When learning is made relevant, engaging, and achievable, students are more likely to become intrinsically motivated. They move from viewing learning as a chore to seeing it as an exciting opportunity for growth. This renewed engagement leads to greater participation and a more proactive approach to their education.
• Development of Independent Learning Skills: EBL Coaching doesn’t aim to create perpetual dependence. Instead, it focuses on equipping students with the strategies and metacognitive skills they need to become independent learners. This includes teaching them how to problem-solve, self-monitor their progress, and adapt their learning strategies as needed.
• Reduced Academic Anxiety: The pressure and frustration associated with struggling academically can lead to significant anxiety. By providing targeted support and breaking down complex tasks into manageable steps, EBL Coaching helps alleviate this anxiety, creating a more relaxed and productive learning environment.
• Long-Term Academic Achievement: The skills and confidence built through personalized coaching create a strong foundation for continued academic success. Students who have experienced the benefits of EBL Coaching are often better equipped to handle future academic challenges and pursue their educational goals with greater assurance.
• Improved Executive Functioning: Many students struggle with executive functions such as organization, time management, planning, and impulse control. EBL Coaching often incorporates explicit instruction and practice in these areas, which are critical for overall academic and life success.

The anecdotal evidence and testimonials from students and parents alike consistently point to these profound changes. It’s about more than just getting better grades; it’s about fostering a love of learning, building resilience, and empowering individuals to reach their full potential, both academically and personally.

Resources and How to Connect with EBL Coaching
The journey towards enhanced learning and academic success is accessible, and EBL Coaching is dedicated to making their expertise readily available. If you’ve been inspired by the philosophy and methods discussed in this post, or if you know a student who could benefit from this tailored support, here’s how you can learn more and connect:

The primary hub for all things EBL Coaching is their official website. Here, you can find detailed information about their services, the methodologies they employ, and the team of dedicated professionals who make it all happen. It’s an excellent resource for understanding the full scope of what EBL Coaching offers and how they tailor their programs to meet the unique needs of each learner.

In addition to the website, Dr. Emily Levy and EBL Coaching maintain a strong presence on social media. Engaging with them on platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram can provide valuable insights, tips, and updates. These platforms are often used to share success stories, educational resources, and announcements about upcoming workshops or events.

For those who would like to reach out directly to inquire about services, schedule a consultation, or simply ask questions, the contact information provided on their website will be your best resource. They are committed to responding to inquiries and guiding potential clients through the process of understanding how EBL Coaching can support their specific academic goals.

Remember, the conversation about personalized learning is ongoing, and the insights shared by Dr. Emily Levy on The Coaching Corner with Dori DeCarlo are a powerful starting point. This blog post has aimed to expand on those foundational ideas, offering a deeper look into the “EBL Coaching Difference.” Whether you’re a parent seeking support for your child, an educator looking for effective strategies, or a student aiming to unlock your full potential, EBL Coaching offers a path forward built on expertise, personalization, and a genuine commitment to learning.

Thank you for joining me on this exploration. I encourage you to listen to the full episode and explore the resources provided by EBL Coaching. Until next time, happy learning!

The post How EBL Coaching Provides Personalized Tutoring for Student Success appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Best strategies to improve organization for children with ADHD

When students with ADHD have multiple assignments to complete and activities to partake in after school, they may feel overwhelmed. They might not know where to start or how to fit everything into a limited time window. Creating a visual schedule can help! Together with your child, create a schedule of all activities and assignments they have on a given day on a large poster board or even a smaller sheet of paper if that works better for them. Write out an organized schedule for completing these daily tasks. For example, a visual after-school schedule might look like the following:

• 3:15-3:30pm snack
• 3:30-4:30pm work on homework
• 4:30-6pm soccer practice
• 6-6:45pm dinner
• 6:45-7:30pm complete any remaining assignments
• 7:30-8pm shower and get ready for bed

You can even draw or cut out pictures depicting each item and paste them on the visual schedule – like a picture of an apple for snack, an image of a homework sheet for homework time, and a picture of a shower in the getting ready for bed section. By creating a visual schedule, your child will feel less overwhelmed, more focused, and more in control of completing their tasks in a structured, organized manner.

Learn more about executive functioning strategies for your child at Executive Functioning Strategies for Your Child | EBL Coaching

Create an organized homework workspace

Creating a designated homework space for your child with ADHD can help them avoid distractions and stay focused when completing their schoolwork. This space should ideally be a desk in their room, but a spot on a communal table in the kitchen or dining room can work too. The key is consistency; your child should always complete their homework in this designated space. You should also make sure this space is fully stocked with all the supplies they may need for completing their assignments, including pens, pencils, scissors, paper, etc. If the supplies run low, refill them right away. This will help prevent your child from wandering around your home mid-homework session, searching for missing supplies and finding distractions as they look for these materials. Additionally, if your child works on a communal table, create a portable homework bin containing all the supplies they may need for completing their work, which they should bring with them to and from their room when they complete their schoolwork. This approach will help your child build their organization and executive functioning skills.

Use the Pomodoro Method for homework sessions

The Pomodoro Method is a great technique for helping students with ADHD stay focused for longer stretches of time. To use this strategy, your child should sit down at their designated workspace to begin working on their homework. They should set a timer for 25 minutes, work for that period of time, and then when the timer rings, take a 5-minute break. After that break, they should set their timer again for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break when it rings and do this same cycle four times. After four Pomodoro cycles, they should take a longer 15–30 minute break before starting the next four cycles. This system will help build structure into their study time and should increase their executive functioning skills and their ability to stay focused for longer periods of time.

Learn more about study skills strategies for your child with ADHD at Study Skills Strategies for Your Child with ADHD | EBL Coaching.

Active reading strategies for helping children with ADHD focus

Many students with ADHD lose focus when reading, which can negatively affect their ability to comprehend the material. To combat this challenge, teach them a tri-colored highlighting strategy to help them become a more active, rather than a passive, reader. To use this strategy, do the following:

• Explain to your child that when we read, there are three elements we should look for: the topic, which is one, two, or three words describing the passage (like snacks or rain). They should highlight the topic in blue.
• The second element they should look for is the main idea, which is what the author is saying about the topic (like types of afternoon snacks). They should highlight the main idea in green.
• Finally, they should look for the important details, or salient information describing the main idea, and highlight these details in yellow.

When sitting down to read a passage, your child should read it through once, then go back through the passage and highlight the topic in blue, main idea in green, and important details in yellow – making them an active reader and improving their ability to stay focused when reading.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ADHD affects roughly 11.4% of children in the United Stats ages 3-17, and those with ADHD benefit from structured routines when completing homework. As students move through school, the academic and focusing demands increase rapidly. Help your child with ADHD stay focused and on-task with these strategies and they will be well on their way to success in school. If you notice your ADHD child struggling with focus, time management, organization, or other executive functioning skills, EBL Coaching can help with one-on-one in person and virtual executive functioning coaching and academic tutoring programs. Learn more at www.eblcoaching.com.

Frequently Asked Questions about ADHD and Focusing Skills

How does ADHD affect school performance?
Students with ADHD often have difficulty with their executive functioning skills, including planning, time management, organization, and task initiation. These executive functioning skills play a large role in school performance, so learning strategies to build these skills through executive functioning coaching can be very beneficial for students with ADHD.

What is the Pomodoro Method and how does it help students with ADHD?
The Pomodoro Method is a great strategy for improving time management skills. It involves setting a timer and working for 25 minutes, then taking a 5-minute break, and repeating this cycle four times before taking a longer break. This technique helps students with ADHD learn to focus for increasing increments of time and feel less overwhelmed with their workload.

How can I help my child with ADHD stay focused while doing homework?
You can help your child with ADHD stay focused when doing their homework by setting up a study space that contains all of the supplies they need to complete their schoolwork and that is free of distractions. Have them turn off sounds and notifications on all devices when working on their homework and even try a method like the Pomodoro Technique to help them stay focused for set periods of time before taking a break.

Dr. Emily Levy is the founder and director of EBL Coaching and has been helping students with ADHD build stronger academic and executive functioning skills for over twenty years.

The post How to Help Your ADHD Child Improve Focus: Four Proven Strategies appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Winter Reading Challenge

Being homebound during winter can serve as a great time to do lots of reading. Instead of simply telling your child to go into their room and read, create a fun experience. Set up a reading challenge for your child and the rest of your family (that includes parents too!). Make a chart that details reading times for each family member and devote time each day to reading – ideally together as a family, perhaps before or after dinner, but individual reading time counts too. At the end of the day, log each person’s daily reading time on the chart and keep track of the minutes. At the end of the week, have your child add up the reading time totals for each family member (yes, you can integrate some math skills too!). Choose a prize for the winning family member – perhaps a toy for young children, a movie rental for older kids, or even an hour of alone time for a parent.

Winter Book Writing

Staying indoors during winter can be a great time for your child to further develop their writing skills. Just like with the reading challenge, try to make the writing activity fun. Help your child pick a winter topic to write about – perhaps polar bears, a day playing outside in the snow, or warm winter drinks. Give your child a blank journal and ask them to write a story about their topic of choice. Tell them not to focus on spelling (and to avoid asking you how to spell words) and to just write freely. Then have your child read their story aloud to you and discuss details, including the characters, plot, and setting. For younger children who aren’t able to write on their own, tell them to dictate their story to you while you write it.

Graphing

By tracking the chilly temperatures outside while hunkered down indoors, you can work on math skills with your child. Select a given week to focus on; each day when your child wakes up, have them check the temperature and write it down on a sheet of paper with two columns: a column on the left for the date and a column on the right for the temperature that day. At the end of the week, ask your child to gather markers, stickers, and glitter, and create a fun, colorful bar graph depicting the temperatures, one bar per date. Teach them that the dates can go on the bottom and temperatures can go on the left side, and show them how to create colorful bars in the form of a graph that shows the changes in temperature. It’s a great way to make math fun!

Snowflakes

Use a snowflake-making craft to help your child build their vocabulary skills when stuck indoors. Each day, pick a new vocabulary word for them to learn. You can find these words online by grade level, or even above or below grade levels if they are advanced for their grade or struggle a bit. Look up the definition of the word together, then have your child summarize it in their own words to make sure they understand it. Next, have your child cut out a large snowflake from a blank sheet of paper. They should write the word on the front of the snowflake and the definition on the back. They can also write a sentence on the back using the word and even draw a picture depicting the definition for an added visual touch. For example, the word on the front of the card might be “frigid.” On the back, they would write the definition: extremely cold. They would also write a sentence, like “I love sledding, but not when the temperature is frigid!” and then draw a picture depicting someone who looks very cold.

Don’t let being homebound during winter stop your child from learning. Enhance their academic skills with these fun, engaging, and productive ideas.

The post Academic Activities to Do with Your Child When Homebound During Winter appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Math plays a key role in many aspects of our lives. It is important not just for success in school, but also for everyday skills, like shopping, eating at a restaurant, buying groceries, and cooking. Math also builds upon itself, so without solid foundational skills, it can become increasingly challenging for students to excel in math as they progress through school. Help your child develop stronger math skills with the ideas detailed below.

Grocery Shopping

A great way to build stronger math skills is through an everyday task like grocery shopping. Take your young child with you to the supermarket and ask them basic math questions as you shop. For example, if you go to the produce section, have them select three green apples and three red apples and ask them how many apples they picked all together. Explain to them the math equation: 3 + 3 = 6. Then have them put one apple back and ask them how many apples they have left, and explain that 6 – 1 = 5. For kids who are slightly older, have them compare the price of two similar products. For instance, have them choose a box of cereal, like Cheerios, and look at the price (perhaps $3.99), then have them choose a different cereal box, like Special K, and look at that price (perhaps $4.99). Ask them which cereal costs more and by how much. At the checkout counter, have them estimate how much they think all of the groceries will cost, then compare it to the actual cost. If you pay with cash, have them give the cashier a set of bills to cover the cost and ask your child to predict how much change they think they will receive, then compare it to how much they actually receive.

Baking 

Baking is another great way to help your child build stronger math skills. Start by finding a recipe, say, for chocolate brownies. If the recipe calls for one cup of flour, a half cup of sugar, one cup of cocoa powder, and a half cup of chocolate chips, have your child measure out each of the ingredient using a measuring cup before mixing them together. Ask them how much of each ingredient they would need if they doubled the recipe (multiplication) or cut the recipe in half (division). You can even show older kids equivalent fractions, like 1/2 cup of flour is the same as 1/4 cup plus 1/4 cup of flour. You can discuss geometry concepts, looking at shapes such as circles, squares, and rectangles using different types of cookie cutters and baking pans, and discuss the steps involved in baking the brownies to work on sequencing. Many math skills can be built into baking in an enjoyable, engaging manner.

Math Games

Have fun at home by playing math games! There are math board games you can buy, like Number Park, Math Blast, or Math Island, or you can make up your own games at home. For example, a simple game to work on addition involves using two dice. Each player rolls the dice and adds up the two numbers they roll, then writes down the total, representing points in the game. Then the next player takes a turn, and so on. The player who has the most points after 10 turns wins! Try the same game but with subtracting or multiplying the numbers to work on other foundational math skills. You can also play a math money game to help your child learn about coins, also using dice. Each player rolls one die and collects pennies based on what they role; for example, if they roll a four they receive four pennies. Then the next player does the same. When a player earns five pennies, they trade in those pennies for a nickel. When they earn two nickels, they trade them in for a dime. Two dimes and a nickel are traded in for a quarter, and so on. It’s a great way to learn about money while having lots of fun.

Build Foundational Skills

You can work on building foundational math skills at home in a hands-on way. For example, use mini marshmallows or chocolate chips to work on adding. Have your child select four marshmallows and another two and then count them up. You can use a mini whiteboard to turn it into a math problem and write on a mini whiteboard: 4+2=6. Do several addition problems like this before moving onto subtraction. Have your child take out eight chocolate chips and then remove four of them (or eat them!) and tell you how many chips are left. Then write on the white board: 8-4=4 to help them make the connection from concrete manipulatives to an abstract equation. You can use similar types of objects from around your home to work on multiplication and division. These are important concepts that will continue to play a role in future math work.

Many students feel intimated by math, but it is a key skill for school success. Make math fun at home and you will help your child develop these key foundational skills and strengthen their overall math abilities. If your child continues to struggle, you may want to discuss with their teacher additional support or tutoring that they might receive in school or a possible evaluation for a math learning disability. The more you can advocate for your child at school and help them at home, the more confident and successful they will be.

The post Tips for Helping Your Child Develop Stronger Math Skills appeared first on EBL Coaching.

A local education expert shares her top picks for the best learning games (that are both fun and mentally stimulating) for families to play together

Some kids thrive with traditional learning. They enjoy writing in journals, completing math workbooks, and reading independently. Yet others find these tasks tedious and laborious. Lucky for them, there are many great games to play that make learning exciting and engaging, while still building key academic skills. Try the ideas below for loads of laughter and learning.

Bananagrams
Bananagrams is an engaging game that both kids (ages 7 and up) and adults enjoy playing, and it helps strengthen reading and spelling skills. A series of letter tiles are contained in a banana-shaped bag and players compete against one another to use up their tiles by creating crosswords with their letters. When a player has a letter she wants to get rid of, she exclaims “dump”, returns the letter to the main pile, and takes three new ones. Once a player has used all of her letters in her crossword grid, she shouts “peel!” and all the other players must pick another letter tile. Get ready for hours of fun with this game!

Sump Swamp
Sump Swamp is a great game for building basic addition and subtraction skills. Kids will learn their math facts without even realizing it! ‎With this board game, players progress through a “swamp” by rolling dice and answering addition and subtraction problems. It’s helpful to land on the Crocodile Short Cut for a quicker route, and players try to avoid the Endless Loop, which can set them back on their journey through the “swamp.”‎ Kids will achieve automaticity with their math facts in no time!

Zingo Sight Words
When children read, they will inevitably come across words that are not decoadable, meaning they can’t use their phonics skills to sound them out. These types of words, called sight words, simply need to be memorized or recognized visually, and Zingo Sight Words is a great game for exposing kids in grade prek-2 to sight words they will need to learn, while still having lots of fun. ‎ Zingo is played like the popular game Bingo, where each player is given a card containing nine squares, each with a different sight word. The “announcer” pulls a sight word tile from the dispencer and reads it aloud. The first player to claim he has that sight word on his card gets the tile, and the first one to complete their card with nine tiles wins!

What Happens Next? Picture Sequencing Game
Learning to properly sequence events in a story is an important foundational reading skill. ‎What Happens Next? helps build this critical skill for kids ages 3 and up in puzzle format. To play, children must put together fourteen sets of three piece puzzles in proper order to correctly complete the sequence. To develop vocabulary, speech, and story telling skills, encourage your child to explain what happened in the story once she completes the sequence. For older kids, encourage them to write down the events of the story in sequential order using proper capitalization and punctuation to help develop important writing skills.

Rory’s Story Cubes
Many kids struggle with writing, and some downright dread practicing this skill. Help make writing fun and engaging for your child by playing with Rory’s Story Cubes. This game comes with nice dice cubes, with each cube containing six images. Players role all nine cubes and create a story containing all of the images rolled, starting with “Once upon a time…” Kids can play alone or in groups; if played in a group setting, it’s fun to vote on the best story once each player has completed their turn. Let the fun, creativity, laughter, and good times roll!

Learning does not need to be boring or tedious. Enjoy special time with your child while building key academic skills with these games. He won’t even know he’s learning!

The post Best Learning Games to Play with Your Child appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Many kids struggle with math at some point in their academic careers. Yet others show continuous math challenges that never seem to ease, regardless of the topic. Such children, if diagnosed, may in fact have dyscalculia. Kids with dyscalculia often become frustrated when completing math work, struggle to learn basic facts and simple concepts, and show difficulties with math terminology. Help your child with dyscalculia build stronger math skills with the ideas detailed below.

Teach Number Sense
Teach your young child to understand number values and concepts using concrete manipulatives. When teaching numbers, for instance, instead of simply writing the symbol for each number and hoping your child memorizes them, use balls of colored dough to demonstrate the values. For the number two, create two balls of dough; for the number three, create three balls; and so forth. You can also have your child draw pictures representing each value, like two stars for the number two or three houses for the number three. Then play “games” by adding or subtracting balls of dough. For example, show your child two balls of dough and ask him how many balls you presented. Then add two more balls and ask him to count all of the balls and tell you how many balls of dough you now have all together. You can try the same concept with subtraction. Start with five balls, for instance, then take one away and ask him how many balls are left. Later, you can transcribe the “problems” on a white board or sheet of paper as you play, like 2 balls + 2 balls = 4 balls, or 2+2=4; 5-1=4; and so on. Move at your child’s pace, starting with only concrete objects and eventually moving onto abstract equations.

Play with Dice
Many kids with dyscalculia rely on counting objects one-by-one to come up with an answer, rather than conceptualizing values. Try playing with dice to help your child recognize number patterns instead of always counting. Encourage her to visualize what specific numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) look like on a dice, then play games! Start with two dice and two players. The first player rolls one dice and says the number, then rol‎ls the second dice and says that number, and finally adds the numbers together, like 2+3=5. Then the next player does the same, and so on. Try a similar game for subtraction once she has grasped addition, and eventually write the math equations on a sheet of paper or white board like with the dough game. This will help her move from using objects to solve equations to completing problems with more fluency, while visualizing the value of each number from the dice.

Play Math Board Games
Help make math fun and avoid one dimensional tasks and worksheets by playing math games with your child. Try Sum Swamp, where players pick a “creature” and move though a “swamp”‎game board, solving addition and subtraction problems along the way. Head Full of Numbers is another fun game where players shake a funny-looking head filled with dice then use the dice to create equations using the numbers and symbols contained on a die in a given amount of time. Money Bags is another engaging game for learning coin and dollar values. Players move around a path, earning money by completing “chores,” like setting a table or doing other household activities. Don’t even tell your child you’re practicing math skills—just have fun!

Math Apps
Many kids can spend countless hours playing on a tablet or computer. Make this time productive by downloading some fun math apps to reinforce key concepts. Try Math Concentration for kids in grades pre-K-5, which is played like the classic game of Concentration, but focused on math. At the beginning level, kids match numbers to the appropriate number of dots, and eventually move onto shapes, multiplication facts, and fractions. ‎Sushi Monster is a fun, colorful app, which gives kids in grades 2-4 practice with addition and multiplication facts and builds fluency with them. Splash Math is another colorful, animated app that kids in grade K-5 have fun engaging with, and covers all math concepts ranging from basic counting to telling time, place value, money, multiplication, and division.

Don’t let your child with dyscalculia struggle as the math demands of school inevitably increase. Instead, try these tools with your child and have fun while building key skills that will set the stage for academic success.

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Our education expert gives some great tips on how to get your child to enjoy school again.

Your child feels anxious, complains of “headaches” or “stomach aches,” or downright says he hates‎ school.‎ Many kids experience these issues at some point in their academic careers; rather than downplaying these complaints or even giving in, try to truly understand why your child may be feeling this way. For many kids, academic or attentional challenges (or a combination of both) can often be the culprit.

Academic
Some kids naturally grasp reading and basic math skills with ease. Yet others struggle to learn these concepts, lose confidence in their abilities, and slowly begin to dislike school. If you notice your child struggling with a concept at school, start by trying to help him at home–and make it fun! If your child, for instance, is struggling to grasp the names of letters and their corresponding sounds, try creating colorful flashcards by writing the letter on the front with a black marker and drawing a colorful key picture on the back (like p/pizza, t/table, a/apple, etc). Practice telling him the name of the letter, key picture, and sound by showing him your card, then have him retell that sequence back to you.

Once he has grasped the letters and sounds, you can play a reading game with basic words. Try making a Tic-Tac-Toe board with different two and three letter words in each space, like: on, at, sit, pet, rug, pot, etc. Play the game like you would “regular” Tic-Tac-Toe but with this version, before drawing an X or O in the space, each player must correctly read the word. Continue to create different game boards with increasingly challenging words as your child progresses.

If you find that, despite ‎working with your child on areas of struggle at home, he’s still struggling in school, discuss the challenges with his teacher. Perhaps he can meet with his teacher before or after school or seek extra support during the day. You may choose to have him evaluated for possible learning challenges, and outside tutoring may be helpful as well.

Attentional
Many kids struggle to sit still at school. They constantly get out of their seat, lose focus, and distract their peers. As a result, teachers may constantly have to discipline them and school begins to become a negative experience for them. Many kids with attentional challenges are very bright but struggle in school simply because they can’t stay focused and on-task.

Try some strategies at home to help your child build stronger attentional skills and stay focused for longer stretches of time‎. Reward charts often work well. To create one, sit down with your child and come up with a list of rewards she wants to earn–perhaps a Lego set, a new doll, trip to the movies, and so on–then come up with a plan for earning these rewards. Create a checklist with items like: completes classroom work, remains in seat all day, doesn’t make inappropriate noises, completes homework assignments, puts assignments in backpack to be turned in, and turns in homework. Then come up with an “earning plan.” If your child completes each of these items for five days in a row, for instance, she earns the reward. Just be sure to include your child in this process.

‎For many kids, learning mindfulness tactics can also be very helpful for staying focused at school. Teach your child some basic breathing tactics at a time when she is calm and not triggered. Tell her to take one deep, gentle breath in, then exhale for four counts, while counting out loud 1, 2, 3, 4. Then have her do this cycle again for about three minutes. When she’s in a state of anxiety or has lost focus, encourage her to go back to this breathing pattern and she will notice a real change in her ability to stay focused and on task. There have been many studies on mindfulness that indicate positive effects on the mental health and well-being of children, helping to reduce stress and anxiety, increase self-regulation, and increase compassion and empathy.

For many kids, staying focused and excelling in school can be a real challenge. Yet there are useful tools and strategies you can implement at home to help your child feel more confident and successful, and come to truly enjoy school.‎

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Summer is a time for playing outside, splashing in the pool, and ‎making sand castles at the beach. Yet during this fun-filled season, many students lose one to three months’ worth of learning without continued academic instruction. Help your child prevent summer brain drain while still having fun with the ideas detailed below.

Read Daily!

Encourage your child to spend some time each day reading; a book, newspaper, comic, magazine, or internet article will all do the trick. You might try taking him to a book store or library at the start of summer and encourage him to find a book series or set of topics he’s interested in reading. Perhaps have him select a summer theme, like animals, presidents, or natural disasters, and choose books that follow that theme. For instance, your 6-9 year old who loves animals might select titles including My Father’s Dragon, Frog and Toad are Friends, or Diary of a Fly – all of which should capture his interest with engaging prose relating to animals.

You might also try creating a “book-a-thon” within your family where you chart how many books each family member reads (yes, including you!). The winner can earn a pre-determined prize, like a toy, movie, or special meal. The idea is to keep your child reading all summer, while making it as fun and engaging as possible.

Keep Up the Writing

In addition to reading, writing regularly throughout the summer can help prevent summer skills loss. Your child can write letters or emails to her friends, jot down summaries of her daily activities, or even write grocery lists or ideas for summer activities. If she needs more guided support, try giving her a daily or weekly writing prompt, and have ‎ her keep a summer journal. For instance, you might give her prompts like “Describe your favorite outdoor game,” “If you could be any animal, which would it be and why?” or ” Describe your dream dessert.” Additionally, ‎as she reads and complete books over the summer, have her write a summary in her own words describing each book (model one first so she knows what to do), and remind her to always self-check her writing for capitalization, punctuation, and sentence structure. Perhaps add in an incentive once she completes a certain number of books and writes a summary for each one. The more writing, the better!

Highlights Magazine

For young kids, Highlights magazine is an engaging and fun tool that helps continue building skills over the summer. This magazine, designed for kids ages 6-12, covers many important skills, including finding hidden pictures (great for developing visual spatial skills), riddles, jokes, What’s Wrong with this picture? activities, puzzles, short stories, poems, and so much more! It’s also a great way to help your child practice independent work – encourage him to only ask you questions when he is stuck. Your preschooler or Kindergartener might like the “younger” version of Highlights called High Five‎, which contains stories, puzzles, and engaging activities that are great for summer skills building.

Apps

Most kids love swiping and playing on a tablet, so why make “tech” time “learning” time? ‎ There are many great apps your child can use to keep her learning flowing throughout the summer and prevent academic skills loss. Some great ones are as follows:

Sentence Builder – Ages 6+

With this app, players have fun developing their grammar and sentence-writing abilities, a key skill for academic success. To play, they create sentences describing various pictures using slot machine-style wheels for choosing words. The game format is simple, beginning with basic sentences and later moving into more complex ones. The images and animations are colorful, and students build key written expression and sentence-structure skills.

Starfall Learn to Read – Ages 4+

This multi-sensory app helps students develop their reading and spelling skills as they listen, read, and touch letters and words, while having fun with the songs and colorful animations. The app includes 15 short books for kids to read, each covering a different sound pattern, along with animated videos, tunes, and funny characters. At the end of each book, students can complete activities related to the reading, including interactive matching and fill-in-the-blank exercises.

Hungry Fish – Ages 4-8
‎
This app is a great one for developing math skills over the summer. Its focus is reinforcing basic addition and subtraction as well as mental math in a fun and engaging manner. To play, kids drag and combine numbers in bubbles and then feed them to a floating fish. The fish expands when it is given “food” (otherwise known as correct answer combinations) and shrinks down when it does not receive food. As players complete and “win” each level, they move on to more advanced levels, while receiving immediate feedback along the way. It’s a useful and learning tool that can easily be disguised as simply a fun video game.

Summer is a time when many students regress academically. Prevent the infamous summer slide with these learning-focused activities, and your child will be well on his way to jump-starting the new school year on a positive note.

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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.

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Don’t let your child’s academic skills fall to the wayside this summer

Summer is a time for outdoor games, splashing in the pool, and spending long days in the sun. Yet‎ summer is also a long stretch of time without consistent academic instruction. During this time, many students lose up to several months’ worth of reading, writing, and math skills. Help your child prevent summer “brain drain” while still enjoying the summer with the ideas detailed below.

Plan an activity day

There are so many fun “excursions” to take over the summer–trips to amusement parks, zoos, museums, boardwalks, and the like. Have your child research and plan each activity, while developing important academic skills. She can start by searching the web for nearby options. She might decide on a local history museum, for instance, with interesting exhibits and shows. Before starting your adventure, have her plan a budget, including admission fees, costs for snacks and lunch, fees for any additional shows, and perhaps even the cost of the gas required to get there. To build time management skills, have her map out a time schedule, including the time you should leave as well as pre-determined times for shows, exhibits, and lunch. When you get home, you may even have her write a summary of her favorite parts of the museum and whether or not she would recommend it to a friend.

Write daily

During the summer, to prevent regression in writing skills, students should write every day. This writing can come in various forms. You may give your child a daily writing prompt, for instance, and have him keep a summer journal. Such prompts may include: “Describe your favorite vacation,” “If you could be a land animal, which one would you be and why?” ‎or “Would you ever want to travel to outer space? If so, why?” You can also try matching your child with a pen pal–a friend, family member, or someone with a shared interest, and have him write weekly letters to his pen pal sharing his summer adventures. The key is to write regularly and consistently.

Create your own science project

You can bring science to life over the summer with engaging and stimulating science projects. Try planting a garden with your child, for example, to teach many valuable skills. Start by having her decide which plants or flowers will be in the garden. Once she plants the seeds, have her predict (and write down) what she thinks will happen next and what she needs to do to ensure that the plants will grow. As the plants grow, have her track their growth and later create a visual chart, including dates and specific changes. She can even create a write-up detailing her observations and whether or not her predictions came true.

Take your child grocery shopping

Combine the fun of shopping with the excitement of learning by taking your child to the supermarket. Based on your family size, ‎have him predict how many items you will need for a given week. For instance, you may need two boxes of pasta, one pound of salmon, one box of cereal, and so on. Based on these amounts and the cost per item, have him try to figure out how much the grocery bill will come to (without any last-minute add-ons), then compare it to the actual cost to see if his prediction was correct. For younger kids, have them find certain quantities (4 apples or 6 oranges), or items of a certain shape (round fruits) or color (red vegetables).

Help your child strengthen her critical thinking and fine motor skills (amongst other key skills) by building a bird feeder. To build a basic one, you’ll need just three items: a cardboard toilet paper roll, peanut butter, and bird seed. Have your child predict what she thinks she may need to do with these items to make the bird feeder. Discuss her predictions, then get started. Using a spoon, have her spread a generous layer of peanut butter all around the cardboard roll. The more peanut butter you use, the more the seeds will stick. Then roll it around in the seeds and slide the roll onto a branch‎. Watch the birds flock to your feeder!

Summer is certainly a time for relaxation and fun. However, it is also a time when key academic skills can fall to the wayside. Try these activities to engage your child and prevent the all-too-common summer brain drain.

The post 5 Activities To Prevent Summer Brain Drain appeared first on EBL Coaching.