Parents Newsletter Academic Advantage Greetings! Wow! The Olympics is done. Vancouver pulled it off. I don't know about you, but I am so proud of our city. With all the excitement going on amidst the backdrop of snow capped mountains and the ocean glistening in the sunshine it was enough to take anyone's breath away. Oh oh! We better not show it off too much or everyone and their dog will want to live here. WE APPRECIATE YOU We appreciate your many referrals. Thank you for telling your friends. More than 60% of our business comes from Word of Mouth. If you want to introduce a friend to your Academic Advantage tutor please make sure to contact Academic Advantage directly. Our tutors are on contract and have agreed to work through Academic Advantage when referred by an Academic Advantage client to a new client. GETTING A NEW TUTOR? If you are getting a new tutor you have the option of doing a half hour assessment or "get to know you" session. This session will cost half of the one hour rate. This allows the tutor to establish the student's needs. The parent can also get a sense of the tutor's personality and method to determine if it is a good match. If you choose this option please let Academic Advantage know so that we can inform the tutor. A PARENT'S ROLE IN THEIR CHILD'S LEARNING Although a parent's role in their children's learning evolves as kids grow, one thing remains constant: we are our children's learning models. Our attitudes about education can inspire theirs and show them how to take charge of their own educational journey. Be a role model for learning. In the early years, parents are their children's first teachers - exploring nature, reading together, cooking together, and counting together. When a young child begins formal school, the parent's job is to show him how school can extend the learning you began together at home, and how exciting and meaningful this learning can be. As preschoolers grow into school age kids, parents become their children's learning coaches. Through guidance and reminders, parents help their kids organize their time and support their desires to learn new things in and out of school. Pay attention to what your child loves. "One of the most important things a parent can do is notice her child. Is he a talker or is he shy? Find out what interests him and help him explore it. Let your child show you the way he likes to learn," recommends Dalton Miller-Jones, Ph.D. Tune into how your child learns. Many children use a combination of modalities to study and learn. Some learn visually through making and seeing pictures, others through tactile experiences, like building block towers and working with clay. Still others are auditory learners who pay most attention to what they hear. And they may not learn the same way their siblings (or you) do. By paying attention to how your child learns, you may be able to pique his interest and explain tough topics by drawing pictures together, creating charts, building models, singing songs and even making up rhymes.  WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING   When You Thought I Wasn't Looking  When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang up my first painting on the refrigerator, and I wanted to paint another one.  When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you feed a stray cat, and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.  When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me, and I knew that little things are special things.  When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you say a prayer, and I believed there is a God I could always talk to.  When you thought I wasn't looking, I felt you kiss me goodnight, and I felt loved.  When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.  When you thought I wasn't looking, I LOOKED....and wanted to say thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking.   ~Thanks to Connie Back~ TAXES AND TUTORING Tax time is around the corner. Please be aware that tutoring is not a tax write off. The good news is that education is not taxable so you don't have to pay GST. Your tutoring sessions will not be affected by the much dreaded HST tax (to become effective in July 2010). Your opinion matters. I've included a link for our parent survey. Please let us know how we're doing, let us know how we can improve and serve you and your child better. Sincerely, Susan Cumberland