President’s Message
Have
you ever had a time when irritation just seems to get the better of
you? I find it hard to remain grounded when irritated....hard to
not let things get the better of me...hard to remember there is
probably a purpose in the irritation. As
much as I find my irritation frustrating, if I can harness it, it
can help me be more productive. Complacency does not move us
forward. It is that irritation and agitation, that forces us to take a chance
on a different path. That old reminder keeps hanging around....the more uncomfortable
we are, the more we change. So,
perhaps irritation and agitation mean that
one is forging on a new path, whatever that might be. It is
uncomfortable, but if we can harness the
irritation and agitation, we will be better
off in the long run. This
month I was fortunate to attend a conference for women in
business. Most often we attend conferences and workshops
focusing on education. These women did everything! And I
found it valuable to learn how little separates any of us whether in
business or education. It was wonderful to hear their stories
and the successes they have achieved. The most important piece
of advice I came away with, is to listen to your heart. Hard as
it is to ignore our heads, that intuition, that we often don't value
because it is not based on hard data, is what will win the day for
each of us. I think of
so many of you who have shared your stories with me. In many
cases you have been bounced around between conflicting advice.
In spite of the well-intentioned advice you have chosen your own
route. What power that is! Even when things seem to go
awry they will right themselves and you will be the stronger person
for your faith in yourself. So, as we approach another month, I hope you will celebrate with me, the change occurring in our lives and our world. Wishing you happiness this month.....
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My
street has transformed itself in a
just a few short weeks. Orange pumpkins, black
cats and bats, ghosts and goblins, scarecrows and ravens, and
witches. Children are wearing the most outlandish outfits and
everyone goes around with a slight grin. The leaves are falling,
there is a chill in the air and gardens are browning. The signs
are clear.... a new season is upon
us and all of October seems to be about Halloween. I can't wait
to have the children ringing my doorbell and giggling over whether I
know who they are or not. Even though we have watched them
practicing for lo these many weeks. All is a harbinger of the
weeks and months ahead....full of family fun and celebration. 
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As
you know word of mouth is the best advertising. And you
have just been great! Many of you have recommended
e-Tutor to friends over the years. You may have
received a thank you card from us. Now we would like
to thank those of you who are subscribers in a different
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Many,
Many Thanks!
way.
For the next few months, we will reimburse
you $100 for each new subscribing family you
recommend to e-Tutor. It
is easy to participate, just ask your friends to include
your name in the referral section of the subscription form.
If you would like more information call 877-687-7200.
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 Learning with e-Tutor:
Hyperlink: a link from a hypertext file to another location or file; typically activated by clicking on a highlighted word or icon at a particular location on the screen. The e-Tutor program has millions of hyperlinks built within the system. They are valuable in extending the concepts and skills presented in each lesson module. The hyperlinks you find in the Study Guide and Resource Section of each e-Tutor Lesson Module are important. And, students should take advantage of the hyperlinks. They add much background information, extend the concept or skill being taught and often assist the student in linking prior information with new information. We suggest
the student read through the Study Guide two times. The
first time for capturing the skills and concepts being taught.
The second time, clicking on each of the hyperlinks in the Study Guide
to reinforce the concepts and s The
Resource section of the lesson module provides additional hyperlinks
which can extend the learning. We suggest
the student review each of these and write several sentences about
what they have learned. Younger The
hyperlinks in e-Tutor are dynamic. In other words, they are active
sites on the Internet. The e-Tutor program was created to
take advantage
of the vast resources of the Internet in the teaching learning
process. This, however, comes with some drawbacks......sometimes
the hyperlinks are down because there may be too much activity on the
particular website, the URL has been changed, or the website is no
longer active. We consider this not too great a problem, to
change the methodology of the program and it m Forty-seven new lessons were added to e-Tutor this month. Join the e-Tutor world of learning today to view the Lesson Library. |
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Web
Links 
kills
presented.
students can draw pictures and label them. Additionally, many
resources for the younger students include valuable information for
the educator, to enhance the teaching-learning process. 
akes
e-Tutor unique among other online learning programs. There are
editors who work on the hyperlinks on a daily
basis and we ask students and
parent
to email us with any broken link they may find. 
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You have probably heard these more than you want to, but it is easy to forget from one year to the next. Over the years we have had to make changes. Our children need to be more cautious each year.
National Safety Council |
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Help your child explore the magic of math!
IT ALL ADDS UP! |
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Yes
is one of the most important words you can use with your
children. Say yes to them so they can say yes to life. A
child raised with yes feels positive about himself and the world
awaiting. A child who has been given the go ahead to explore her
world learns to be naturally optimistic and a self-starter.
"Yes children" are naturally motivated and believe they can
make things happen. They are willing to find out and take
charge. Unfortunately some parents are fearful, thinking it is
better to control the child with no....they automatically say no to
everything; but this approach soon backfires. A child raised
with lots of no's is defeated before he starts. He feels
frustrated and, in extreme cases, hopeless. He stops trying,
gives up and becomes depressed. He has sad eyes. Teens, especially, need lots of yes. Try to look at it this way: a child asks for whatever she is ready to handle. You never hear a five year old asking to drive a car or go to a dance. Even preteens start asking for more privileges because they are ready for the responsibility associated with this new adventure. They are ready to expand their world and when you say yes you are sending a positive message that you trust them and that in turn helps them become more independent and trustworthy. There
is, however, a big difference between saying yes so that your children
s When children ask, give them a positive, affirmative reply. And if you can't say yes right away, try, "Sounds interesting....let's talk about it," or "I'd like to think that over." Yes opens the doors of possibilities and the windows of opportunity. Yes creates an atmosphere of cooperation and excitement. It makes the world a friendlier place. Yes lets your child move out into the world and explore. Adapted from Wonderful Ways to Love a Child, Judy Ford |
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In the days when an ice cram sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" "Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it. "How much is a dish of plain ice cream?" he inquired. Some people were now waiting for a table and the waitress was a bit impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she said brusquely. The little boy again counted the coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed. When the waitress came back, she p0icked up the empty plate and then swallowed hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies....her tip. Bits and Pieces
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Peter De Vries |
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Critical thinking involves logical thinking and reasoning and creative thinking involves crating something new or original. Application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation are higher order critical and creative thinking skills. What does this mean to the learner. By defining each of these thinking skills, we can gain a clearer understanding of what is necessary in student learning.
A Real Appetite for Real Books It's easy for us to subscribe to a current myth that the children and youth of today do nothing but watch television, surf the Internet, listen to high-energy music and play video games. This myth is just that: a myth. It ignores the facts. Today's students read books....lots of them. They read books that are informational and books that are fictional. They read books that you and I would call classics and they read books that are new....books that take them to new frontiers of thinking and imagining. Today's children and youth are learning about the old and confronting the new through books they are reading. In the early grades, students read and have read to them many of the old stories. Fairy tales and folk stories, along with Dr. Seuss stories and new stories about animals, space ships and people who lived long ago are enjoyed by beginning readers. Students in intermediate
grades show a surge of interest in informational books. They
love books about how things work and how things are made. They
also love adventure stories and mystery books. Adolescents and early teens often cause their parents to be concerned about their preference for "pop literature." This body of literature is something you and I enjoyed at one stage of our lives and seems to be a part of growing up (comic books and juvenile series). By age sixteen, the amount of reading that is done begins to decrease as the demands on students' available time increases. Upper secondary students do not read as many books as younger students, but the choices they make are from required reading lists as well as personal selections. Adapted from The Master Teacher |
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The ability to make inferences during the reading process is crucial to reading comprehension. From time to time we will have a child or parent call and tell us the answer to a question was not in the Study Guide. When making an inference, a child uses information given in the selection as well as his or her experience and prior knowledge to draw conclusions about causes, details, and events that are not directly stated. Making inferences involves drawing conclusions about causes, explanations, or details that are not directly stated by analyzing stated effects or outcomes. Inferences are not always proved correct or incorrect by the end of a reading selection. We are not trying to confuse a student or trick him, we want him to use inference in responding to some of the questions. There are nine major types of inference:
Adapted from Silver Burdett and Ginn |
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A checklist of things you can do to help your child be a successful learner.
Adapted from Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools, GA |
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Elbert
Hubbard
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First Americans for Grade Schoolers:
This was created by an Indian student for her local school. The
site offers information, activities and links to help elementary
students learn about four Native American tribes. The Whole World Was Watching - An
Oral History of 1968: In this collaboration, students interviewed
Rhode Islanders about their recollections of the year 1968. With
references to the Vietnam War, Civil Rights, assassinations and
personal experiences, the interviews document a tumultuous era in U.S.
history. Tiny Planets: Cute and
professionally done. Full of the kind of flash that kids
like. Online activities are short and simple, once you figure
out what you have to do. Help is located in the upper right
corner of every page. Activities focus on Technology, Nature, Light
and Color, plus a few activities around the Home planet. Open Hearts / Closed Doors:
Beautiful, primary source site in both English and French. The
stories of Holocaust orphans who came to Canada after World War
II. The site consists of three sections: 1) Orphans' Stories:
text and graphics, as well as audio and video comments by the orphans
themselves; 2) Themes: historical context (before the war, the
Holocaust, liberation, displacement, the journey); 3) Learning
Resources: material for further study including Teacher's Guide and
lesson ideas, Artifacts Collections, complete transcripts of all of
the war orphans' memoirs and a glossary. Project Vote Smart: This
site contains information on thousands of candidates and officials in
five basic categories: backgrounds, issue positions, voting records,
campaign finances and performance evaluations., PVS also
maintains CongressTrack, which monitors the status of major federal
legislation and a calendar for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of
Representatives. But wait, there is more: voter registration
forms for each state; contact information for state and county
election offices; polling place and absentee ballot information;
ballot measure descriptions for each state (where applicable); and
links to federal and state government agencies, political parties and
organizations. Drawing from Life: Caricatures
and Cartoons From The American Art/Portrait Gallery Library
Collection: From the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the
National Portrait Gallery, this online exhibit presents cartoons and
caricatures from books in their holdings. Includes artist
biographies, featured books, and a subject search. While some
view cartoons as frivolous, they seem to always find acceptance among
the masses whether for their humor, for their insight into situations
or both. Maggie's Earth Adventures:
This site provides free online lessons, animated stories and games for
primary and intermediate elementary school students and
educators. The stories and activities that comprise each unit in
Maggie's Earth Adventures introduce students to actual environmental
issues and motivate students to delve deeper into the issues
presented. Standards base activities are an important part of
each of these adventures. There are online activities and
printable lessons that correlate with the animated stories.
Have a Boo-tiful Month 6713 No. Oliphant Ave. Copyright © 2006 Knowledge HQ, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
ee life in a positive way and saying yes indiscriminately, allowing
them to do anything. Overly permissive parents give the go-ahead
by default, because it's easier than taking an active interest in
their children's activities; on the other hand, responsible parents
know what's going on and say yes because they understand that the
experience will be beneficial. Overly
permissive parents give
the impression of not really caring, whereas "yes parents"
watch closely as they allow their children to expand their
boundaries. 
.
Students practice this
in the Activity section of each e-Tutor lesson module.
uses. 
d almanac and help
your child look up facts and figures in them.
