This blog post is sponsored by Sylvan Learning. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Olivia has made tremendous progress this past year in second grade. In fact, she finally caught up to grade level (she has ADHD and was developmentally behind her classmates) which means she is graduating out of Special Day Class (SDC) and into the mainstream (General Education) with her peers. We are absolutely thrilled and owe so much of her success to Sylvan Learning Centers!!
Olivia has shown so much growth as far as understanding academic concepts since starting with Sylvan back in January. But, what we love even more is seeing how much more confident she is. We want to make sure that Olivia continues to progress and so we recently sat down with her Sylvan tutor to discuss ways in which we could best support Olivia this summer and she had some awesome ideas. Olivia’s tutor has acted as a mentor to her throughout the school year, and we are so grateful for the tips that she has provided!
4 Ways to Help Your Student Retain Their Knowledge This Summer (and have fun doing it!)
- Find ways to build your child up.
I am amazed at how building self-confidence has helped Olivia have the courage to try new things and tackle hard projects at school. Previously, Olivia would demonstrate behaviors of shutting down, not trying her best, and/or just giving up. Now Sylvan Learning Center has taught her that she is capable.
This is definitely something we are going to incorporate into our routine at home throughout summer as well. We will do this by praising her on specific tasks, practicing affirmations together (get out free affirmations printable here), and asking for her help in skills around the house that I know she is capable of. And, reminding her how much she has grown this past year. And, of course, how proud we are of her.
Working with Olivia’s tutor at Sylvan Learning Centers has taught me that it truly does take a village. She has always encouraged open dialogue between parents/teachers/and support staff (incl. Liv’s Sylvan Tutor and her Occupational Therapist). By working together and supporting the same goals Olivia has been able to progress very quickly.
- Read with/to your child for 30 minutes every day.
I have always tried to encourage my kids to read so I was excited when Olivia’s Sylvan tutor mentioned that reading is one of the best things you can do to help your kids improve at school (in all subjects).
They actually have an awesome article on their website here that goes over some easy strategies for getting your kids excited about reading! I highly recommend you check it out.
Liv especially loved filling up a book bag at the library and incorporating others reading some larger chapter books to her as well!
- Find ways to build in learning using real-life examples and experiences. (*tip- make it fun!)
It’s amazing what scenarios pop up in our daily life that can become teachable moments if we just pause to think about them. Something like baking, which Olivia loves to do, requires her to read the instructions (reading/ comprehension), use measurements (math/strategic thinking), and offer a delicious reward for her hard work.
We also practice things like rhyming words when we sit at red lights, figuring out how many slices we need to cut our pizza in to feed our family, and I give her a small allowance to use at the snack shop at our park so that she can practice her addition and subtraction when she places her own order. She also loves playing drive-thru cashier which is another great opportunity for memory recall and math.
Just a few of these sprinkled throughout the week make learning fun and engaging while keeping those skills sharp!
With so many kids at home, I also like looking for easy activities Olivia can do during “quiet time” aka mom’s break time and Jack’s naptime.
This is when I plan to use the free online resources Sylvan has to offer. I’ll pop the links below so you can print some out for your kids.
Reading worksheets: https://www.sylvanlearning.com/reading/worksheets/vocabulary
Math worksheets: https://www.sylvanlearning.com/math/worksheets
Sylvan’s Summer Offerings
Whether your kid is still catching up, I know many fell behind during virtual schooling, or you are just trying to avoid that dreaded summer learning gap, Sylvan has great programs to help your students build both confidence and success. Sylvan Learning tutors can act as amazing mentors throughout the school year and into the summer months, supporting your kid in their school work as well as their confidence.
For Olivia, since we are still building on her concepts we plan to continue her reading and math support. This way she not only continues to progress but also so that she retains what she has already mastered.
I love that Sylvan offers flexible tutoring options both online and in-person so you can add learning into your summer schedule in a way that best suits your family! Click here to find a tutoring program that works best for your family.
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