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 sylvansouthside@gmail.com, or visit the Sylvan website.
This article is sponsored by Richmond Sylvan Learning Center
]]>
CommuniKids Preschool and Children’s Language Center, with centers in Northern Virginia and Washington, DC, is now open at 3111 Lauderdale Drive in Short Pump. CommuniKids offers several programs designed especially for young children in Spanish, French, and Mandarin Chinese, including full and half-day preschool, weekly classes, summer camps, and after-school care.
The benefits to starting foreign language instruction early in life are immense. The optimal time for language learning, or the “Window of Opportunity,” occurs in young children from birth to age 8. At that time in their development, young children’s brains are extremely flexible and are “hardwired” for language learning. Very young children have the ability to learn any of the world’s languages and to recreate them with a near-perfect accent. Recent research confirms that the advantages of learning another language go beyond the practical. Multilingual children also perform better in school in all subjects and have higher executive function skills.
For families searching for part- or full-time preschool, the CommuniKids language immersion preschool program offers a well-rounded, play-based, full-immersion curriculum in Spanish or French. Our after-school and weekend language classes give children enrolled in other schools a chance to complement their education with weekly exposure to French, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish. And our summer camp program offers six weeks of full-immersion fun to students of all proficiency levels looking for intensive exposure to the language. CommuniKids also plans to offer an immersion after-school care program for school-aged children with transportation from nearby elementary schools.
For more information, email admissions@communikids.com or visit CommuniKids online.
]]>
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
Summer camps are definitely full of fun, but CommuniKids Camp in Richmond, VA is sending kids home better able to connect with the world around them.
While at Spanish Immersion Summer Fun Camp at Heartwood Grove School, kids will have the chance to experience traditional summer camp fun like outdoor play, music, drama, arts and crafts all in a Spanish immersion setting. All classes and activities are entirely in Spanish with native speakers giving children an incredible opportunity to learn the language while having fun.
Spanish Immersion Summer Fun Camp offers a full day (9am- 3pm) and half day (9 am – 12:30pm) program for ages 3-8 years old and runs June 23 – July 3.
CommuniKids is a popular language program in the Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia area whose mission is to prepare young children to become the global citizens of tomorrow by creating a joyful, playful, and nurturing environment that immerses students in a second language. CommuniKids strives to instill the disposition, knowledge, and skills required to succeed in a highly interconnected world.
CommuniKids Summer at Heartwood Grove
6112 Three Chopt Road
Richmond, VA 23226
1-844-534-2221
Spanish Immersion Summer Fun Camp
Ages 3-8
June 23-July 3, 2014
This post is sponsored by CommuniKids.
]]>Well the children at The Goddard School are up for the task, learning 21st century STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) skills in, well, preschool.
The Goddard Schools, located in the greater Richmond area, along with over 400 other Goddard Schools nationwide are launching the TEACH. PLAY. LEARN. campaign.
Teach. Play. Learn. engages Richmond children from infants to six years old to collaborate and construct a TINKERTOY invention to support The Goddard School’s mission of using the most current, academically endorsed methods to ensure that children have fun while learning the skills they need for long-term success in school and in life.
As part of the campaign, each Goddard School worked together to develop an invention that solves a problem. They created a sketch and description of their invention and built it out of TINKERTOY® parts!
Turns out, the Rhino class in Mechanicsville might send Amazon on a run for it’s money!
The students talked about how other children in our country and the world do not have toys to play with and construction of the “Toysie Toys Deluxe”.
This invention flies around the world delivering toys to those without. It uses its satellite to find the children and the conveyer belt and scooper launcher to get the toys to the children. Equipped with propellers, kickstands, and floaters for landing on water, there is nowhere this “Toysie Toys Deluxe can’t go!
The Toysie Toys Deluxe along with other classroom inventions will be shared online for a public vote.
Vote (“Like”) for your favorite invention in the 21st Century Build Challenge photo album on The Goddard School Facebook page beginning Monday, February 24 at 5:00 PM EST.
Voting ends Monday, March 3 at 5:00 PM EST.
Contest winners will be announced March 4th, 2014
(Amazon will be taking note of that “floater” idea!)
]]>
Sunday, March 2nd 3:30- 5:00pm
At Aleph Bet Preschool children ages 2-4 can discover a love of learning in a creative Jewish environment where your child’s individual style of learning is valued and nurtured. Aleph Bet enocourages your child to explore the world, to learn to be part of a group, and to solve problems in a constructive manner. Learning is self-rewarding, joyous, and noncompetitive.
Your child will be offered a comprehensive secular curriculum, which includes reading readiness, concepts in numbers, science, and social studies. In addition, your child will be exposed to a rich and meaningful Jewish program consisting of Jewish holidays, traditions, and the Hebrew alphabet and language. All is taught through music, art, and creative play.
When you visit, you’ll see why parents love Aleph Bet:
“From my very first visit to the school, I felt that the teachers and staff feel that it is their privilege to teach and spend time with the kids. This kind of intimate and caring environment is great for making the transition from being at home to school. There are parents from every stream of Judaism, even secular families, and everyone feels welcomed. That’s important to me.” - Arnon Vered
Aleph Bet Open House / Open Play
Sunday, March 2nd 3:30- 5:00pm
Advertisement on Richmondmom.com
]]>
This is what the theater looks like underneath the screen. (I would hate to be the one who had to hang that light!)
The Dome at the Science Museum of Virginia is closed for the start of the New Year, and while we’ll temporarily miss our favorite way to watch a movie, we are really excited to see it when it reopens in March!
In the meantime, what exactly are they doing under that rounded roof? As if seeing an IMAX movie in the dome wasn’t cool enough, the Science Museum of Virginia is in the process of installing a brand new state of the art NanoSeam™ screen and 3D projection system for an awe-inspiring trip into the cosmos. I got a chance to completely geek-out over the renovation when Justin Bartel SMV’s Immersive Experience Specialist (cool title, huh?) showed me around.
Stepping out onto the plywood floor, I stood on top of the jungle of scaffolding which has overtaken the seats below. With the old panels removed, you can see the whole skeleton of the dome and the speakers that hide behind the screen to create that totally amazing surround sound.
On the old screen, when images moved across the screen you could see a slight ripple-effect as the panels had a slight overlap; the new panels, however, will be completely flush for totally smooth movement across the screen. But the new screen isn’t the only thing to give the Science Museum of Virginia some bragging rights.
The white screen has tiny holes for speaker behind to create a totally immersive surround sound.
The museum is also upping the “wow factor” with a 5-projector system creates over 14x the resolution of HDTV!
A typical HDTV screen has about 2 million pixels and a 4K full dome system has about 11 million, but the new Digistar 5 will combine 5 projectors for 30 million pixels. (I can’t even THINK of how many pixels that is without my head spinning.)
In addition to a smoother and brighter showing of films you already know and love, new digital movies will be added to the collection and will really show off the new upgrade The new films and projectors have the ability to use the full screen for images (typically only 2/3 of the screen is used) so you’ll even have images behind you.
Cosmic Expeditions, an extraordinary addition to the Science Museum’s offerings, will be the perfect chance to learn a little something while seeing all this new system can do. During a daily trip through space, visitors will be allowed to ask questions, and make requests so you can come back again and again and see something new every time. Remember that trip to the planetarium you took a million years ago? You won’t believe how much it has changed!
So hang tight, IMAX lovers!! Really, really cool things are happening under that dome!
We’ll keep you updated when they are ready to reopen!
]]>The Science Museum of Virginia is a sponsor of Richmondmom.com