Helpful Tips for Parents
The sometimes frightening realization that you are your child's educational facilitator will most likely be a pivotal moment in your life as a parent. Please notice the word facilitator used in that sentence, not educator. Fortunately, our children are often surrounded by excellent educational systems, both public and private. However, the educational demands today are much more competitive than they were even 20 years ago. Private proactive tutoring services are on the rise because of that very reason. As a parent, it is your job to facilitate your child's educational needs. That is not always an easy task if you do not have an educational background. The following tips may prove to be helpful to you as a parent:
- Look at the free website http://www.schwablearning.org/ It will give you all kinds of valuable information on ADD/ADHD, Dyslexia, Special Education, 504 plans, homework struggles, educational law... Set up your own home page - FREE
- Educational terms in reference to a child's special learning needs that may not be so common:
- Tactile Learner - needs manipulatives to help with learning
- Auditory Processing Disorder
- Scotopic Sensitivity
- Autism
- Tracking Disorder - This is not a visual test.
- ADD/ADHD - The true definition to this may surprise you!
- Dyscalculia - Specific math disability
- Dysgraphia - Writing disability
- Community service is critical when trying to get your high school student into a major university. Start a portfolio on your child as early as 8th grade. Visit the websites of a few of the universities that your child may be interested in attending, and notice details about the enrollment and selection process. If you don't find the answers there, make a phone call to the universities admissions office or your child's counselor. Educating yourself can help your child's chances of acceptance into a major university.
- The state of Texas has a website that has last years TAKS test and other valuable information. This free website is http://www.tea.state.tx.us/
- Educating yourself on your child's nutrition is a huge impact on his/her educational success. There is an enormous amount of research on brain food, as well as food that is bad for your child's mental process. http://www.mypyramid.gov/
- There are many free websites that are educational. One website that is great for reading enrichment with elementary kids is http://www.starfall.com/
- Check out http://www.coolmath4kids.com/. Click here for more educational websites!
- When all else fails, visit http://www.askjeeves.com/. He knows the answer to almost everything.
