Here are some ideas from Stowell on dealing with stress when holidays, busy schedules and school collide. You can join Stowell Learning Center's homework tips by visiting the website.

 "Cyber-Monday."  Apparently, the internet was loaded with amazing deals for the consumer that were available only on Monday!  I can just imagine all those cyber signals pushing and shoving through space to be the very first in line to make their purchase.

 

I don't like crowds well enough to participate in Black Friday, but I'm always amazed by the intensity and stress involved, at least for those who get highlighted on the news!

 

Since we are in the gift-giving season, I thought I'd share a gift for the whole family that won't break the bank or break your neck in crazed crowds!

 

In fact, this gift enhances family life and learning!

 

Use the technique below before doing homework, when you need to re-fresh after a break, even in the morning before school begins.

 

Here's to having the very best school year ever,

 

 

De-Stress

 

The world has become a pressure cooker with the burden of stress growing daily.  Your mind and emotions are bombarded daily with information that reinforces a perceptionof just how stressed you should feel.

 

And this time of year all that stress is magnified as schoolwork "collides" with all the holiday activities.

 

Science has show that our health can pay a serious price for our stress.  So can your child's learning!  So, what should you do?

 

Recent scientific research has proven that you can learn not only to manage your stress, but even to prevent much of it before it happens.

 

Here is a simple technique to Freeze Frame and change our stress patterns:

 

1. Take a time out so that you can temporarily disengage from your thoughts and feelings - especially stressful ones.
   
   
2. Shift your focus to the area around your heart.  Breathe in slowly through your nose and imagine the breath around your heart.  Breathe out through your mouth and imagine the exhale flowing out of your solar plexus (the "pit of your stomach").  Breathe this way several times.
   
3. Make a sincere effort to activate a positive feeling.  This can be a genuine feeling of appreciation or care for someone or something in your life.
   
   
4. Ask yourself what would be an efficient, effective attitude or action that would balance and de-stress your system.
   
   
5. Quietly sense any change in perception or feeling and sustain it as long as you can.

This technique, developed by the Heartmath organization (www.heartmath.com) is used widely by children and adults and has been a simple and tremendous tool for our students.

 

Having a learning or attention challenge can be very stressful as students try so hard, yet continually fail to meet the expectations of themselves and others.  The heart-breathing technique can help them shift their feelings of frustration, discouragement, and overwhelm, opening up the mental resources they need to move forward with calm positive focus.

Here are some ideas for keeping your child focused during the large holiday beaks from Stowell. Sign up for homework tips through Stowell Learning Center. 

Happy Holidays!  The calendar has finally caught up with the TV commercials!

 

So what does that look like for kids still in school for another two to three weeks and families still dealing with homework?

 

Younger children get increasingly excited.  Teens get busy with social events.  Class routines get disrupted with art projects, assemblies, and special program rehearsals.

 

All good stuff! 

Except when it comes to homework! 

For the next couple of weeks, it will be hard for kids to settle down to do homework and harder to find time to fit it in.

 

This is NORMAL!

 

Below you'll find three suggestions to making this time of year easier.

 

Here's to having the very best school year ever.

 

 

3 "Golden Keys" to Keeping Students on Track During the Holiday Season

 

1. Keep your Homework Routine
   If your homework routine has begun to fall by the wayside, re-establish it and make it non-negotiable.  Students fight things less when things are "set in stone."  Have a set time and place for doing homework.
   
   
2. Acknowledge; then Move Ahead
   Kids will naturally be more distracted and excited at this time of year.  We can't make them not feel that way and really don't want to "s" the excitement.  So it's important to acknowledge where they are and then move forward to what they need to do. 
   
   Here's how this might look:
   
   For a younger student:
   "You're super excited aren't you?  This is a fun time of year.  Right now, it's homework time.  How about if I help you get started?"
   
   For an older student:
   "You're anxious to talk to Sara about the party Saturday night, aren't you?  It sounds like it's going to be really fun!  Right now, it's the time we've agreed on to do homework.  Why don't you put a reminder on your phone to call Sara as soon as you're done?"
   
   
3. Make it Fun
   Take advantage of the season
   
   For example, if you're studying times tables, spelling words, or vocabulary with your child, you might write each one on an index card and then separate them into Santa's naughty and nice piles.  Be a little silly.  Put the cards the student knows in the "nice" pile!  "Yea!  That one gets a present this year!"  "Awesome!  This one goes in the nice pile!"
   
   The ones the student doesn't know go in the "naughty" pile.  "Boo, he was bad this year!"  "No presents for him!"  This takes the emphasis off of the student not knowing certain facts or words and puts the blame, in a fun way, on the fact/word itself.  Be sure to go back and practice the cards in the "naughty" pile to try to move them to the other pile.
   
   Other examples:
   "How about if you try these cookies I've been baking after you finish this assignment?"
   
   Play Christmas music in the background.
   
   Read a Christmas/holiday story for the nightly reading.
   

Be creative, have fun, acknowledge and enjoy the excitement, all the while sticking to your homework routine!  Happy Holidays!

 

Word Problem Strategies for Struggling Students

Here's a homework tip from Stowell Learning for students struggling with math word problems. You can sign-up through Stowell to receive more tips. 

 

Do you and your child dread math word problems?  Many parents report that even if their child can do the rest of the math homework, the word problems often pose a huge "hurdle" that neither parent nor student want to "leap over."

There are two main causes for this fear:

1. The child has a reading problem and word problems require reading,
   
   OR
   
   
2. The child (and parent) is trying to solve the problem by picking out the numbers or key words without really understanding what the problem is about.
   

Word problems are the application of math; the part that makes math something real and relevant.

They used to be called story problems and that's how we have to think of them - as a story. You don't just pick out the pieces you want from a story. If you do that, the story won't make sense. 

Word Problem Strategy

• Read and visualize the story. (Do one sentence at a time if necessary).
  
  
• Have your child talk about what he/she pictured. Who was in it? What were they doing? What were they trying to find out?
  
  
• Use the chart below to think through the information. Have your child say what he's thinking as he goes. This helps him reason through the information and develop the language that he eventually internalizes and uses on his own whenever doing word problems.
  

WHAT? (What do I know?)	? (What do I need to know?)	How (Solve the problem)
Here, write the relevant information in a few words as possible.	Write the question you have to solve for.	Do the math. Be sure to label the answer.

Here is a simple problem as an example, but this strategy works with word problems of almost any level and helps students understand what they doing.

Problem: Sara and Kaitlyn were on the same swim team. On Friday morning, Sara swam 19 laps and Kaitlyn swam 23 laps. How many more laps did Kaitlin swim than Sara?

Visualize and verbalize (make a mental movie of) the story:

"I picture two girls in a swimming pool swimming laps. They both swam a lot of laps, but Sara got out after 19 laps and Kaitlin kept going until she completed 23 laps. I have to figure out how many laps Kaitlin did after Sara got out of the pool.

(To solve this, you might have to guide your child in recognizing that until Sara got out of the pool, the two girls swam the same number of laps. The difference is the number of laps Kaitlin swam once Sara got out. Whenever you are finding the difference, you will subtract the smaller number from the larger number).

WHAT do I Know?	What Do I NEED To Know	Now Solve The Problem
S: 19 laps K: 23 laps	How many more laps did Kaitlin swim than Sara	23 -19           4 laps

Have your child verbalize or write the full answer to the problem:

"Kaitlin swam 4 more laps than Sara."

*As with many of our tips, this takes some time at first, but the more you do it, the more independent and confident your child will get with word problems.

Thanksgiving Prep

Every year I read and look at pictures and articles on having a stress free Thanksgiving. This year I made 3 frozen meals in advance so I can put them in the oven the day of the big event. I made two crafts looking at pinterest. When I say crafts, I refer to things that require no more than 3 items and I think a toddler can do it. :) I always clean the bathrooms, floors, and towels every Sunday, so I have been touching up today and saved a few touch ups for tomorrow. I cannot touch up all in one night like most articles would suggest; my living room cannot survive 10 minutes of cleanliness with 3 little kids age 5 and under. So tomorrow will be floor and bathroom touch ups again, right before the guests come so it can smell clean just in time for guests to arrive. My goal is to be as lazy as possible on the big day. 

Hamburgers and Writing Essays

Homework tips from Stowell Learning Center. Sign-up and receive more homework tips.

Sometimes trying to get a long paper written can feel like a forever process.

Writing can be VERY disjointed for some students. They know they have to write a page so they just start writing whatever pops into their mind. Ideas end up being repeated over and over or become a series of random thoughts.

Let's make this really concrete for students. Below you'll find an easy way for kids (and, actually, adults too) to look at a writing assignment and make it "real" in such a way that they are clear about how they will write.

This is really a "tasty" way to go about writing!

Here's to making this the best school year ever.

 

 

Can a Hamburger Help Your Child Write Better?

Taking something familiar from real life, can often help students to understand the big picture of what they are supposed to do.

There's a commercial on TV for a popular fast-food restaurant that shows someone eating a huge, juicy hamburger with all kinds of stuff - cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sauce, pickles - spilling out as he bites down. And the point is that this ISN'T any old boring hamburger, but this one is really juicy and special (a.k.a. messy).

We sometimes use the analogy of a loaded hamburger to help students understand how a multi-paragraph paper is organized.

The whole hamburger represents the overall topic or focus of the paper - what it's all about.

The top and bottom bun represent the introduction and the conclusion. These are the first and last paragraphs in the paper, and while they don't look exactly the same, they are basically made of the same stuff.

The top bun, or the introductory paragraph introduces the reader to the topic and gives just enough information to get the reader interested in reading on.

The concluding paragraph is like the bottom bun. It is the last paragraph and has basically the same content as the introduction. It restates and wraps up the topic.

Everything in between the introduction and conclusion - the meat and all the condiments - make up the body of the paper, each being a different key point. Each one gets its own paragraph (or paragraphs) to describe or explain it's overall contribution to the whole topic.

Try getting a large picture of a hamburger. Draw a line next to the top and bottom bun on the left hand side. Here, the student can put his ideas for the introduction and conclusion.

On the right hand side, draw lines out from the meat, cheese, tomatoes, etc. The student can jot down the key points of the paper on these lines in the order he wants to present them.

Using the hamburger as a guide, now he has a structure with which to write a paragraph or a simple multi-paragraph paper that will have an introduction, body/details, and conclusion.

Give it a try..and then maybe eat a hamburger for dinner!

Homework Help for Struggling Readers

Here is a good tip for parents to help their struggling readers. You can get more ideas from Stowell Learning Center and sign-up to receive emails.

How do you handle homework while you're working on those skills? School doesn't stop and wait while your child builds the skills that others already have!

 

Below you'll find a resource that will help ease the burden of reading.

 

 

Audiobooks May Help Your Struggling Reader Keep up with the Class and Be More Independent

Does your child dread or avoid reading textbooks because the pages seem too dense, the chapters too long, or words too hard? Having textbooks on audio allows students to spend less time struggling with homework, and more time understanding and absorbing the material.

It also frees you up from having to do the reading for your struggling reader and helps your child be more independent.

Here are two resources available to schools and parents for a nominal yearly fee (may be free to schools) that will allow students with learning disabilities to access their textbooks on audio

Learning Ally: www.learningally.org
Bookshare: www.bookshare.org

Here's HOW to get the most out of audiobooks:

 

Have your child or teen read along in their textbook as they listen. Using their finger under the line of text may help them to keep their place and allows them to touch, see, and hear the words simultaneously.

This action helps students notice vocabulary, see how words look while accurately hearing them read, and increases attention and comprehension.

Research reported by Learning Ally states that students show the following improvement with the use of audiobooks:

Improved reading comprehension: 76%
Increased interest in reading: 76%
Improved reading accuracy: 52%
Increased self-confidence: 61%
Increased motivation: 67%

 

Audiobooks are a valuable resource and support for struggling readers.

It is important to recognize, however, that these resources do not correct the reading problem.

Most reading and spelling problems can be permanently corrected by identifying and developing the weak, underlying learning skills that are getting in the way of the student learning comfortably and efficiently.

Homework Help for Dyslexic Challenges, Awkward Letter Formation, Letter Reversals, and Spelling

Here are some great tips to help your struggling reader. You can sign-up for homework tips through Stowell Learning Center too.


Filling out worksheets is a breeze for some kids, but for those who find writing or spelling slow and laborious, a simple homework worksheet can take aaaallllll afternoon.

Students with graphomotor challenges (difficulty printing or writing in cursive) often find the lines on worksheets too short or too narrow for their uncoordinated and ballooning letters

If they are going to write legibly on the lines provided, they have to write each letter very intentionally and carefully, so even if they know the content, it will take them far longer than their friends to complete it. Often, kids with these kinds of challenges get overwhelmed and exhausted.

For students with dyslexic challenges, awkward letter formation, letter reversals, and spelling (which may have to be erased and corrected over and over) can make a simple worksheet seem to take forever, and the real learning in the assignment, the content, may become completely lost.

If your child fits one of these scenarios and your dining room table is the scene of nightly meltdowns over worksheets, you may want to get your child's teacher on board with the suggestion below.

 

Share the Writing
Tackling Worksheets When Writing or Spelling is Slow and Laborious

***Make sure you arrange with your child's teacher to use the following procedure.

Agree to have your student be responsible for writing the answers to a portion of the questions (for example, 2 out of 5), and then you (the parent) write the answers to the other questions as your student dictates.

This allows your child to take her time and write carefully and neatly on the items she writes, developing good habits.

It's important that students be responsible for part of the writing so that she knows that she is capable. She should know that the amount of writing she will do is being reduced so that she can focus on neatness and spelling.

Her best is expected!

Sharing the actual writing reduces the stress on students and allows her to focus more on the content. By having less actual writing to do, she can create better habits because she will not feel penalized by the amount of time it takes.

She will feel better about her work product because her own writing looks neater, and she might just have a little time left at the end of the day.

Homework help for Slow or Struggling Readers

Here are some great tips to help your struggling reader. You can sign-up for homework tips through Stowell Learning Center too.

Helping Slow or Struggling Readers Get Through a Textbook Chapter

Textbook chapters are typically divided into fairly short sections designated with a sub-heading. The student's job will be to start reading at the beginning of each section.

As soon as he gets tired, he is allowed to stop and the parent takes over until the end of the section.

Even if the student reads only one sentence, the expectation will be that he can read the text and will start reading again after each subheading. Knowing that he can stop when he's tired reduces the pressure.

Over time, as his reading or confidence improves, he will gradually tackle more reading on his own.

As your child does begin to read more of the section on his own, be sure to validate him for putting out the extra effort and the reading stamina he is building.

If he doesn't, on his own, begin increasing the amount he is reading, but you really believe that he can handle more, you might start gradually increasing the expectation.

For example, you might change the rule so that the student begins reading at each subheading and has to read at least 2 full sentences (or one sentence more than he is typically doing) before he can say he's ready for the parent take over.

An added tip for comprehension: After reading each section, stop and talk about it a little bit to solidify the key ideas.