Huntington Learning Center

Friday, June 21, 2019

Seven Tips for Helping Elementary Students Transition to Middle School

Contact: Dr. Dennis Shaw, Center Director
Huntington Learning Center of Ankeny
515-965-3860
ShawD@HLCmail.com

Ankeny.HuntingtonHelps.com

Seven Tips for Helping Elementary Students Transition to Middle School

Ankeny, Iowa – June 2019 – If your child is just finishing up elementary school, you’ve probably heard it all year: the transition to middle school is a big one. “Classes are more challenging, teachers expect more, and there’s more homework, responsibility and pressure overall,” says Dr. Dennis Shaw of the Ankeny Huntington Learning Center.

How can you help your child navigate this major change? Dr. Shaw offer these seven tips:

Set expectations. Give your child an idea of what’s to come. Talk regularly about the specific aspects of the school experience that will be different, including:

Size of school
New surroundings
Number of students
Number of classes
Amount of homework
Teacher expectation changes
Grade point average
Discipline and behavior expectations

Focus on time management. It’s time to get serious about curbing those time-wasters and bad habits. Work with your child on establishing a daily routine and scheduling time for everything: school, sleep, dinner, homework, extracurriculars and free time.
Discuss the importance of planning out study sessions and prioritizing homework assignments.
Work on the organizational system. Good organization goes hand in hand with time management, and students who embrace both perform better academically and are less stressed. Invest in a large binder with folders for each subject to keep everything in one central place. At school, have your child divide the locker into shelves/slots for books, take-home folders and leave-at-school folders. At home, an accordion file, stackable letter trays or a file cabinet will assist your child in keeping track of graded homework and everything else. Also, these apps for digital organization are worth a look too: iStudiez Pro, Todoist, RescueTime and Scanner Pro.
Build independence. Up to now, you’ve probably played an integral role in school. It’s essential that your child begin to take full ownership of his or her school work and grades and feel the impact of any and all choices, both good and bad. As best you can, step back as your child moves into middle school. Put your child in charge.
Empower your child. A big part of being independent is learning to advocate for oneself. In middle school, teachers want students to participate in class and come forward when they don’t understand something. If your child’s teacher doesn’t grade a test correctly or mistakenly marks him or her absent, it’s on your child, not you, to point out those things. With teachers, those early first impressions matter.
Take a tour. Many middle schools offer orientation programs for incoming students that include school tours and other valuable information sessions. Take advantage of this opportunity if available. If there’s nothing formal in place, call the school to ask about tours and any informal mentoring programs that could help your child.
Teach your child to recognize when to ask for help. In middle school, it’s still critical that you keep the lines of communication with your child open and watch for any warning signs that he or she might be struggling. However, your child needs to be self-aware enough to identify when he or she needs help. Start talking about how to manage stress and a heavy workload and what to do when your child feels overwhelmed.

Middle school is a whole new ballgame, and it’s important to help your child prepare. “Don’t worry, though,” adds Dr. Shaw. “A little effort goes a long way to get students ready. Lay the groundwork now and your child will have a successful middle school experience.”

About Huntington

Huntington is the tutoring and test prep leader. Its certified tutors provide individualized instruction in reading, phonics, writing, study skills, elementary and middle school math, Algebra through Calculus, Chemistry, and other sciences. It preps for the SAT and ACT, as well as state and standardized exams. Huntington programs develop the skills, confidence, and motivation to help students succeed. Founded in 1977, Huntington’s mission is to give every student the best education possible. Learn how Huntington can help at www.huntingtonhelps.com. For franchise opportunities please visit www.huntingtonfranchise.com.

©2019 Huntington Mark, LLC. Huntington Learning Center®, the three-leaf logo, and 1 800 CAN LEARN® are registered trademarks of Huntington Mark, LLC. Each franchised Huntington Learning Center is operated under a franchise agreement with Huntington Learning Centers, Inc.

Six Activities to Keep Your Child Learning this Summer

Dr. Ray and DR. Shaw June 2019

Six Activities to Keep Your Child Learning this Summer

It’s summer break and children around the country are celebrating. While your child certainly deserves a break from the daily grind of homework and studying, it’s important to keep that brain active to avoid regression, the loss of academic skills that is so common over long breaks from school.

What can you do to keep your child learning over summer break? Here are six ideas from Huntington Learning Center:

Read daily. A regular reading habit is quite possibly the best and easiest way for children to retain their reading skills over summer and avoid the dreaded “summer slide.” Make reading a part of your nightly summer routine. Check out Huntington’s Reading Adventure program and any summer reading programs at your local library, and visit the library often. And consider setting goals and rewards for your child for summer (e.g. dinner at a favorite restaurant for every book finished).
Start a journal. You might not be able to convince your child to practice essay writing over summer, but a journal is a fun way for your child to keep track of the things he or she does, trips, and more. Browse the bookstore for themed journals with daily prompts if you think your child might benefit from a little nudge. Some of those memories and moments might prove useful later on when your child is seeking inspiration for college entrance essays.
Play learning games. No matter how old your child is, there are all kinds of games out there that are fun to play and teach valuable skills and knowledge at the same time. Research online for websites with popular games but don’t forget classics like chess, checkers, all kinds of card games, Apples to Apples, Scrabble, Risk, and other board games.
Get out the puzzles. Puzzles are a fantastic way to pass those hot summer days. Even if your child isn’t into the traditional jigsaw puzzle, there are lots of variations. Look for metal and wood disentanglement puzzles, tangrams, box puzzles, Tetris puzzles, speed cubes and interlocking ring puzzles.
Embrace summer science. There are many ways for your child to use the outdoors to learn about weather, how things grow, living organisms and more. Start a garden and put your child in charge of researching and planting fruits, vegetables and flowers that grow well in your climate. Have your child chart the weather and track how it changes over summer. Encourage your child to watch for birds and animals in the yard and pay attention to their behaviors. Science and summer go hand in hand!
Save and invest. If your child is planning to earn money this summer, why not take him or her to the bank to open an account and learn about the different savings options available? Search for an online class that will teach your child the basics of saving and earning interest. Check out the tools and information at Northwestern Mutual’s The Mint.

The great thing about summer is it offers an opportunity to explore curiosities and learn for learning’s sake. It’s okay if you can’t get your child to crack a math book—there are lots of ways for children to deter learning loss and enjoy themselves in the process.

Need more ideas? Call Huntington at 1 800 CAN LEARN to learn about our customized summer programs for kids that help children of all ages catch up or get ahead in school and boost their confidence.

About Huntington

Tips for Creating a Great Resume for College Applications

Contact: Dr. Dennis Shaw, Center Director
Huntington Learning Center of Ankeny
515-965-3860
ShawD@HLCmail.com

Ankeny.HuntingtonHelps.com

Tips for Creating a Great Resume for College Applications

Ankeny, Iowa. June 21^st, 2019 – If your teen is starting to think about college, it’s also a good time to work on developing a resume. As Dr. Dennis Shaw of the Ankeny Huntington Learning Center explains, resumes are valuable for many reasons. “Teens can use the resume to prepare for college interviews, to share with people writing them letters of recommendation and much more,” he says. What should teens include on their resumes? What should be avoided? Dr. Shaw offers these tips:

Make it brief. Even the most involved, standout high school junior or senior should limit the resume to one front-and-back page.
Format well. A resume should be scannable and easy to read. It’s important to divide it into sections (separated by headers) and make use of bullets, bolding, and italics where appropriate.
Focus on the most important elements. For a high school student, the education section of the resume should be the primary focus, but don’t leave out other important content. Here’s a possible template:
- Contact information – Name, address, phone number, email address
- Education section – Graduation date, weighted grade point average, and SAT/ACT scores
- Valuable skills section – Software proficiency, foreign languages, etc.
- Extracurricular activities – Any sports, clubs, activities or volunteer work
- Work experience – Any for-pay work experiences, including employer name, job title, responsibilities, and recognition
Highlight character traits and work ethic. The purpose of a high school resume is to augment, not repeat, the college application. Thus, teens should highlight their skills, passion, work ethic and leadership skills through the jobs and other activities they list.
Highlight accomplishments. Again, it is important for teens to use the resume to showcase their strengths to colleges as well as teachers/mentors writing recommendation letters for them. That means including any achievements, awards or other recognition on the resume (e.g. not just Chess Club, but Chess Club, Four-time district champion, 2016-2019).
Show course work not on a high school transcript. That includes any college prep courses, college courses, academic camps or training programs, certifications or similar.
Consider a summary section. Some teens might want to include a career summary or personal summary. This section calls out a teen’s goals and best traits/assets and can be a great resume addition.

Lastly, Dr. Shaw shares with parents that the resume helps teens reflect on their high school careers and prepare for the next step in their lives. “As teens get closer to college, it is so important that they put their best foot forward and feel confident talking about their strengths and assets,” he says. “Encourage your teen to invest the time into developing a great resume, as it will help get him or her into ‘professional mode’ and prepared to show colleges his or her very best.”

About Huntington

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Tips to Prepare High School Students for College-Level Reading

Contact: Dr. Dennis Shaw, Center Director
Huntington Learning Center of Ankeny
515-965-3860
ShawD@HLCmail.com

Ankeny.HuntingtonHelps.com

Tips to Prepare High School Students for College-Level Reading

Ankeny, Iowa. February 2918 – As students mature, they learn how to study effectively and build those ever-important test-taking strategies for high school. By the time strong students begin thinking about how to study for the SAT or ACT, they’ve acquired many of the subject skills they need to perform well, but a good SAT or ACT score is not a guarantee of college success. As Dr. Dennis Shaw of the Ankeny Huntington Learning Center explains, high-achieving high school students often struggle to adapt to the rigors of college right away—especially when it comes to reading. “College is a whole new ballgame in terms of expectations and workload, and one of the biggest differences is the way students are expected to read and study material,” he says. How can students prepare for college-level reading? Dr. Shaw offers these tips:

Think critically while reading. In college, professors expect students to have a variety of reading strategies in their skillset toolbox. Examples include reading for information, reading to form an opinion, reading to recall facts, and reading to summarize or understand the big picture. It’s essential that high school students strengthen their critical thinking skills while reading so that they can analyze that which they read in different ways.

Expand the vocabulary. The more high school students read, the better. Reading a wide variety of materials—from books to essays to newspapers to blogs—helps students acquire new vocabulary, which will help them in college. It’s also important for students to learn to embrace the dictionary and the thesaurus, which will help them get into the habit of looking up unfamiliar words and different word choices for common words.

Interpret. There’s no place for passive reading in college. Students should strengthen their analytic reading by breaking down complex passages. They must practice figuring out an author’s purpose and drawing their own conclusions. When reading, students need to think deeply about how they feel about texts and how an author’s approach does or does not influence their feelings and opinions.

Read with depth. In college, students are expected to read with depth so that they have a strong understanding of texts and can talk intelligently about them. Students should read to understand and reread if necessary to ensure they are able to share their opinions on the text, predict what might happen next, summarize the main points, and more.

If you are concerned about your teen’s ability to keep up with college-level reading, call Huntington. We can help assess where your teen is falling short and help him or her develop reliable strategies to read complex texts, analyze thoroughly, maximize comprehension and excel in classes.

Huntington also offers an Advanced Study Skills program for students at the high school and college level. Study skills are key! In order to be successful, students must have the tools necessary to effectively acquire, retrieve, analyze, and communicate information. Huntington will teach students higher-level strategies and concepts that are necessary to study efficiently and effectively. Your child will focus on a range of study skills while learning how to apply these skills to study independently at home.

Call 1 800 CAN LEARN to learn more about how we prepare high school students for college and career success in reading and all subject areas.

About Huntington

Huntington is the tutoring and test prep leader. Its certified tutors provide individualized instruction in reading, phonics, writing, study skills, elementary and middle school math, Algebra through Calculus, Chemistry, and other sciences. It preps for the SAT and ACT, as well as state and standardized exams. Huntington programs develop the skills, confidence, and motivation to help students succeed and meet the needs of Common Core State Standards. Founded in 1977, Huntington’s mission is to give every student the best education possible. Learn how Huntington can help at www.huntingtonhelps.com. For franchise opportunities please visit www.huntingtonfranchise.com.

©2017 Huntington Mark, LLC. Huntington Learning Center®, the three-leaf logo, and 1 800 CAN LEARN® are registered trademarks of Huntington Mark, LLC. Each franchised Huntington Learning Center is operated under a franchise agreement with Huntington Learning Centers, Inc.

Building Children’s Confidence in School

Building Children’s Confidence in School

School doesn’t come easy for every child. It can be a challenging experience, and one that requires persistence and patience. Unfortunately, however, when school work becomes overly difficult, many children lose faith in themselves as students. Left uncorrected, this can have a lasting detrimental effect on a child’s performance in school and overall attitude and demeanor. To pave the way for school success, parents should work to build their children’s self-confidence. Confident children do not shy away from hard work and will generally see failure as an opportunity to make changes and try again. How can you develop your child’s confidence? Here are several tips:

Be supportive. Children typically trust what their parents say as the truth, so it’s essential that parents regularly let them know that they believe in their abilities. To grow into capable, confident students, children need to feel supported by parents, not controlled. Let your child take the reins on homework and school and be on hand for help.

Work together on goal setting. The process of goal setting helps children take control of their success, resulting in a greater willingness to attempt hard things and increased confidence that their efforts will yield good results. Encourage your child to lay out what he or she wants to achieve and the barriers standing in the way, as well as a plan to work around those obstacles.

Foster independence. Whenever possible, parents should offer their children the chance to make decisions for themselves. Set high but achievable expectations, then put trust in your child to tackle tasks on his or her own—from homework to household chores. This will cultivate your child’s sense of responsibility. Every accomplishment, however small or routine, gives your child the assurance that he or she is capable.

Encourage doing new things. Parents who nudge their children to put themselves out there to try things—from joining a new club to taking challenging classes—are helping them grow and adapt to new situations. Always support your child’s attempts to acquire new skills and learn from challenging endeavors.

While parents cannot simply make their children confident, they can take note of their children’s strengths and encourage them to work hard, take initiative, persevere, and learn from their mistakes. These types of actions inspire children to go for what they want and strive to improve themselves as students and people, taking calculated risks along the way. Confidence, after all, is one of the building blocks for academic achievement. By making your child feel empowered and skilled, you are equipping him or her with the tools for lifelong school and career success.

About Huntington

Huntington is the tutoring and test prep leader. Its certified tutors provide individualized instruction in reading, phonics, writing, study skills, elementary and middle school math, Algebra through Calculus, Chemistry, and other sciences. It preps for the SAT and ACT, as well as state and standardized exams. Huntington programs develop the skills, confidence, and motivation to help students succeed and meet the needs of Common Core State Standards. Founded in 1977, Huntington’s mission is to give every student the best education possible. Learn how Huntington can help at www.huntingtonhelps.com. For franchise opportunities please visit www.huntingtonfranchise.com.

©2018 Huntington Mark, LLC. Huntington Learning Center®, the three-leaf logo, and 1 800 CAN LEARN® are registered trademarks of Huntington Mark, LLC. Each franchised Huntington Learning Center is operated under a franchise agreement with Huntington Learning Centers, Inc.

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Tips to Reinvigorate Your Child’s School Attitude Over Holiday Break

Contact: Dr. Dennis Shaw, Center Director
Huntington Learning Center of Ankeny
515-965-3860
ShawD@HLCmail.com

Ankeny.HuntingtonHelps.com

Tips to Reinvigorate Your Child’s School Attitude Over Holiday Break

Ankeny, Iowa. December 2017– It’s holiday break, a welcome pause from school and extracurricular responsibilities for your child. While most children look forward to the chance to relax and unwind, Doctor Dennis Shaw of the Ankeny Huntington Learning Center reminds parents that holiday break is also a good time to gear up for a great second half of the school year. “If your child has gotten off to a rocky start or just wants to maintain momentum in the spring semester, holiday break is the time to reset and refresh,” Dr. Shaw says. How can parents help their children “recharge their mental batteries” and finish the year strong? Here are several tips:

Look back at goals set in the fall. If your child established goals at the start of the school year, revisit them now. Is your child on track to achieve some of the things he or she set out to do at the start of the year? What has gone well and what could go better? Talk about any previously set goals that need adjusting.

Set new goals. A new semester might mean new classes and certainly means new opportunities for your child to develop and learn. Have an open discussion about what your child wants to achieve in the remainder of the school year. Raise a grade? Work on his or her organization? Procrastinate less? Whatever the goals, encourage your child to lay out how he or she intends to work toward them.

Ask, “What have you learned?” Talk about what challenges arose in the fall semester and how your child overcame them, and any other meaningful experiences that had an impact. Remind your child that every failure means your child has learned something important. Where did your child become stronger as a result of overcoming something difficult?

Fine tune any study habits. Many children take a little time to acclimate to a new school year, so now that you’re several months in, consider what your child could use to improve any study or organizational habits like planner maintenance or the morning or homework routine.

This holiday break, make sure your child enjoys time with family and catches up on some relaxation, but don’t forget to take time to reflect on the last few months and set a positive tone for the rest of the year. “The start of a new year is an ideal time for both parents and children to get into a good frame of mind to make necessary adjustments,” he says. “If your child has things he or she wants to fix or just wants to stay on the same upward trajectory, sit down and make a plan together wherein your child takes initiative and you offer your support.” For more tips on how to keep your child on a positive path for the remainder of the year, contact Huntington at (5150 965-3860.

About Huntington

Huntington is the tutoring and test prep leader. Its certified tutors provide individualized instruction in reading, phonics, writing, study skills, elementary and middle school math, Algebra through Calculus, Chemistry, and other sciences. It preps for the SAT and ACT, as well as state and standardized exams. Huntington programs develop the skills, confidence, and motivation to help students succeed and meet the needs of Common Core State Standards. Founded in 1977, Huntington’s mission is to give every student the best education possible. Learn how Huntington can help at www.huntingtonhelps.com. For franchise opportunities please visit www.huntingtonfranchise.com.