What's New in November

Wednesday 11th - Wrap-Up Wednesday: do a challenging wrap up in under 25 seconds and get 25 tokens.

Friday 13th - Go Iceskating! Free Skate Night at Gallivan Center 239 S. Main St. 7-10pm

Monday 16th - Double Token Day!

Tuesday 17th - Tuesday 24th, Thanksgiving Color Competition.

Thursday 26th - Sylvan is Closed. Happy Thanksgiving

Saturday 28th - Double Token Day!

Whats New

November Newsletter

November Newsletter(989 KB)

Back to School

Our new afternoon teaching hours begin August 24th. During the school year, instruction typically begins at 3:00 or 4:00pm depending on the day. We continue to be open Saturday mornings 8:30am - 12:30pm.

Be sure to register for Sylvan's Algebra challenge before the end of September at: http://sylvanlearning.promo.eprize.com/algebrachallenge/

It is free!

Answers to Your Toughest Homework Questions

Parents want their children to get good grades in school. Unfortunately, not every parent knows how best to help their child meet academic challenges, including completion of homework. So, how can parents maximize their child’s chances to develop the skills, habits and attitudes needed for lifelong success?
Sylvan Learning and National Education Association offer this tip sheet to help answer frequently asked parent questions.

Why do teachers assign homework?
- Teachers use homework to reinforce daily academic skills learned in the classroom, practice for tests, develop good work habits and critical thinking abilities, and encourage a love of learning new subjects.
- Homework is a way to supplement classroom learning and ensure students understand a lesson.
- Research indicates that children who regularly complete their homework, on average, build a better foundation of fundamental skills and obtain higher grades. By having this academic foundation and building a solid work ethic, students are better able to achieve academic success in the upper grades, college, and, ultimately, this leads to greater career options, greater wealth and lifelong success.

How much time should children spend doing their homework?
Educators generally agree on these guidelines:
- Grades K-2 – 10-20 minutes per day
- Grades 3-6 – 30-60 minutes daily
- Middle and high school – The amount of homework will vary by subject. In addition to daily assignments, older students may also receive long-term projects, such as term papers, that may have deadlines weeks away. The key for academic success for teenagers is organization and planning.

Discuss your child’s classroom homework policies with her teacher(s) and ask how much time each expects students to spend on homework nightly.

Visit the “Parents Resources” area on SylvanLearning.com or Nea.org/parents/parent-guides.html for free family activities and additional academic tips.

When I ask my child if he has homework, he says he’s already finished or none was assigned. How can I ensure homework is completed?
- Make studying, not just homework, a daily habit. Even if a student does not have an assignment due the next day, he can use that time to read, review his notes or organize his backpack.
- Ask younger children to show you their work so you can check it and help them correct their mistakes by working on the answer together. Ask your child to explain the reasoning for his answers. This develops critical thinking skills.
- Be curious, not critical. If a parent is too critical, a student may lose enthusiasm for learning. Kids want to please their parents. When they feel discouraged, they give up. Instead of judging your child’s homework, show him that you are interested in his schooling by asking questions. Turn homework into a nightly conversation.

How can I create a homework environment that is conducive to learning?
- Create a homework zone. Set up an area in your home for studying, complete with a dictionary, paper, pens, etc. Make sure the area is free from distractions and that all study tools are within your child’s reach to keep her focused on homework.
- Identify goals. Help your child set personal and attainable goals for each class and help him identify the steps needed to reach each goal.
- Set weekly milestones. For big projects or exams, buy a large calendar and help her set short timelines to ensure projects and studying aren’t left until the night before.
- Know your child. Because each child is unique with different learning styles and academic needs, it is important to personalize the learning process. Students may learn in different ways on different days. Visit the “Parent Resources” area on SylvanLearning.com to take Sylvan Learning’s “Homework Personality” Quiz to discover how to personalize homework time for your child.
- Celebrate your child’s successes. Congratulate your child for his effort and improvement.
A student will be better prepared for classes if parents and educators work together to understand a student’s personal learning style and use this knowledge to help the child excel in school and on homework.

GREAT READING WEBSITE FOR FAMILIES

www.bookadventure.com
Book Adventure is a FREE reading motivation program for children in grades K-8. Children create their own book lists from over 7,000 recommended titles, take multiple choice quizzes on the books they've read, and earn points and prizes for their literary successes. Book Adventure was created by and is maintained by Sylvan Learning.

www.readingrockets.org
Reading Rockets is a national multimedia project offering information and resources on how children learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help.

www.rif.org/parents
Founded in 1966, Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) is the oldest and largest children's and family nonprofit literacy organization in the United States. Find tips and activities for encouraging your child to read and have a great time, too.

www.pbs.org/parents
PBS’s site for parents with advice, guides to child development and other resources.

www.scholastic.org/parents/
Scholastic’s website for parents. Find information and activities here to encourage a love of learning in your child from a publisher that has created quality products for children for over 85 years.

www.scholastic.org/kids/
Scholastic’s website for kids with games, books and authors. Find out about your favorite series and authors.

10 Tips for Reading Aloud to School-age Children

1. Read aloud to children even as they learn to read to themselves. It is fun and encouraging for them.
2. Set aside a special time to read when you and your family are relaxed.
3. Children enjoy choosing the books that you read aloud together.
4. Children enjoy listening to both easy books and books that would be too hard for them to read on their own.
5. Choose books about a topic that especially interests your child.
6. Children often enjoy books in a series with familiar plots and characters.
7. Remember to take a book with you to read together when you go out.
8. Read poetry together. Many poems for children are short, playful, and build vocabulary.
9. Show children you love books. Keep books and magazines at home and let them catch you reading!
10. Visit the library often to choose books and enjoy programs together. Join Summer Reading at your public library!

http://www.summerreading.org/family_reading_fun.asp

Think a book is too hard? Try the 5 Finger Test!

Readers can use the five finger test
to check their understanding of a
book. To check the reading level of your book, take this simple test:

1. Open the book to the middle and choose any page to read.
2. Read the page (aloud if possible).
3. Put out 1 finger for every word you do not know or cannot pronounce.
4. If you have 5 fingers out, the book is too difficult to read without help.
5. If you do not have any fingers up, but are reading very slowly and decoding almost every work, you will not enjoy the book.

Here is the finger guide:
1 Finger: This book is ok for you.
2 Fingers: Still good.
3 Fingers: Could be a bit hard for you to understand.
4 Fingers: Will be too difficult to read and understand.
5 Fingers: Choose another book.

http://bookadventure.org/ki/bs/ki_bs_5finger.sap

Math Tricks to Learn the Facts

Article by Deb Russell

More and more in my teaching career, I'm seeing that children no longer memorize their multiplication tables. With the math curriculum as extensive as it is, teachers cannot afford to take the time to ensure that students learn the basic facts. Parents are partners in the process and will have greater opportunities for their children to succeed in math if they support the learning of the basics at home. Work with your children to ensure that they do not fall between the cracks. Help your children learn the facts. There are many tricks to teach children multiplication facts in mathematics.

http://math.about.com/bltricks.htm

Fun Sites for Math Help

These sites are listed on the Utah Education Network website: www.uen.org

www.aplusmath.com: Great site for any age! The site includes lessons, worksheets, and games!

www.figurethis.com: This site is great for the whole family! Click on Figure This Math Challenges for Families and complete a challenge together.

www.math.com: This is another great site not listed on UEN. The site includes step by step tutorials and some great games.

Math Rules! Try These On For Size

The 9 Times Quickie
1. Hold your hands in front of you with your fingers spread out.
2. For 9 X 3 bend your third finger down. (9 X 4 would be the fourth finger etc.)
3. You have 2 fingers in front of the bent finger and 7 after the bent finger
4. Thus the answer must be 27
5. This technique works for the 9 times tables up to 10.
The 11 Times Rule #1
1. Take any number to 10 and multiply it by 11.
2. Multiply 11 by 3 to get 33, multiply 11 by 4 to get 44. Each number to 10 is just duplicated.
The 11 Times Rule #2
1. Use this strategy for two digit numbers only.
2. Multiply 11 by 18. Jot down 1 and 8 with a space between it. 1 --8.
3. Add the 8 and the 1 and put that number in the middle: 198