If you’re a high school senior, consider the growing trend of taking a gap year before committing yourself to college. Taking a year off between high school and college has many benefits for self-discovery and personal growth. You’ll find yourself more refreshed and focused on education after taking a gap year to discover your interests. Especially if you’re unsure which major you would like to pursue, a gap year will help you define your academic…
Is your child applying to a parochial school next year? You need to know about the HSPT. The High School Placement Test, or HSPT, is a high school entrance exam taken by students in eighth grade, seeking admission to ninth grade in a parochial high school. The HSPT contains 298 questions divided into five sections: Verbal Skills, Quantitative Skills, Reading, Mathematics, and Language. You have the choice of taking one optional section in Catholic Religion,…
Are you a Boston resident looking for better educational opportunities for your child? Boston Exam Schools provide a top notch education at no cost — the only trick is getting in. There are three exam schools – Boston Latin Academy, Boston Latin School and the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science. All three accept new students for grades 7 and 9. The O’Bryant School also accepts a few new students for grade 10.…
I had previously discussed an activity in which children can write a small book that outlines instructions for a task they know how to do (like how to make a grilled cheese sandwich or how to build a Lego car). This is fun for children because it lets them show off their knowledge and is a great example of the purposeful nature of writing. Having your child write in a booklet, rather than on random…
I wanted to continue with some more strategies for enjoying the writing process. Many parents are tempted to just buy workbooks and have children work endlessly on the technical skills until they master them, but children can write stories before they can write at all, just through illustration. You can add to that by building in words in small amounts, as children get more and more comfortable with the letter sounds and letter formation. Children…
At first, working with your child on writing seems like it should mainly be about letters: letter sounds, letter formation, etc., but you don’t want to only focus on the technical writing skills. From the beginning, writing should be a fun and expressive activity, and the technical skills will develop alongside the more enjoyable elements of writing. I had spoken previously about developing stories and adding additional details, and the following activities are a great…
As I mentioned previously, it’s important for your child to understand that writing has a purpose, so I wanted to list some activities you can do at home that demonstrate the purposeful nature of writing. One thing your child has probably seen you do is write lists: shopping lists, to-do lists, etc. The next time you are writing a list, have your child watch you, and sound out the words as you write them, stretching…
Need Help Teaching Your Child To Read? Boston Tutoring Services, LLC., is excited to announce that we will be teaming up with the Roudenbush Community Center to educate local parents about how to support their children’s literacy growth. This workshop will show parents how to make learning to read fun and interactive at home. “In my work teaching pre-K, kindergarten, and first grade, I come across so many parents who report that reading with their child…
