During the summer, most parents default to enrolling their child in a general summer camp or sports clinic, but what if there was an option for kids to explore an academic interest and build a competitive edge in the classroom? 

The Sylvan Learning Center of Richmond is introducing Math Edge — a new activity this summer for kids to build math skills and avoid summer learning loss.

Designed for kids in grades one through five, Math Edge helps nurture students’ natural math ability and builds on core math concepts in a fun, kid-friendly learning environment alongside other kids with similar interests. Well-trained teachers manage the small sessions of 12 students or less and offer encouragement, motivation and rewards in an effort to foster independent learning and encourage students to set personal goals. Math Edge is a unique learning experience that also allows students to build camaraderie with a small group of their peers. 

“There are few opportunities for young students to cultivate their passion for math outside of the classroom, particularly in the younger grades. With a growing demand for students interested in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), it’s important to get them engaged now, our goal with Math Edge is to help foster a love of math when kids are young, helping to lay the foundation for a competitive edge in middle school and even beyond to a potential job in a STEM-related field.”

Steve Green, owner, Sylvan Learning Center of Richmond

Students interested in the Math Edge program need to take a qualifying assessment at the Richmond Sylvan Center to ensure that they are performing at grade level. The assessment will also provide students with an accurate starting point to begin the Math Edge program. From there, students will advance through the program track, which aligns to Common Core standards, in a low-stress setting at their own pace.

Math Edge will be offered in Richmond Sylvan Center at least three days a week initially during afternoon and evening hours. The program starts at $149 per month with two sessions per week and unlimited access to games and premium educational content through Sylvan’s online portal, mySylvan.

For more information on Richmond Sylvan’s Math Edge enrichment program, please contact Lisa Branner Stickley at 804-744-8002, email address [email protected], or visit the Sylvan website.

This article is sponsored by Richmond Sylvan Learning Center

By Steve Green, Executive Director
Sylvan Learning of Richmond

It’s that time of the school year again – report card time.  While many students will come home with good grades, others would rather stuff their report cards deep into their backpacks than show them to their parents.  As parents, you want your child to do well in school, so what do you do when your child’s report card doesn’t reflect his or her academic potential?

Children get frustrated and upset when their report cards show they are not reaching their potential. Understanding your child’s personal ability and determining if your expectations are too high will allow both you and your child to set appropriate goals for each class before report cards are distributed again.  It will also help establish an environment in which your child is not apprehensive about sharing his or her report card with you. 

Sylvan Learning, the leading provider of tutoring to students of all ages, grades and skill levels, offers the following tips for parents on how to deal with a “poor” report card:

Set expectations. Not every child will earn all A’s, but that doesn’t mean your child should strive for less.  Talk with your child before the school year starts and explain that you won’t be upset if he doesn’t bring home all A’s – but that you will be upset if he doesn’t try his hardest and doesn’t ask for help.

Communicate with your child.  Don’t wait until report cards are issued to talk with your child about school and grades.  Talk with her every night and every week about homework.  Ask how she is doing in school and what subjects she finds challenging.     

Discuss your child’s performance with his teacher and/or guidance counselor.  Your child’s teacher and/or guidance counselor are the best sources for information about your child’s scholastic performance.  Your child’s teacher can recommend ways to help your child or point out difficulties he is having.  His guidance counselor can provide progress reports between reports cards or help set up additional parent-teacher conferences when necessary.    

Set goals for improvement with your child.  If your child is currently a C student — then setting a goal of getting all A’s may not be reasonable.  However, creating an improvement goal for each subject will help her work toward an attainable level for each class. 

Establish a personalized study plan with your child.  Your child should keep a schedule of all classes, assignments and key dates (e.g., project deadlines, big exams, etc).  As part of that schedule, he should include specific time for studying, projects and extracurricular activities.  The more comprehensive the schedule, the more efficient your child will be in completing his homework and the better he’ll do in school. 

Seek outside help.  Some children may need additional attention that can’t be provided in school.  Speak with your child’s teacher about tutoring or supplemental education providers to help your child work towards better grades in school.

Praise your child’s successes.  Praise your child for what she is doing well, whether it’s a specific academic subject or an extracurricular activity.  If your child is not doing well in English, but loves to read the latest Twilight book, show her the connection between the two. 

For more educational resources for children in grades pre-K through 12, please visit Sylvan Learning Center online or call 804-782-2377

Steve Green is the Executive Director of Sylvan Learning of Richmond, the leading provider of tutoring to students of all ages, grades and skill levels with more than 30 years of experience and nearly 800 centers located throughout North America. Sylvan’s trained and Sylvan-certified instructors provide personalized instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, study skills and test-prep for college entrance and state exams. Sylvan also hosts MomMinded.com, a blog offering tips and resources from moms and education experts. For more information, call 1-800-31-SUCCESS or visit www.sylvanlearning.com

Sylvan Learning is a sponsor of Richmondmom
Get 25% off your assessment at Sylvan when you mention Richmondmom.com

If your son or daughter has recently taken the SAT Exam or other standardized tests, you know how stressful and challenging those times can be. If your child is just now preparing for an upcoming SAT Exam or other tests, there are ways to help him or her be better prepared and more confident.

Tutoring Club of Richmond offers unique ACT Smart and SAT Smart programs for the ACT and the SAT can improve scores dramatically. A diagnostic test allows them to individualize your student’s program to maximize his or her time with professional tutors. Their special software system allows them to match up specific items on practice tests with those items missed on the diagnostic.

What does all of this mean?

1. It means that students know exactly what areas they need to study most to get the best scores.
2. They don’t waste time on a general study of everything – but they focus only on what they need to study for optimal performance.
3. Students spend less time and you spend less money to get the tutoring your child needs.
4. Students gain the confidence they need to successfully complete the exam and succeed.

Tutoring Club experts help your child choose the right test to take and the right time to take it too.  These tests are important to your child’s future and they may dictate whether or not your student is able to attend the college of his/her choice. Tutoring Club increases the chances of students scoring higher on tests for a better future.

Upcoming SAT Test Dates are just around the corner for many students. Let the Tutoring Club professionals prepare your student and give him or her the confidence, information, tips, and solutions he/she needs to perform at an optimal level.

For more information on individualized instruction that helps reduce stress and build confidence, visit the website to learn more.

More Information

Also, check out these great articles to help your student excel in school and in life:

• Amazing Math
• Rx Reading
• The Write Way
• Guaranteeing Your Child’s Success

Tutoring Club is an advertiser on Richmondmom.com

And why is algebra such a big deal anyway? Will kids ever need that knowledge and training?

Absolutely and the Tutoring Club can explain why. The article below was written by the Tutoring Club to help kids and adults understand the value of learning algebra today for success tomorrow!

Why Algebra?

Algebra is the “gatekeeper” that lets people into rewarding careers — and keeps others out.  It is used by photographers, architects, upholsterers and just about everyone in a high-tech career. It is simply a civil right, says Robert Moses, a veteran of the civil rights movement.

Basic algebra is the first in a sequence of higher-level math classes that students need to succeed. Because many students fail to get a solid math foundation, an alarming number of them are graduating from high school unprepared for either college or work. Many are taking remedial math in college, which makes getting a degree a longer, costlier process than it is for their more prepared classmates. And it means they’re less likely to complete a college-level math course. For middle school students and their parents, the message is clear: It’s easier to learn the math now than to try to relearn it later.

What Makes Algebra So Important?

The first year of algebra is the prerequisite for all higher level math: geometry, algebra II, trigonometry and calculus. According to a study by the ACT, students who take algebra I, geometry, algebra II and one additional high-level math course are much more likely to succeed in college math.

Algebra is not just for the college-bound. Students headed straight from high school to the work force will need the same math skills as college freshmen, the ACT found. This ACT study looked at occupations that don’t require a college degree but pay wages high enough to support a family of four. Researchers found that math and reading skill levels required to work as an electrician, plumber or upholsterer were comparable to those needed to succeed in college.

Algebra is, in short, the gateway to success in the 21st century.

What’s more, your child develops abstract reasoning when he makes the transition from concrete arithmetic to the symbolic language of algebra. That helps him become an abstract thinker, a benefit that will carry over into his study of other subjects.

When Should Your Child Take Algebra?

Students typically take algebra in the eighth grade. The benefit of starting the sequence of high-level math classes in eighth grade is that if your child takes the PSAT as a high school sophomore, she will have completed geometry. By the time she’s ready to take the SAT or ACT as a high school junior, she will have completed a second year of algebra. Both of these college admissions tests have questions based on algebra II.

There’s a growing movement to have students take algebra in seventh grade. That may work well for students who are motivated, mature and prepared to tackle it. But many seventh-graders aren’t, math educators say.

“Some kids get turned off of math because they start algebra too early,” says Francis Fennell, president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the nation’s leading organization of math teachers.

Parents, he said, need to “make sure you ask yourself, ‘Is this move for you or for your child?'”  Fennell recommends talking to your child’s current teacher to help you assess her readiness to advance. The goal is for your child to learn algebra well and keep her engaged in math, not push her through the curriculum as quickly as possible.

Look for Homework Clues

W. Stephen Wilson is a Johns Hopkins math professor who teaches freshman calculus and is a former senior advisor for mathematics in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. He offers this advice to parents trying to evaluate their students’ math instruction:

“If a student isn’t bringing home work that requires lots of manipulation and lots of word problems, then there is probably a problem.”

Fennell suggests talking to your child and the math teacher about how homework is used. You may learn a lot from the answers if you ask:

• Are homework assignments corrected and returned in a timely way?
• Is homework reviewed in class so students can learn from their mistakes?
• Does the teacher change the pace or direction of his instruction, based on the feedback he gets in homework?

You don’t need to be a mathematician to ask good questions about the content of your child’s class, Fennell says. “Ask the teacher ‘What is the math? Is it a repeat of math that should have already been mastered? When my child finishes this year, will he be ready for high school math?'”

Bill Moore directs the Transition Mathematics Project in Washington state, which is working to better prepare students for the transition to college math. He summed up what middle school students need to get out of math this way:

“Students need to have a very solid foundation of basic procedural skills that really make problem-solving more fluid. There’s a fundamental set of stuff that just has to be memorized, and there there’s a sense of numbers, a sense of what’s a reasonable answer. That’s particularly important with the use of calculators. In some cases, in the elementary grades, they’ve been used as a crutch. Students go straight to the calculator and if the calculator says it’s right, then it must be right.”

Look at How Calculators Are Used

Talk to your child’s math teacher about how calculators are used in the classroom. Debate has raged for years over whether students are relying too much on calculators and failing to learn the standard algorithms – addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. But there does seem to be general agreement with the view expressed by Fennell that “the calculator is an instructional tool. It should support but not supplant anything. You don’t use it for 6 x 7.”

For more information on algebra or any other subject, contact the experts at the Tutoring Club. They offer kids the advantage they need to excel today and succeed in life.

The Tutoring Club is an advertiser on Richmondmom.com

College Nannies and Tutors is an advertiser on Richmondmom.com

Check your 2013 Savvy Saver card for great savings from Richmondmom.com!

• Provide every child on every visit with a positive experience with math.
• Teach every child in a way that makes sense to them.
• Work on the right concepts at the right time based on the parent’s goals for each child.
• Communicate with parents, teachers and students effectively and regularly to ensure we are meeting their needs and expectations.

Your feedback is tremendously valuable to us and we encourage you to let us know if we are meeting the goals listed above or if there is any way we can make the experience better for you or your child.

News & Reminders:

• We have expanded our hours this Fall. Mathnasium will be open Monday to Thursday from 2:30 to 7:30pm and Saturday from 10:00am to 1:00pm. These hours start on September 7th. In general, our busiest time is around 5pm on weekdays. Please schedule other times if it works for your family.

• Homework help as well as preparation for quizzes and test is now an integral part of the Mathnasium program for parents who want those services. We will discuss your needs in this area in detail when you enroll for the Fall.

• Everyone who has previously been given a Mathnasium assessment can come back at any time for a free assessment. This is a great way to check-in on how your child is doing before starting the school year. Give us a call to schedule an assessment if you are interested.

• Game Nights will be coming back in the fall! We are scheduling one game night a month during the school year and look forward to seeing everyone join us for some family fun. Bring a friend!

• Mathnasium is now on Mathnasium’s Facebook Page and Twitter. Join us there for announcements, news and specials only available to our “friends” and followers.

• We are offering two referral programs this year. Parents will get $50 off their next month membership if they refer someone who signs up for a Mathansium membership. The person you refer will also receive $50 off their first month. Additionally, we are excited to offer an incentive program for the students. Currently enrolled students will receive a $20 Target gift card if they refer a friend who signs up for a Mathnasium membership.

• We continue to look for ways to help our local schools. Please get in touch with us if you are involved at your child’s school and know of a way we can help.

Mathnasium is an advertiser of Richmondmom.com.

No doubt most parents spend time reading with their children on a regular basis. It is not hard to find an educational or child development expert who insists that this time is key to not only the proper development of core language skills and a healthy imagination but also key to the relationship between a parent and child. Less common but equally important for similar reasons is time spent “mathing” with your child.

Mathing is simply doing math with your children and does not have to take the form of working through repetitive mechanical math problems over and over again until everyone is bored out of their minds! The goal of mathing with your child should be to engage them in mathematical thinking in a way that reinforces number facts, develops number sense, encourages problem-solving development and creates in them a passion for math. It should be fun!

Researcher after researcher has told us all about the dreadful summer slide and how as a result of having few educational experiences during the summer months away from school, children tend to lose months worth of learning. Daily mathing, as well as reading, with your child are great ways to turn a potential learning loss into a learning gain!

The examples below will give you a starting point for your mathing time. You’ll quickly find that opportunities for mathing exist throughout your daily interaction with your child making it easy to find the time in your busy schedule.

Car Math: A car ride, whether short or long, presents many opportunities for mathing. Use license plates or signs with numbers to work on number facts. Play a game where you pick a single digit number and everyone in the car has to find it’s ten friend (ie. 1+9 = 10, pick the number 1 and look for a sign or license plate with a 9 in it). You can add, subtract, multiply, divide, cut in half or a combination of all of them to keep it interesting.

Store Math: Any time you are spending money is a good time to do some mathing. Play the estimation game by having your children estimate how much your purchase will be by rounding up the price to the nearest dollar and adding them up. You can also have them pick an item and figure out how much change they’ll get from a $5, $10, or $20 bill. Maybe if they get it right they get the item!

Restaurant Math: Middle schoolers should be comfortable with calculating percentages and there are some easy ways to calculate 15% or 20% which are commons tip amounts. Next time you are about to pay for a meal have a competition to see who can figure out the tip amount first. Maybe that child gets to ride in the front seat.

Cooking Math: Cooking is a great time to work on fractions. Let your young chef help you figure out how to double or triple your recipe. I need ¾ cups of sugar. How much will I need if I double it? This is a great time to visualize math by measuring the ingredients separately and then combining them to see the result. Cooking is also a good time to build familiarity with measurements. What does a cup of something look like? How about a gallon?

There are so many ways to spend time mathing with you child that you only need to be looking for the opportunity to find them. We hope your family enjoys mathing as it will be a great way to prevent the summer slide! Please share your mathing experiences with us at [email protected]. Your idea could be featured in one of our next posts.

Mathnasium is a math only learning center where children from Pre-K to 12th grades catch up, keep up or get ahead in math. Mathnasium has flexible summer programs that focus on giving kids a positive experience with math while addressing their specific needs. You can learn more about Mathnasium’s Summer Math Camp by clicking here. Contact Mathnasium with questions by calling 804-364-3333 or emailing [email protected]. Mathnasium has locations in Short Pump and Midlothian. Find out more at www.mathnasium.com.

Mathnasium is a sponsor of Richmondmom.com; request our free Savvy Saver Card for FREE sessions at Mathnasium.

I decided to take classes, part time, at the local community college to test my insecurities about returning to school. To my surprise I did very well. It took four years of juggling family, work and school to get my associate degree but I realized a sense of accomplishment upon completion. I also worked at an early intervention/rehab facility that serviced young children with developmental disabilities.

As I continued working there for 11 years I was able to be involved with many different aspects of the agency. I gained valuable experience and a love of working with children. Due to a change in my husband’s job we moved to another state where I began working for the local public school system in their early childhood special education program.

As a paraprofessional in a classroom of children 3-5 years old with developmental delays, I began to realize the importance of children getting the individualized help they need in order to be able to succeed academically. I found it especially rewarding to work with children with autism. To be able to make a connection with a child where there appears to be no hope is indescribable.

My son James and I often talked about going into business together. With his sense of business and my love of children we felt we could be successful at a business involving children that would service a need to the community.

Life often throws us unexpected curves and we have to learn to adjust. Sadly my husband of 34 years passed away last February leaving me with a decision to make about how to proceed with my life.

James was just graduating from Darden School of Business with his MBA and it seemed as though the time was right to come together to begin new careers for both of us. This past year we saw our dream realized as we became the owners of Mathnasium of Richmond. Although the circumstances of opening a business together did not happen in the way we originally envisioned it would it has been a very exciting and rewarding experience.

Mathnasium is a learning center that helps children develop their math skills, and this type of business offers the best of both worlds for James and I. With his undergraduate degree in mathematics James is not only great at teaching the all levels of math but has a wonderful sense of business and customer service.

I, on the other hand, can use my many years experience working with younger children and families to meet the needs of the children who come to us for help.

We are excited about the help we’ll be able to provide the Richmond community meet their math education needs.

Mathnasium has a great offer for free tutoring/homework sessions on the Richmondmom.com Savvy Saver card, and hosts free, fun activity nights for kids. Check them out!