5 Tips to Battle the Mid-term Slump
It circles around every year. Everyone starts the year strongly, plans well, and the first semester races towards its end. This is the time when students might be feeling tired, burnt out and ready for holidays. Plus there is cold/flu season (and the ever-present Covid) to battle with. How can you help your students and child to remain in the right headspace during this assessment period?...
Super Skills of Reading: how to help your child become a better reader
This reading thing...... I know from teaching experience that the path to literacy isn't always straightforward or pain-free. In 20+ years of teaching and tutoring, I've seen children chip away at the reading process ~ and when a child cracks the code it's a wonderful thing. And if you have a struggling reader, they need our help before they come disengaged. Let's look at some Super Skil...
Taking Advantage of Technology to Include All Learners
Last week I had a very insightful meeting with James Smith, a Solutions Architect in the eLearning space. We chatted about the challenges in delivering engaging, interactive and collaborative learning environments in an online setting. And how can we make those learning experiences better for all learners?
eLearning tools have exploded, they save teachers’ time and engage students
eLearning tools have surged recently, especially due to the pandemic. They may seem daunting but when utilized properly, they can streamline teaching tasks, put the focus on teaching kids and make learning at home easier.
Classroom teachers are under increased pressure to measure and report on their students' progress with various checkpoints, while also delivering engaging and relev...
Reading and the Brain
What's really going on in the head of a boy? What can science tell us about educating and raising boys? How wonderful to share this article from a fellow dedicated boy champion, Professor Michael Nagel. Professor Nagel and I have had many conversations around boys, how best to engage them, the influences of technology, adolescence and how we can educate them in the best possible way. Pa...
How do you ensure literacy isn’t compromised by screen time?
There is much debate about children and technology, and it sparks hot discussion around the world. Research keeps surfacing about technology's overuse and its impact on learning yet it offers great benefits too. Confused? How much is too much? Let's look at some research, feedback from educators and how tech can be used in a balanced way to enhance learning and prepare our kids for the fut...
Literacy Toolkit 2022: Some fresh ideas to inspire your students to read
What if every one of your students loved reading? It is a teacher’s most common worry: How do I inspire my students to read often and read well?
"The path of a reader is not a runway but more a hack through a forest, with individual twists and turns, entanglements and moments of surprise." (John Holden, literacy author, 2004)
As a teacher and tutor with 20+ ...
Beating the back-to-school blues
Helping our students to start the new year off on the right foot involves more than shiny shoes and crisp new books. Let's look at what they need to boost their confidence as they walk into the playground and classroom.
1) Resilience
A tough day may leave a child or teen feeling overwhelmed. However, try not to rush in with a 'fix it' mentality. I remember...
Top tips for getting a good night’s sleep
Described as food for the brain, sleep is vital to an individual's wellbeing: particularly when it comes to school-aged children and teenagers. As kids return to school, let's look at some ways we can ensure they are getting the recommended 8 to 10 hours of sleep in order to feel rested and learn effectively.