Like me, you may be asking yourself:  How did June get here so fast? Where did the school year go? Suddenly we have to scramble to figure out new schedules for childcare and arrange for healthy activities to keep them out of trouble while were working.

The kids are no doubt thrilled that summer break is on the horizon. For some students, the break may be a brief respite before summer classes start. Still, even if your children aren’t enrolled in summer school or community college classes, continuing education of one sort or another is important. It doesnt have to be the standard academic curricula, although some review and preparation for the following year is most definitely beneficial.

Before the school year ends, you might want to meet with your childs current teacher to discuss ways in which you can help your child review lessons over the summer and prepare for the next school year. Maybe that teacher or another can make arrangements to loan you the textbook for the next level.

Experts tell us that continuous learning creates new synapses or connections in our brains and keeps us mentally healthy. Conversely, reviewing previous lessons imprints the acquired knowledge for more permanent storage and allows us to combine the old information with the new.

To get those new synapses popping, you might encourage your child to sign up for a Parks and Recreation program that hasnt been on their radar. Maybe theres a class out there that you can both attend. Try painting. Or learn German. Tap dancing could be a good way to have fun together and reconnect after a hectic year of Is your homework done? and Im off to another meeting.

The point is that its easy for children to get into ruts and not know how to get out of them. We parents forget that kids have limited exposure to and knowledge about the world. They need our help to discover the possibilities. Perhaps its as important that we share more fun, silly, relaxing moments with them. Before you know it theyll be off on their own and youll never get this time with them back.

So as we head into the … lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer… we wish you and your families a summer filled with new experiences, new discoveries and new connections. If a little extra help is needed with academic subjects, were here to help.

Diane Trautman, Education Director

For more information, please contact StudyPros In-Home Tutoring at (661) 296-9206.

In August I escorted my younger son to his first year of college and, as late September approaches, I will be preparing to get my older son back to the dorms for his sophomore year. During this transitional time, my thoughts are vacillating wildly between delightful memories and halting concerns. Both of my young men need the tools to navigate through the world of post-secondary education and the real world beyond. I worry: Did I teach them enough to guide them through their day-to-day lives?

When I was in high school, we had home economics classes where we learned basic sewing and cooking techniques. In math classes, we learned how to develop and manage a household budget, and learned about bank accounts and balancing checkbooks. While some boys took the Home-Ec class (perhaps just to be surrounded by girls), many others enjoyed metal and wood working classes. The practical arts were considered foundational both for trade-bound and college-bound students.

My sons took cooking in junior high school, but these and other life skills lessons are now few and far between. Most of our young people lack an understanding of even the most basic personal financial management. They wouldn’t know what to do if a check bounced, and they throw clothes away because they don’t know how to repair them. Our society has become so fixated on test scores that it’s easy to neglect showing them how to manage their lives responsibly once they’ve left the nest.

Many parents have full-time jobs that leave little time at the end of the day to teach these skills. Nevertheless, we must take steps to prepare our children for adulthood. We can begin by teaching young children how to count money and make change, and eventually manage an allowance and a bank account. We can teach our sons and daughters how to use needle and thread to mend their clothes and learn how set up a sewing machine and measure fabric to create something new. We can engage them in meal planning and preparation. We can teach them how to take care of the family car. These and other skills help our children better understand the practical applications of the concepts they’re learning in the classroom. As a result, caring for self and others becomes important, and school becomes meaningful.

For more information, contact StudyPros In-Home Tutoring at (661) 296-9206.

A friend and colleague recently gave me an earful about a certain activity in which we’re both engaged. When she finished expressing her frustrations, she apologized for her honesty and offered to back off. I told her that I actually appreciated her remarks, even if I didn’t agree with everything she said.

That’s not to say that some of the statements didn’t hurt, but I knew from experience that it’s important to separate the way people say things from the information they are trying to convey. I listened to her words, determined her key points, and discussed what should be done to move forward productively.

Many children (and some adults) are not practiced at filtering comments for content. Their immediate response is to assume a defensive posture. Once that occurs, it’s difficult to regain their attention or gain their cooperation. On the other hand, if the comments are balanced — acknowledging strengths, while offering ideas for improvement — we are more likely to listen.

When parents tell me that their children tune them out, I can sympathize. Most of us go through that to some degree with our kids. Part of it may be related to our children’s stages of development, but often it is a product of the role we play with them and how well we really listen to them.

In “The Parent’s Handbook: Systematic Training for Effective Parenting,” authors Don Dinkmeyer and Gary D. McKay explore ways in which parents can build their children’s confidence. They also discuss communication styles and strategies, cautioning us to avoid playing “judge” or “commander-in-chief” or “consoler” when conveying information, and encouraging us to practice “reflective listening” when our children want to engage us in conversation.

In reflective listening, we provide “open responses” which acknowledge the child’s feelings and invite the child to tell us more. A “closed response” dismisses the child’s feelings and has the effect of slamming the door on conversation.

With parent-teacher conferences concluded and mid-year finals approaching, this is a good time to have an open conversation with your son or daughter about their classes. Take a look at their work, discuss the feedback from their teachers and develop a plan to help them prepare for their tests and successfully complete the semester. And if you decide that a tutor could provide that extra boost, call us right away.

For more information, contact StudyPros In-Home Tutoring at (661) 296-9206.

Do you know how memory works? Do you want to avoid forgetting information you have memorized? How confident are you that you can retain what you have committed to memory?

Daniel T. Willingham, a professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Virginia, gives us three basic principles and some tools to help children and adults, improve their memory in a fascinating article entitled “What Will Improve a Student’s Memory”, American Educator (Winter 2008-2009). The full article can be read at the American Federation of Teachers website.

The first principle is that memories are formed as the residue of thought. We remember what we think about. Merely re-reading notes or cramming won’t suffice. Students must ask questions as they read. Why is a statement of fact true and why it is relevant to the discussion? Techniques such as outlining and diagramming help students learn to explore ideas and the ways in which they’re related.

Experts tell us that the mode in which information is received — visual, oral, experiential, etc., is less important than the meaning we attach to the information and the amount of time we ponder it. Therefore, students should study early and often and they should study at different times to avoid associating the memories with a particular time of day. To ensure retention, students should continue to study even after they think they’re fully prepared.

The second principle is that memories are inaccessible mostly due to missing or ambiguous cues. Though memories may fade with time, the biggest reason we can’t recall information is that we haven’t developed detailed and distinctive cues that enable us to easily locate the specific information in our memories. When students understand the main ideas, supporting information and the connections they can readily recall the points at test time. To memorize information that has no meaningful connection, cues can be created using acronyms, acrostics, music, rhymes and other mnemonic devices.

The third principle is that people tend to think their learning is more complete than it really is. Children and adults often overestimate the amount of knowledge they have amassed in their memories. The best way to assure you have retained information is by testing yourself and having other people test you. When you can explain something to someone else, then you’ve learned it.

Diane Trautman can be reached at StudyPros In-Home Tutoring, 661-296-9206 or studypros.com.