What are the Expectations of Kindergarten? Think Tutoring’s Pre-K 4 Program can Help!

As a parent of a preschooler, I can tell you that I already feel overwhelmed.  Will my child be ready for Kindergarten?  As an educator, I ask questions. What knowledge and skills do children possess when they start Kindergarten? How prepared are my children for the social and academic demands of the classroom? Should I get my child extra help?

Having a strong team of educators around your child is necessary in today’s world.  Children need strong parents, teachers at school, and even educators outside of the classroom.  It can only help to build confidence and motivation.

Think Tutoring has redesigned its Pre-K 4 Program to help every child. Topics include, but are not limited to, letter recognition, letter formation, letter sounds, phonics, sight words, vocabulary, listening skills, comprehension, shapes, colors, and basic math.  Think Tutoring's Pre-K 4 Program is designed to make your child confident and ready for Kindergarten. 

Call Think Tutoring at 973-593-0050 for a free consultation and tour.

Also, for more information on kindergarten expectations, please read the New Jersey Department of Education’s Kindergarten Guide.

Engage your Child. Reading Time.

I read to my two babies every night.  My first born just turned two years old.  My second born just turned eleven months old.  Our days are jammed packed with activities and I know that it gets worse as children get older.  Our kids are off to soccer practice, baseball, field hockey, CCD, language classes, play dates, homework club, tutoring, and more.  The list doesn’t stop.  However, one activity that needs to be on the to-do list every day is reading time.  We call it “book time” in my house.

Here are 5 Ways to Incorporate “Book Time” into your Home.

1.       Add to your nighttime routine.  My nighttime routine consists of making dinner, baths, pajamas, eating dinner, a little TV watching, and then “book time.”  This is my favorite part of the evening.  It is a special bonding time to have with your children just before bed.  I know that my kids are still babies, but I feel like reading is even more essential at elementary and middle school age.

2.       A reading chair/corner.  Some kids need a little persuasion to read.  A reading chair or corner is a great idea to make reading fun.  A child can even decorate it how he/she wants.

3.        Modeling. Sometimes a child finds reading very difficult and gets discouraged.  The modeling technique is the perfect solution to build confidence in reading.  You read a sentence to your child.  Then, have your child read the same sentence back to you.  He is now practicing his phonics skills and sight word vocabulary.

4.       Reading games.  Again, we want to make reading fun.  My favorite reading game is to take blocks and make word dice out of them.  You tape the words to the blocks.  Roll the “dice”.  Now, you have a game.  Instead of boring flashcards, give this game a try.

5.       Reading Apps/YouTube.  My favorite app and/or Youtube channel is ABC Mouse.  The App/website does have a monthly subscription fee; however, you can watch their YouTube Videos for free.  You can practice letters, phonics skills, and sight words.

I encourage all of our students at Think Tutoring to have reading time in their home.  If your child needs more assistance with reading, we would love to help.  Call Think Tutoring for a reading assessment today at 973-593-0050.

Students Weak in Reading: What is an Inference?

As a tutor for nine years, I get this question a lot.  One of my students will always ask, “What is an inference?” 

If I gave the textbook definition, “a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning,” the student would look at me as if I had two heads.

Students need to infer in every subject area: reading, math (word problems), science (experimental outcomes), and social studies.  It allows children and even adults to a find a deeper, hidden meaning in the stories we read.

Instead of giving the textbook definition, I go through these simple steps during a tutoring session.

1. Relate to the Student 

Question: If your best friend (Insert Name), comes to school with you one day and he is holding his stomach, sweaty, pale, and didn’t come to school with you the next day, what can you infer?

Answer: He is sick!

2. Relate to Life

Question:  What necessary skill does a detective need to solve a crime?

Answer: He needs to infer!

3. Relate to Reading

An inference is an educated guess.  As a student, your job is to take all the clues in the passage just like a detective and come up with the best answer.

4. Practice

Now, it is time to start reading passages and practice inference questions.

I also remind students that inference questions can look different. Be on the lookout for other words such as conclude, imply, guess, assume, predict, suggest, and even analogous.

At Think Tutoring, our students learn and master inference skills starting in Pre-K and work on this comprehension skill until our students leave Think Tutoring in 12^th grade.  Think Tutoring is offering 15% off our reading programs for the month of March. 

Call 973-593-0050 for more information. Exclusions apply.

Our Kids’ New Year’s Resolutions: Tutor, Tutor, Tutor

As adults, we always make a New Year’s resolution.  We need to eat healthier, lose weight, spend more time with the kids, take a vacation, or to just drink a hot cup of coffee.  Whatever your New Year’s resolution is, we do our best to succeed.  However, when it comes to these resolutions, we often fail.

New Year's Resolutions

We forget that our children also make New Year’s resolutions.  At Think Tutoring, I have been hearing our students say, “I want to learn more; I want to get an A in math.”  It is so fulfilling to hear.  However, it is our job as parents and teachers to help fulfill these amazing New Year’s goals.  We don’t want to see our kids fail.  In fact, at Think Tutoring, we want to see them succeed: to boost their confidence and master new skills.

According to Parents Magazine, for kids, the top New Year’s Resolution (number 1) is to learn new things.  The article mentions a kindergartener who wants to learn new sight words.  It is amazing to hear that a kindergartener has this passion and will to read.  The number two New Year’s resolution is to improve education.  One of students at Think Tutoring even stated, “I want to be success points champion and get my name on the Success Points Hall of Fame.”  In order to do this, our students need to put in great effort, work cooperatively, and get consistent A’s and B’s on their work.  This is truly an amazing goal.

If you want your child to succeed in his New Year’s resolution, make sure to call Think Tutoring at 973-593-0050 for an assessment.  You can also email us at info@thinktutoring.com

We can pinpoint your student’s weaknesses in math, reading, language arts and writing.  We can then turn their weaknesses into strengths and he will be on the path to accomplishing his New Year’s resolution.  

Think Tutoring Hall of Fame

Good Luck on your New Year's Resolution!!!

Should You Hire a Reading Tutor for SAT Prep?

Early in their junior year, most students start thinking seriously about college for the first time.   For most, the first step is taking the PSAT, a test which is a good predictor on how students will score on the SAT. Unfortunately  for many, PSAT scores are a wake up call -  an unpleasant signal of the long road ahead to score well on the SAT.   Parents and students should both heed these warnings.

Shockingly, many students navigate their school years receiving  good or very good grades, only to have the SAT or ACT test reveal a dirty little secret:  they don’t read  as well as they should.   Too often, many parents students dismiss low scores with the simple  explanation of “She just doesn’t test well.”   To be sure, many test takers suffer from test anxiety, and while this certainly can contribute to low scores, it doesn’t tell the whole story.   Detailed SAT score reports can show, empirically, reading skill deficiencies.

In our experience, any student who scores below 500 on the reading section of the SAT is probably not reading at grade level.   Regrettably, anxiety-ridden parent and students think only in the short term:  “I’ve got to get these scores up so that I can get into xxxxx College.”  And while raising score is important, parents and students should also understand that getting into college is just the next step; succeeding in college, where the difficulty and volume of required reading increases exponentially, will be the big challenge over the next four years.

What’s a Parent To Do?

If your child scores below 500 on the reading section of the SAT, you should be mindful of  the thousands of dollars you are about to invest in your child’s education -- and start thinking about protecting that investment now.   Hiring a reading tutor, or enrolling in a reading program may just be the smartest investment you can make, one that can not only get those SAT scores up, put also pave the way for success in college. 

Think Tutoring Has a High School Reading Program that considers both short and long-term goals, combining strategies for improved comprehension, vocabulary as well as excercises for increasing a student's reading rate.  For more information, call us at 973-593-0050.