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| New Students: | (888) EDUCATE |
| Current Families: | (410) 486-7666 |
| Fax: | (410) 486-5790 |
| Monday: | 9:00 AM - 8:30 PM |
| Tuesday: | 9:00 AM - 8:30 PM |
| Wednesday: | 9:00 AM - 8:30 PM |
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| Saturday: | 9:00 AM - 2:30 PM |
| Sunday: | By Appointment |
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Sylvan's tutors teach skills that last a lifetime. We help students learn how to become self-motivated and achieve independence; above all else, we enable them to approach school — and life — with confidence.
We also maintain Sylvan tutoring special offers and seasonal promotions that make getting your child on the road to success easier.
A Back To School Survival Guide for Parents
To help parents get ready for the new school year, Sylvan Learning located in Pikesville, offers several tips to ease the transition from the beach to the classroom and jumpstart sluggish summer brains.
PARENTS:
While the idea of waking up at the crack of dawn to prepare lunches, fighting over appropriate school attire and regulating the amount of television watched might have you frazzled, take solace in the fact that you can play a big part in getting your children motivated and excited to tackle a new school year.
Depending on your child’s age, your role in the above-mentioned tips will vary. The following are helpful ideas to ease kids of all ages back into learning mode:
Help Your Child Discover His/Her Learning Style. Because each child is special, with different learning styles and academic needs, it is important to personalize the learning process. People learn in at least eight different ways, according to the Multiple Intelligences Theory: visually, verbally, physically, mathematically, musically, naturalistically, through group activity or through quiet thinking time. Talk to your child’s teachers about your child’s learning strengths and how best to support them.
Get Back In The Routine. Ease the transition from lazy summer days to the structure of the school year by re-establishing bedtime, mealtime, reading and homework routines. Talk with your child about the importance of structure and how routines help ensure that he is not overtired or overly anxious about schoolwork.
Develop A Family Event Calendar. One of the most helpful tools for getting organized is a family event calendar. To ease the chaos, track school programs, volunteer work and after-school activities. Family time management is essential if you are going to avoid the tumultuous frenzy of disorganization.
· Depending on your children’s ages, this calendar can be on construction paper with large squares to write in all necessary information, or it can be produced on a white board so that it is easy to revise.
· If it is color-coded by family member, you can clearly see who has an activity scheduled and when the event occurs.
· Place the calendar near the telephone, so when a friend’s mother calls to invite your child to a birthday party, you will know instantly whether it fits within your family plans.
Purchase School Supplies In Advance. Avoid the last-minute rush by purchasing supplies at least one week in advance. Take your child. She can feel excited and in control by choosing her favorite colors and designs.
Be a Cheerleader. Encourage your child to share any concerns he has about returning to school. Reinforce positive feelings by talking with your child about learning and achievement. Support his academic interests and encourage him to get involved in extracurricular activities at school.
10 Reading Tips for Parents
1. Let your child see you reading for pleasure
2. Listen to your child read to you or to relatives.
3. Reward your child for reading using praise, new books, a success chart, etc.
4. Develop your child's experiential background. This will allow them to relate reading activities to everyday life!
5. Build vocabulary activities through games and practice! Try word bingo or a word game together.
6. Use Bookadventure.com to help build comprehension skills.
7. Take your child to the library regularly.
8. Let your child get excited about books of his/her choice.
9. Turn off the TV and READ! Read the books that correspond to the upcoming Movie Blockbuster hit!
10. Make it fun! Act out a book together, take turns reading a paragraph, have it relate to everyday life. The more often they read, the more they will enjoy it later in life!
Does Your Child Need a Tutor?
Does your child need assistance catching up to his classmates or getting ahead of the learning curve? A good tutor will help students, at all levels of academic accomplishment, develop study habits and organizational skills which will result in significantly improved schoolwork and test scores. Taking the time to consider whether or not to hire a tutor means parents are giving their children an opportunity to excel in the classroom.
"The purpose of tutoring is to teach children efficient learning skills and techniques," said Dr. Richard Bavaria, Ph.D. and vice president of education for Sylvan Learning Center. "It's important that parents take action early and seek a tutoring service that develops these skills for success."
The following are signs that indicate if your child needs a tutor:
-Slowly failing grades in school
-The child develops low self-esteem and thinks negatively of himself or herself because of his or her school performance
-Making excuses as to why he or she is not doing his or her work
-Misbehavior in school
-The child is becoming rebellious toward schoolwork and loses interest in learning
-The child is preparing for college testing
Call Sylvan Learning Center in Pikesville today to give your student the extra help we all wish we had.
Dr. Rick's Blog
Richard E. Bavaria, Ph.D., has forty years of education experience, in both the public and private sectors, including more than a decade with Sylvan Learning.
He has tips for everything including: back to school, homework, preparing for tests, report card, PSAT/SAT/ACT, and subject specifics.
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