Summer brain drain is the loss of academic skills over a period of time that a student is away from school, most usually summer vacation. Brain drain is also referred to as summer slide, learning loss or regression. The research shows that the average student loses 2 1/2 months of math computational skills previously learned, regardless of family income and educational levels. It can take … [Read more...]
Part 4: Living Well with Executive Functioning Challenges
By Saskia Nilsen, M.A. Learning Specialist and RITES advocate Good executive functioning is the key to success with life skills. Here are some steps you can take to help your child get more organized and cope with temporary road blocks at home: Model Flexible Thinking: We often make hundreds of decisions a day - chicken or beef tacos for dinner, answer the phone or call back later, etc. A … [Read more...]
Avoid Stress, Academic Backsliding During the Holidays
Tips for You and Your Kids to Survive the HolidaysIt’s holiday and vacation time. The stress is already building with everything you’ve got to get accomplished, and you are dreading your child’s usual meltdown. It’s ironic that the more you try to “be of good cheer” and make family time together meaningful and joyous, the more difficult it becomes and the worse the outcome. If that’s not enough, … [Read more...]
Is Your Child Struggling to Learn to Read?
Did you know that 17-20% of children have difficulty reading? Recent research from the National Reading Panel has shown that with most children this difficulty is not due to lack of intelligence or desire to learn. The problem often lies in a child’s inability to understand individual sounds. As with speaking, many children learn this important skill naturally. However, those who do not … [Read more...]