Success begins with you...one piece at a time!

The year is past half way and many students should be thinking about preparing for the end of year exams. Here are a few tips:

1. Do something – even if you don’t feel like it!
2. Focus on your goals. What do you hope to achieve by the end of the year? How will you feel when exams are over?
3. Live in the present. Don’t put off untill tomorrow what you can do today.
4. Study with a friend.
5. Write checklists and tick them off when you have done each task.
6. Stay organised, but don’t confuse organising your work with genuine study.
7. Write notes, learn notes and rewrite notes.
8. Look at past exams and understand the exam format so there are no surprises in the exam!
9. Do as many practice questions that you can get your hands on.
10. Have a good attitude towards study. (Yes, you can do it and you can do it well!)

Quote of the day:

Ability is what you are capable of doing. Motivation determines what to do. Attitude determines how well you do it!
– Aldous Huxley

It is well know that phonemic awareness is a powerful predictor of success in learning to read.

Furthermore, children who are able to sound out and isolate specific sounds in words are usually better at spelling.

When children struggle to hear or manipulate sounds in spoken words they have trouble with decoding (the process of transforming information from one format into another; e.g. combining letters to form words while reading).

Unfortunately, in the past many children were taught the “whole language” approach to reading (also known as “look-say” or “sight reading”). In this approach children attempt to memorise whole words by sight rather than sounding them out phonetically.  As a result, many people have struggled to learn how to read effectively.

Research has demonstrated that explicit training in phonemic awareness benefits all readers.

Parents often do a great job at teaching their children the symbols (ABCs) and some whole words, but they often miss important steps in developing phonemic awareness.

What can parents do to help?

You can help your child develop phonemic awareness by:

• Teaching them to rhyme by singing songs, reading books that rhyme (Dr. Seuss is wonderful!) and creating their own rhymes.
• Engaging in alliterative language play by listening for and generating words that begin with the same initial sounds. E.g. “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”.
• Identifying ending phonemes that are the same. E.g. What words end with the same sound, brick, tack, and mouse?
• Breaking words into syllables. E.g. by clapping or tapping out syllables.
• Joining phonemes together to make words. E.g. what word does “k”…“at” make?
• Segmenting words into phonemes. E.g. what two sounds make up the word “cat”?
• Making new words by substituting one phoneme for another. E.g. “cat” could become “hat”.
• Tracking print when beginning to read.
• Sounding out unknown or new words, one phoneme at a time.

The more phonemic awareness your child can develop, the better equipped they will be for learning to read, spell and write at a high standard.

Reference: Harwell, J, M. (2001). Complete learning disabilities handbook. John Wiley & Sons: San Francisco

The right toys are essential!

Toys are an important part of every child’s early development. However, choosing the right toy is essential.

Recently, I have been researching children’s educational toys and books and this Scientific American article about toys grabbed my attention:

Thinking Outside of the Toy Box: 4 Children’s Gizmos That Inspired Scientific Breakthroughs

The article contains several intriguing examples of scientists who gained inspiration for their research from childhood toys.

That’s right, toys can be inspirational…even for adults!

But what types of toys are best for children?

Over the next few months I will be searching for the best educational toys and books I can find, and, as my list grows, I will share my thoughts here on the blog.

So stay tuned…

Homework needs to be part of the daily routine

Homework is an important part of your child’s daily routine. Good habits, established early in school, help children consolidate what they have learned at school.

Here are a few tips for parents to help with homework:

Develop a homework routine and schedule

• Together with your child, establish a specific time and place for homework. Set a specific time allocation each day for homework and stick to the routine.
• Ensure that all extracurricular activities, medical appointments, chores and responsibilities, meal times and bedtimes are accounted for in the schedule.
• Be aware that some children prefer to start their homework immediately after school, however other children need to play and relax before settling into their homework. Experiment with different times to see what works best.
• Keep an eye on things to ensure that homework is actually being done during the agreed time.

Create a better work environment:

• Make sure your child’s study is free from distractions and is easy for you to monitor.
• Limit distractions in the home during homework hours, such as noise or interruptions from other siblings.
• Turn off TV and radio.
• Remove phone and if working on the computer, close email and the various chat and social networking sites.
• Be sure all books, pens and homework resources are within easy reach.
• Consider placing a couple of motivational posters on the walls in the study area.

Help with preparation and structure:

• Expect your child to have all assignments and homework recorded.
• Review each task with your child.
• Encourage your child to review tasks each night and make a plan before beginning.
• Write a to-do list with estimated time to spend on each task.
• Encourage your child to check off tasks once they have been accomplished.

Increase motivation:

• Use a timer to challenge your child to stay on task.
• A “beat the clock” system is often effective – motivating children to complete the task before the buzzer goes off!
• Remind your child to complete homework and offer incentives: “When you finish, you can play computer games.”
• Praise work well done.
• Withhold privileges until a certain amount of homework has been completed.

I hope these tips help to make homework time run more smoothly at your house!

Help your child develop good reading skills

It is well know that phonemic awareness is a powerful predictor of success in learning to read. Furthermore, children who are able to sound out and isolate specific sounds in words are usually better at spelling.

When children struggle to hear or manipulate sounds in spoken words, they have trouble with decoding (the process of transforming information from one format into another; e.g. letter combinations to words while reading).

Unfortunately many people in the past were taught the whole language approach to reading. (Also known as “look-say” or “sight” reading.) In this approach children were taught to memorise whole words rather than sound them out. This has caused many issues with children learning to read.

Research has demonstrated that explicit training in phonemic awareness benefits all readers. Parents often do a great job at teaching their children the symbols (A, B, C, etc.) or even some whole words, but they often miss important steps in developing phonemic awareness.

What can you to improve phonemic awareness in your child?

You can teach your child to:

• Hear rhyme by singing rhyming songs, reading books that rhyme (Dr Seuss is wonderful!) and generate their own rhymes.
• Engage in alliterative language play by listening for, and generating, words that begin with the same initial sounds. E.g., “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”
• Identify ending phonemes that are the same.
• Break words into syllables. E.g. clapping or tapping out syllables.
• Blend phonemes to make words. E.g. what word does “c” or “at” make?
• Segment words into phonemes.
• Make new words by substituting one phoneme for another.
• Track print when beginning to read.
• Sound out unknown or new words.

The more phonemic awareness we can develop in our children the better equipped they will be to learn reading, spelling and writing.

Reference:

Harwell, J, M. (2001). Complete learning disabilities handbook. John Wiley & Sons: San Francisco

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ50PYMXDCQ

Dolphins learn new ways to thrive and survive and so can children with learning disabilities. Children can also adapt to their environment if they are given the right resources and skills.

Davis (1997), talks about dyslexia as a ‘gift’ -- a natural ability or talent. He lists several characteristics and abilities that most dyslexics or students with learning disabilities share:

• Using the brain’s ability to alter and create perceptions
• Being highly aware of the environment
• Being more curious than average
• Thinking in pictures rather than words (a much faster process)
• Being able to think and perceive multi-dimensionally (using all the senses)
• Being able to experience thought as reality
• Vivid imagination

Through assessment, I often find that children who struggle with a particular cognitive function tend to excel in other areas.

This can be particularly frustrating for parents -- watching their child struggle to read, when they know they are talented in other areas.

Educational Assessment is the first step to understanding a child’s difficulties. Intervention and counselling should then follow.

Suffering from dyslexia, a developmental delay or a learning disability does not necessarily have to hold your child back.

Like the dolphins who adapted to their environment and invented a new way to round up fish, a young person can effectively learn to adapt, and even thrive, in the classroom.

Reference: Davis, R, D. (1997). The Gift of Dyslexia. Ability Workshop Press: New York

See larger image The Gift of Dyslexia: Why Some of the Smartest People Can't Read... and How They Can Learn (Paperback) By (author) Ronald D. Davis, Eldon M. Braun List Price: $15.95 USD New From: $3.61 In Stock Used from: $0.01 In Stock

All the kids go back to skool...

All the children go back to school and the parents cheer “hooray”!

Example of a definition flashcard:

Side 1: Dyslexia ( put the key term in the middle of the card).

Side 2:
1.    Impaired ability to learn to read.
2.    A learning disability in which a person finds it difficult to read and write.
You may like to include a picture of a person reading a book! (Having a picture to go with you definition helps you make visual links with the key word.)

Tips for making good flashcards:

• Use a reasonable size card and write legibly!
• Don’t try to cram too much information onto one card. (The general rule is no more than five key ideas).
• Always try to understand what the concept or definition before you write a flash card for it.
• Where possible use your own words, never just copy! (I know it is tempting to just copy!)
• If you are writing flash cards by hand, draw a picture of symbol that might help you recall the information more easily.
• Test yourself often and make a pile of the ones you might struggle with memorising and review these more often.
• Get a friend or family member to test you.
• Most of your time should be spend learning the flash cards, not creating them!

The Flashcard Machine

The flashcard machine is a free web application that enables users to create interactive web-based study flash cards and share them with others. It is easy to use and user-friendly.

There are several groups of flash cards up on this site with various VCE subjects already in the data base!

Website: flash card machine

Children Need Help Too!

We see children every day that benefit from counselling. Children need a safe and secure environment where they can express themselves and get help with anything that they might be struggling with.

At School Psychology Services we specialise in working with children and young people.  We work with young people, because love it, and that is what we do best!  We are child and adolescent friendly psychologists!

Goals

Counsellors  have identified four levels of goals when working with young people .  These include fundamental goals, the parents’ goals, goals formulated by the counsellor and the child’s goals. (Geldard & Geldard, 1997).  All these goals are need to be taken into consideration when working with young people.

Fundamental goals address painful issues, allow the child to feel good about who they are and empower the young person to control emotions such as anxiety, depression or anger.

Fundamental goals enable the child to accept their limitations and strengths and help to change any negative behaviour.  Furthermore, these goals help the child adapt and thrive in their external environment and reach their full potential.

The psychologist working with the child addresses the fundamental goals, parents’ goals, formulates their own goals and works with the child’s goals. At times this may appear to be a bit of a juggling act, but with careful planning and negotiation, all needs and goals can be addressed.

We set goals with the parents and young people so everyone is clear about the direction each counselling session will take.

We focus and specialise in the following Child Psychology Issues:

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Anger Management
• Asperger’s Syndrome
• Anxiety in Children and Teenagers
• Building Positive Relationships with peers and parents
• Bullying
• Conflict Resolution
• Career Counselling
• Depression in Children and Teenagers
• Divorce and separation
• Dyslexia
• Educational Assessment
• Friendship Issues
• Gifted and Talented Assessment
• Goal Setting
• Grief and loss
• Learning Disabilities
• Learning Issues
• Learning Styles
• Life Coaching
• Motivation for school
• Organisation Skills
• Parenting
• Problem Solving Strategies
• Psychological Testing
• Relaxation Techniques
• Self Development
• Self Esteem Building
• Stress Management
• Special Education
• Social Skills
• Study Skills
• Thinking Skills

The more quickly an issue is addressed the faster it will be resolved. Don’t wait until your child has a serious issue, contact us today!

Help your child be all they can be and live life to their fullest potential!