Let’s set the scene: your kids come home from a long day of school and activities, drop their bags at the door and *run* to the kitchen, couch, or computer for some down time. You organize dinner and before you know it, it’s 8pm and someone (let’s be honest, depending on the day, it might be you or the kids) starts freaking out about HOMEWORK. And well, I’m sure you know how the rest of the evening goes….
 
How can we help our kids learn to love homework? We probably can’t, but we can definitely make the experience more manageable and, dare I say it, even enjoyable for all. Here are my tried and true homework tips:

Organize time and space.
Kids, even the big ones, need a routine. Choose a routine that works for your family and lay out the expectations in the morning. My go-to routine is come home, have a snack (or dinner), and get started on homework. Homework gets finished before it’s time to wind down. If kids have activities in the early evening hours, try and finish homework before the activity starts.
 
In terms of space, ideally your kids have a dedicated “homework station”. This can be a desk in a shared space in your home, the dining table, or kitchen island. Use a drawer or small bin to keep necessary school supplies handy. Unless the computer is needed for HW, all tech should be away and the TV should be off. (Too quiet? Here’s my favorite research-based mind music on Spotify to listen to while doing homework!) Having kids in a space that is not their bedroom, where you can see them and limit distractions, is key to homework success. 
 

Have a system. 
Do you have visual learners in your house? Use checklists or timers for homework tasks. This supports executive functions and gives kids a sense of urgency and feelings of satisfaction. To motivate your child to do their homework, consider creating a rewards system. Keep it small to start - each task completed equals 5 minutes of screen time. As they get older, maybe a week of completed tasks means an extended curfew on Saturday night. These tools fit perfectly into your routine and will be an added motivator to help homework time go smoothly.
 

“Do the worst first.” 
I love this little saying, especially for the reluctant homework-doer. To put it to use, have your child choose whichever assignment they might find the most challenging and do it first. This way you can manage how much time they spend on it and they don’t end their evening on a sour note. 
 

Be interested, but put down the pen! 
​Kids will do better and have a sustained effort in their homework if you’re interested in it. So, talk to your kids about their homework, let them explain it to you or teach it to you. Let them ask you questions. This is a great bonding time and a way to encourage learning. But, whatever you do, don’t pick up your pen and write for them. You can answer questions, show them an example, and help them organize their work. Doing the work for them takes away their opportunity to learn and their teacher’s ability to understand exactly what they need as a learner.
 
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Stay positive, listen, and redirect. 
If you have teenagers at home, I’m sure you’ve experienced this. Your child sits down to do homework and starts venting about how much they dislike a subject or task. To ensure that our learners will remain successful throughout their educational career, we need to validate their feelings with empathy. Coming from a place of understanding and acknowledging that sometimes chemistry is really hard is great. The next step is to redirect and help them get back on track. Saying something like, “I am so proud of how hard you’re working and I know you can do this task” will help motivate them to continue and will increase their resilience and perseverance.
 

Communicate and encourage self-advocacy. 
Communication is key, right? When it comes to homework, we need to communicate with our kids about our expectations and routine. We also need to communicate with their teacher about what we’re noticing at home. 
 
Maybe one activity took your second grader 40 minutes to complete or your sixth grader was frustrated throughout their entire writing assignment. Email your child’s teacher and let them know this happened so the teacher can follow up with and support your child. If your high schooler is doing over two hours of homework a night, it’s a good idea to help them advocate for themselves by emailing the teacher and asking for help.
 
And if your child communicates with you that they’re worn out, very frustrated, or stressed by the amount of work they have, it’s a clue they need your help with time management and working on coping skills.

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Never skip a Friday! 
I think my favorite (and hardest to achieve) of all the tips is to never skip a Friday. Yes it’s the start of the weekend and we’re so excited to relax, but if you can hang on to that routine for an extra hour or two, I promise your Sunday night self will thank you!

Written by Catherine Montera with WhizKidz Tutoring. Learn more about what WhizKidz Tutoring offers at Whizkidztutoring.com.

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​Throughout the U.S., schools have been struggling to contain COVID-19 outbreaks, continue in-person classes, navigate hybrid learning and maintain a welcoming environment for students, staff, and faculty. However, a pandemic cannot stop EF Academy New York (EF Academy), an international, private high school welcoming day and boarding students. In the last year, EF Academy is proud to be one of few schools that has been able to keep their doors open all year long, welcome new students and staff, uphold a strong academic curriculum and cultivate an enjoyable experience for everyone on campus.
 
Between September 2020 and January 2021, EF Academy welcomed over 300 students from not only the U.S., but also from countries all over the globe to their campus in Thornwood, NY, as well as 100 students studying virtually. The school managed to keep their doors open all three terms and continue to endorse their Safe Learning Promise. “We didn’t have a single case of COVID infection contracted on campus and not a single day of school closure due to the pandemic!” shares Dr. Vladimir Kuskovski, the Head of School at EF Academy. “It was a true team effort, and every single person did their part and that is exactly why this year was a success, especially given the circumstances.”  
 
The school was able to provide their students with an extraordinary opportunity that competing schools were unable to deliver: support in receiving the COVID-19 vaccination.  When New York State made the COVID-19 vaccine available to individuals ages 16+, EF Academy was a tremendous help in scheduling appointments, giving proof of attendance, and organizing transportation within a 15-mile radius of the campus for their students, ultimately supporting over 40% of the eligible student body in getting fully vaccinated before the school year ended.  In addition to that, nearly the entire faculty and staff at EF Academy has been vaccinated, leading to a safer upcoming school year. 

Because the school was able to remain open for the entirety of the school year, there was no disruption to the continuation of student learning. Teachers navigated both virtual and in-person school and held a high standard for learning, being that EF Academy is an IB World School.  Those students who were able to make it to campus persisted through the school year in hands-on learning, face-to-face communication with their teachers and various group work with peers. 
 
EF Academy was also able to host typical in-person events for their students, such as prom, graduation, and EF Academy traditions like Culture Fair and Spring Fling.  Graduation was also in-person, having a limited capacity reception for those parents who were able to attend in person.  Because of protocols like the Safe Learning Promise, EF Academy was able to continue their traditional events for the 2020-2021 school year.
 
EF Academy is still accepting applications in New York and Oxford, UK for Fall 2021. They are also accepting students for the fall 2022 academic year, at their newest campus opening in Pasadena, California. Contact the admissions team for more information.

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The ‘lazy’ days of summer are here. While it is essential for kids to enjoy an opportunity to relax and experience unstructured days, it is important to remember that the “summer slide” is an inevitable reality. Finding a balance, by infusing learning opportunities into play, can help prevent, or at least lessen “the slide”.
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​Following are some suggestions to keep your child on track so they will be confident and ready for the fall.

• Visit your local library. This is a FREE way to beat the heat. While there, check out the opportunity to join a book club, enjoy story time and of course, pick up some new summer reading books.
  
  

• Remember to encourage your child to read something every day. Opportunities to read are all around us. Have your child read the menu at the pool snack bar or the rules at the park. They can even read comic strips, something that they never have time for during the busy school year. Of course if you are lucky enough to have a child who loves to read classic novels, too much encouragement is probably not required. Just make sure a new book is always available.
  
  

• Develop weekly summer themes. This is something you and your child can do together. Incorporate reading, writing, and math activities around these themes to keep things interesting and exciting for your child. Reading Rockets has a variety of themes and activities you can chose from.
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• How about taking a virtual field trip? Take a trip to Hershey ‘s Chocolate Factory, the Louvre, Climb Mt. Everest or go all the way to Outer Space from the comfort and convenience of your own home. Encourage your child to research the location you plan to visit and watch their field trip. They can even create their own travel guide.
  
  

• Take a family excursion. There are many fun and educational destinations in and around the tri-state are that are in driving distance. Visit a museum, a seaport or a park (check out our Indoor Fun and Outdoor Fun pages for ideas). Select a place the whole family can enjoy, regardless of age.
  
  

• Listen to audio books on the car ride there. Each child can have their own set of headphones so they can listen to age appropriate books, or find a book the entire family can enjoy, pausing for discussions or questions as you listen.
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• Taking a break with technology is something all kids enjoy. How about these apps to encourage reluctant kids to learn during their summer vacation.
  
  

• Have your child keep their writing skills sharp by sending letters to pen pals, keeping a summer journal, or creating a summer bucket list. Help them make a photo collage of a favorite activity or trip and then write captions. If your child likes to cook or bake, have then make their own recipe cards/book. Younger children can bring sidewalk chalk outside and practice writing number, letters or drawing shapes etc.
  
  
• Playing board games is a great way to have fun while learning. Monopoly, Apples to Apples, Boggle, Scattergories, Robot Turtles Game, Jenga, Telestrations and Clue are just some of the games that work on skills such as math, logic, patience, strategy, vocabulary building etc. Fractious Learning has an article that breaks down the benefits of these popular board games.
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• Create a word jar to develop vocabulary. Make it a goal to practice new words each day and incorporate them into your conversations. You can have a contest to see who uses the most “word jar” words on a daily basis.
  
  

It’s important to keep in mind, that although your child has a summer break, you may not. It is understandable that it may be difficult to find the time to work/play with your child during these months. Just remember that learning can and should happen as part of their daily routine and many of these activities can be done around your work schedule.

Your goal is to help your child to continue to lean and grow during the summer months. You want them to feel confident when they return to school in the fall. You want them to be ready to take on all the wonderful learning that awaits them from the very first day back at school. Hey, who knows….Maybe the “slide” is not inevitable after all!!!

Embrace and enjoy the summer.
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Written by Danielle Meyer, the Founder of DEM Tutoring, an Academic Tutor & Certified Teacher. 

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​By Daryl Hitchcock, Deputy Head of Residential & Community Life at EF Academy New York

​Images of prep and boarding schools might call to mind Ivy strewn granite walls and kids in ties and blazers studying long hours in the library. Alternatively, many might think of the mysterious magic of Hogwarts, and imagine schools full of Harry Potters and Hermiones avoiding dragons and other magical creatures. In 25 years living and working in international day and boarding schools, the only dragons I have met were a few aged history teachers whose coffee infused breath was strong enough to send me looking for a cloak of invisibility. But, I have still managed to find plenty of magic through the years. In an international day and boarding school, the magic isn’t based in potions or spells, but in the amazing everyday experiences we get to have living and working in a diverse, global community. I want to share with you the best reasons to go to an international school, where maybe, just maybe, you will make a little magic of your own.

Cool friends from all over the world
Your friends aren’t going to be “just like you.” Your friends are going to speak all kinds of languages, and know music and fashion and food from a whole different set of experiences than what you grew up with. And, while that might sound exotic and strange and a little exciting, pretty soon it won’t be. You will come to see kids from all over the world as your neighbors, your friends, and maybe even your roommate if you live on-campus, and that will seem the most normal thing in the world.

Learn to Speak Languages
As you master your second, third or even more languages you will have an opportunity to practice your language skills with new friends from around the planet. Students who speak multiple languages have better cognitive skills and do better in school. I think they tend to be more interesting to talk with as well, as their perspective of the world around them grows with each language learned.

Access to Teachers
At international day and boarding schools, like EF Academy, teachers don’t just teach, they coach, lead activities in the evenings and on weekends, and check in our boarding students to their dormitories at night. You get to know your teachers in a way that goes way beyond the halls of the classroom. You might find yourself standing next to your teacher on a trip to MoMA on Friday night talking about the latest art exhibitions, going on a hiking trip on Saturday, and then playing a faculty vs. students volleyball game the next day. That proximity breaks down barriers and teachers become real mentors and life coaches.

Global Connections
We know the world is increasingly connected. Coming to an international school allows you to tap into a huge global network of fellow students and alumni who have a shared experience and who want to connect with others just like yourself. While that may just seem like a really cool thing when you are still a student, when you move through university and beyond you will be able to call on those lifelong friends you made in the dorm and that broader alumni network to get connected throughout the world.

Clubs, Sports, and Activities
At an international day and boarding school, you will always have something to do, and someone to do it with. For some this is the many sports teams available to you, and for others it is getting involved with the TEDx, DECA or Outdoor Leadership clubs. Others find connections with book clubs, Lego building clubs, or even the Dungeon & Dragons club. At an international day and boarding school there is something for everyone, and if you don’t find exactly what you are looking for, you can always propose a new club!

I hope that this gives you a taste of some of the many benefits of an international school, and we hope to see you around our campus soon. We won’t even make you wear a jacket and tie!

At EF Academy, we open a world of opportunities for high school students. We provide a transformational education, thorough preparation for university and a future that knows no borders. To learn more about EF Academy, please visit our website and request a brochure.
Daryl Hitchcock has been teaching and working in day and boarding schools around the world for nearly 25 years. He is responsible for fostering a rich residential life experience that supports students' academic journey at EF Academy. Boarding school settings perfectly combine his passion for teaching history, geography and Theory of Knowledge with his residential life activities.

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With “home for the holidays” taking on a whole new meaning this year, our favorite seasonal activities are going to look different but that doesn’t mean they still can’t be awesome!

Codeverse just launched their Gift of Code program and it is the perfect activity for your kids through this holiday season.  Gift of Code with Codeverse is a free 2 month program that will teach your kids the foundations of coding through holiday themed challenges and events.

The first reason we love this program is that it is FREE, fun, and holiday themed!  Once you sign up (here) you will get a free account to their interactive online coding platform.  Through “Missions”, step-by-step instructive tutorials, your kid will start creating their very own apps and games that can be shared to any cell phone number once they are done!

Codeverse will help your kid create holiday themed games that you can customize and send to your friends and family as holiday cards!

Another reason we love this program is that it is educational and makes screen time smarter. If you are like me, you know that coding is important but don’t really know what it is! Well, coding is the language that a computer reads to know what to do next. Not only is coding an important skill that our kids will definitely need to know for their future but it helps them learn skills like problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity.  Finally coding will help your kid practice their reading, math, science, and typing skills while they are on holiday break.

Gift of Code with Codeverse will help keep your kid entertained, engaged, and learning through this holiday season and you will be able to share and brag about their creations to friends and family!  Overall it is a win, win, win and we can’t wait to see what your kids create with code!

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Calling all creative minds! As Coronavirus cases are rising and school breaks (or possibly closures) are coming, it is time to take advantage of virtual activities again. Westchester County has a ton of local art studios and centers that offer to-go projects as well as online classes, workshops, videos and camps. So if your child likes comics, pottery, drawing, coding or painting, this list is for you. 

It is really important that we support our local businesses so that they survive this tumultuous time. Sadly, some have already closed their doors. Now is the time to take advantage of our local experts and artists— their creativity and talent is at your fingertips. You can register for a class, view free resources or purchase to-go projects (a great holiday gift idea).

Please note that many fall semester classes are ending and new semesters, camps or programs will be posted in the coming weeks so do check back at these links for updated information.

1. MADE: my art + design experience in Mamaroneck is offering free guided art tutorials, they also have an Art-To-Go online store so you can shop your project in advance and they'll deliver it straight to your front door
   
   
2. There is an impressive range of virtual classes at Curious on Hudson, including drama and improvisation, space explorers, electricity, Minecraft and more
   
   
3. The Pottery Factory in Mount Kisco has hundreds of Pottery To-GO options that can be shipped directly to your home or picked up curbside
   
   
4. Register for an online menorah or ornament sculpture class and so much more at Scribble Art Workshop
   
   
5. Sign up now for the Winter Online Camps at OneRiver​— learn drawing, illustration, comics, digital illustrations and more
   
   
6. The Digital Arts Experience (DAE) has you covered with virtual classes, workshops and gaming (best for ages 7-16)
   
   
7. The Blue Door Arts Center has ongoing, free online children's workshops, you can also view videos of past ones
   
   
8. The Performing Arts Center Purchase College offers Watch / Listen / Play This Week- The PAC in Your Living Room for kids & families
   
   
9. Check out "Art Where You Are"— it includes a bunch of free virtual art videos and projects from the Katonah Museum of Art
   
   
10. Children as young as three or as old as 10th grade can enjoy online art classes from Young at Art
    
    
11. The Westchester Children's Museum offers a library of free online activities including a STEAM activity center, YouTube Channel, online programs and more
    
    
12. Clay Art Center is offering virtual kids parties and curbside pick up clay and tools
    
    
13. Try drawing, painting, ceramics, coding, robotics + much more at the Rye Arts Center's virtual classes
    
    
14. Sign up for winter youth classes at the Pelham Art Center
    
    
15. RAD Art School is offering online drawing an painting classes classes for children and teens
    
    
16. D.I.Y. Slime in Larchmont offers Slime Kits to go— pick up or delivery
    
    
17. Contact the Art Academy of Westchester for remote learning classes
    
    
18. iD Tech offers virtual tech camps for ages 7-19
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19. Plaster Palace Pottery offers online shopping— purchase your project to paint at home
    
    
20. Learn to code from anywhere with Codeverse's virtual coding sessions and kit or get free classes with their Gift of Code program.
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21. Pottery on Hudson offers virtual stoneware classes for children and teens
22. Jacob Burns Film Center has a virtual classroom 
    
    
23. Check out Kids Flicks & Art Breaks from the Pelham Picture House— bringing you the best new children’s films from around the world and accompanying family-friendly activities just in time for Thanksgiving
    
    
24. ArtsWestchester has free online workshops and art activities kids and teens
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25. Try virtual classes with RiverArts including writing, open mic and more

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Are you looking for inexpensive ways to keep your little artists and creative teens entertained? ArtsWestchester, a local community organization that provides programs and services to enrich the lives of everyone in Westchester County, is offering free online arts activities for children and teens! Their live and pre-recorded online programs include all kinds of creative projects ranging from drawing to dance, character creations to collages, and so much more. Here are the details!

Online Library & Live Virtual ArtsMobile Workshops
Developed with professional teaching artists, this library of hands-on arts activities is perfect for parents to do with their younger children. It features creative and fun art-making activities, with new ones live on Wednesdays. Check out the complete streaming library on Youtube. 

Online Library & Live Teen Video Workshops
​Teens can explore and keep themselves creative with age-appropriate and fun art-making activities.  Using items commonly found in your home, youth and their families can work on literary, performing and visual art workshops led by professional teaching artists. Every Tuesday a new, live activity is added.  Check out the complete streaming library on Youtube.   ​

5 Arts Picks of the Week
​ArtsWestchester is also working hard to keep Westchester families connected to the in-person and virtual arts happenings throughout the county in their weekly Arts E-Newsletter. You can sign up to get the top 5 arts picks of the week via email or go to their website for the latest arts happenings.  

For additional information about local programs from ArtsWestchester and their partners, check out this list of Fall 2020 youth programs at different locations across Westchester County.

Stay creative and inspired for the holiday season!

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You may feel your child's academic skills have slipped during‎ the COVID period of school shut down. He may be struggling to learn new concepts or perhaps you're seeking reading, writing, math, and content area enrichment. Help your child develop key academic skills with the apps detailed below.

Reading-‎Epic!
Grades Prek-6

Epic is a great ebook app that offers a wide universe of over 35,000 books for kids to choose from.‎ Students can search for various authors, publishers, or themes and can either read the books themselves or have the books read aloud to them while they follow along. Parents can also monitor their child’s progress with the data tracking feature that tracks the amount of time spent reading as well as the total pages and books read. Kids can earn special rewards for reaching certain milestones. This subscription-based service is a great way for students to keep up with their reading while learning at home.

Writing-Book Creator
Grades 3-12

With online schooling, it’s imperative that kids continue to develop their writing skills. Using this Book Creator app, kids can write and publish their own digital books. They can create fiction books, nonfiction books, comics, and more, and can even integrate video and audio clips as well as visual images. The app offers children the opportunity to create and maintain a portfolio of their writing pieces without lugging around an old-fashion binder. This tool is interactive and fun for kids to use, and is particularly great for those who tend to dislike more traditional pen-to-paper writing tasks.

​Math-SplashLearn
Grades PreK-5

Spla‎shLearn is an engaging, visual app for kids that gives them lots of extra practice with key math concepts in a multi-sensory, interactive way. The topics presented are curriculum-aligned to each grade and the app tracks kids’ progress so parents can gauge areas of mastery and concepts that need continued development. Kids get instant feedback on any mistakes they make, and they love the virtual “rewards” they can earn as they progress forward.

Science-K-5 Science
Grades K-5

This app is a great one for expanding your child’s science knowledge with over 200 colorful and engaging lessons. A character named “Haley the Science Gal” brings science to life by breaking down complex science concepts into easy-to-understand explanations and demonstrating cool science experiments.‎ There are game shows, videos, interactive games, and tons of questions to spark your child’s curiosity. Kids will learn about space, animals, plants, volcanoes, magnets, energy and so much more!

Social Studies-PBS Students
Grades K-12

Pull your child’s social studies learning out of the textbook with this multi-dimensional app. Students will watch videos, listen to audio clips, read about fascinating current events, and play games, helping them to grasp important social studies information. ‎They’ll learn about geography, U.S. History, World History, government, economics, and more, all while having loads of fun!

Don't let your child's academic skills slip. Turn down time into learning time with these apps and your child will be well on his way to school success. 
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About The Author

Written by Dr. Emily Levy, Founder & Director of EBL Coaching

EBL Coaching specializes in one-on-one HOME and virtual tutoring for students in grades pre-K-12 with specialized learning needs. They use research-based, multi-sensory techniques to develop students' reading, writing, math, note taking, test taking, and executive functioning skills. Under the direction of their director, Dr. Emily Levy, each student is evaluated to determine his or her specific needs and is matched with one of EBL's learning specialists. An individualized learning plan using research-based, multi-sensory techniques is then created for each student. EBL offers specialized instruction for students with dyslexia, specific learning disabilities, and ADHD using the Orton Gillingham method and other research-based techniques.

Learn more at eblcoaching.com.

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​Now that Governor Cuomo has given the green light for in-person school, many of us are thinking about how we can prepare ourselves and our children for back-to-school. Whether it will be in-person at school, virtual, or at-home teaching, we all have a lot of questions. 

These upcoming free webinars can help prepare you and your children for the upcoming school year and the uncertainty ahead in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. They feature experts in parenting, education and psychology to help you navigate through the back-to-school season.

1. NAMI (National Alliances of Mental Illness) Westchester is offering "Your Child's Mental Health and School Reopening."

The virtual presentation will focus on how to prepare you and your child for returning to school in the “new normal.” Speakers include local experts including Andrew Ecker, Ed.D., Coordinator, Guidance & Child Study Center, Putnam | Northern Westchester BOCES, Marion Walsh, Esq., Special Education Dept. for Littman Krooks and Marie Considine, MPA, Director of Development for NAMI Westchester and parent of school-age children.

Date: Tuesday, August 18, 7pm-8pm
Registration: Pre-registration is required, free
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2. HUFFPOST is hosting "Navigating Kids' Back-To-School Anxiety"

In this virtual forum, Kate Auletta, HuffPost’s senior culture and parenting editor, and Rebecca Kennedy, a New York-based psychologist and mom of three will talk about what to expect, what to say and how to deal with all the ways heading back to school will be hard on children. They will discuss the emotional and mental health aspects of kids’ return to school ― whatever that might look like. The ways in which parents prepare their children for uncertainty and talk about what’s happening are paramount to how children will remember this unique time.

​Date: Wednesday, August 19, 8pm-9pm
​Registration: Secure your ticket now, free for members, $10 for non members
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3. Positive Parenting guru Amy McCready presents  "Get Kids to Listen the Right Way"

If you haven’t yet tried Positive Parenting (or aren’t even sure what it is), a time of heightened chaos and uncertainty is the perfect time to start. You’re already reinventing schoolwork, working from home, and creating a new temporary lifestyle. You don’t exactly have a lot of time, yet you have more time at home than ever to implement something new. Parenting, even in the best of circumstances, is hard. So, if you’re questioning your sanity right about now, a few Positive Parenting strategies will help you and your family survive–and maximize–the upcoming school year. Are you interested in learning how you can use Positive Parenting during a pandemic (and why you should)?

Date & Registration: Various, click to select the one most convenient for you, free
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If you’re like most parents, you’re still struggling to figure it all out...

Working and teaching kids at home is no easy feat especially when combined with the stress of COVID-19. After several weeks, the novelty of being home has worn off. Kids are getting bored and complacent. Parents, getting low on patience and ideas. 
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WhizKidz Tutoring and Everyday Parenting are pleased to bring you the complimentary series, Effective Strategies for Educating at Home.

Start right now with Homeschool Hack#1: Start of School Day for tips on tackling each day realistically...how to jumpstart mornings, change activities, deal with screen-time, and much more.

Then at your own pace as your family needs extra help, check back for MORE Homeschool Hacks, like how to:

• Avoid stress and burn out...creating schedules, building your child's autonomy and independence
• Retain balance and master the mindset of "good enough" parenting
• Leave room for unexpected joys and learning fun

In bite-sized pieces, get Effective Strategies for Educating at Home that you can easily tailor to fit your child's learning needs, age and attention span. Learn More:
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Partnering Together to Help Families

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​Written by Erica Maltz, Founder & CEO of WhizKidz Tutoring LLC.
​Parenting is hard.  Parenting a kid who struggles with executive function skills is very hard.  Living as an individual whose executive function skills are lacking is no picnic either. You might be thinking: this phrase executive function skills is all abuzz lately, but what the heck are they anyway? Let’s break it down.
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What are Executive Function Skills?

A child who is struggling with executive function might have trouble controlling emotions or make impulsive decisions. He might have trouble following multi-step directions, listening, or paying attention. You may hear from his teacher and see at home that he has trouble organizing himself to start an assignment or task, much less complete it.
 
If your child has EF struggles, school mornings can often feel like a disaster.  Are you having to constantly question your child: Do you have your homework? Your lunch? Your instrument? Your backpack? And then still receive a phone call from him at school having forgotten something?  Then, of course, the famous internal struggle follows – do you bring it or let them “learn the lesson the hard way”?  
 
Do you find that when you give your child two step directions: brush your teeth and get dressed, for example, you’ll find them 15 minutes later with one sock on, staring aimlessly into their closet, thinking about what is happening after school?
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How can you help your child? ​

There are things that we can do as parents to help our children– and if that is not working, then there are professionals, like those at local Westchester County EF coaching expert WhizKidz Tutoring, who can help work with your child and YOU to best help and strategize ways to learn executive functions.

There are some easy (and fun!) ways for parents to help their children to strengthen their working memory.  A few examples: 

• Card games like Crazy Eights, Uno, Go Fish, and War.
• Strategy games like crossword puzzles, Sodoku, Jigsaw Puzzles, Concentration, Chess, Memory.  Remembering the rules of the games can be challenging for kids with EF issues and great practice for them.
• Repetition/fluency of math facts and letter/sound recognition for younger kids using flashcards or apps like Quizlet.
• Mnemonic Devices, like the Method of Loci, can be made a fun game at home – have the child look around a room and memorize what objects are present, close her eyes and recall what she saw.
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Parents can help children who struggle with emotion regulation and impulsivity in a variety of ways:

• Do an emotion vocabulary study with your child where they label their emotions.
• Emotion reflection cards ask a child to recall an extreme emotion, label it, and reflect on their response.  And yes, Amazon sells them here: Mood-Cards.
• Emoji Cue Cards are a fun and easy way to help younger students assign their feelings about school, academics, chores, and tasks at home. Yep, Amazon sells them too! Click HERE to see them.
• Model positive emotion regulation to your child during role-play scenarios or in daily life situations - children mostly learn this skill from observing how we react, anyway!
• Set intentions - and write them down - to create clear goals to accomplish during the day.
• Practice mindfulness and meditation activities using apps like Calm or Headspace.

 
Organizational skills are key for any child struggling with executive functions. A few ideas:

• Keep a large desk calendar and desk organizers to help older children.
• Post a daily schedule in your home on a large dry erase board. 
• Have clear and consistent routines and procedures that offer structure in place as often as possible.  They will not only help your child, but make things much easier for you!
• Homework charts or planners from school with columns showing subject, task, and materials can be manipulated to add “materials packed in backpack” and “materials turned in.”  
• Put backpacks in the same place - by the front door - every night, packed and ready to go.  You will be thankful for this in the morning!

 

 Task Completion is another area of struggle for kids with EF trouble.  

• Have your older child create a checklist for a homework routine (look at planner, gather materials needed, break the assignments into smaller pieces, etc).  You can either have the checklist on a large dry erase board in the area where your child does homework, or simply type, print, and have it laminated.  Give it to your child at the beginning of daily homework time to make sure that routines are smooth and consistent.
• Timers are very helpful for children to foster their time management skills. Consider setting a timer for short breaks between tasks to keep them focused and motivated (think: work for 20 minutes, break for 5).
• Velcro Task Calendars are helpful with younger children. You can also get crafty and create a door hanger that has tasks to complete with clips that move from one side to the next when the task is completed.

Should you call in a professional?

If you’re finding that these strategies are not making the cut in affecting real change, you may need an Executive Function Coach who can help your child get organized.  Take a look at this helpful list of observations and concerns of children who may lack executive function skills by the National Center for Learning Disabilities to help decide whether or not you should call in a professional:
 


​
In the past six months my child has... 

• had difficulty paying attention 
• been easily distracted 
• required many reminders to stay on task 
• had difficulty setting goals 
• struggled with making decisions 
• had trouble identifying where to start on assignments 
• focused on either details or the big picture at the expense of the other 
• had difficulty getting started on tasks, often seems to procrastinate 
• struggled to comprehend how much time a project will take to complete 
• taken longer than peers to complete homework and other tasks 
• needed numerous prompts from adults to stay on task 
• lost track of time or assignment due dates 
• forgotten to turn in completed work 
• struggled with keeping track of needed materials; often leaves materials at home or school 
• found checking his/her work very difficult (and may not do it at all) 
• had trouble following multiple-step directions 
• forgotten what he/she is saying or doing in the middle of a task 
• forgotten the details of a text while reading or soon after finishing 
• gotten frustrated with changes in schedule or usual routines 
• had difficulty shifting from one activity to another (especially when the rules/task demands change) 
• struggled with shifting between information that is literal vs. figurative, past vs. present, etc. 
• gotten stuck on parts of tasks and can’t move forward 
• had difficulty controlling impulses—will say or do things without thinking about them first 
• been easily frustrated 
• often spoken out of turn and/or interrupted others’ conversations​

​WhizKidz Tutoring can help

At WhizKidz Tutoring, we get calls for EF Coaches + Math support, EF Coaches + ELA support, EF Coaches with all homework and school help, and just plain old EF Coaches who help with the four areas described above.  We hire professionals who can do it all as well as those with specific niches. Our coaches are NYS Certified Teachers, many of whom have special education degrees and almost all have at least one Masters Degree (if not 2 or 3!).  They are full time educators spending real time in schools and also serve private clients to help kids get organized, boost confidence, raise grades, and enjoy school. What are some of the strategies we use?
 
WhizKidz Coaches
All WhizKidz EF coaches implement the following:

1. Homework charts AND study skills priority charts to keep track of assignments, exams, and manage multi-subjects.
2. Minimize clutter and create clearly defined areas in the workspace at home.  
3. Set up weekly schedules with daily and weekly goals.
4. Scaffold learning to move students towards strong understanding with temporary support.
5. Practice and implement repetition of facts.
6. Conference with students.
7. Seek to understand the accommodations and modifications given to students with 504s and IEPs AND teach students to self-monitor progress goals for their IEPs.
8. Help students manage emotions and impulsivity.  Mindfulness and meditation activities are often part of sessions.
9. Success through the productive struggle where the students “fail” under a controlled setting, allowing them to practice regulating their emotions. Coaches also model positive emotion regulation to the student during role-plays or modeling.
10. Check ins!  Coaches check in with students (or parents for younger clients) during the week via text and email.  They will also help set up reminders in phones or calendar apps for older students.

 
WhizKidz EF Coaches & Math 

• Coaches center around giving students concrete anchoring in manipulatives before stretching them to abstract thought.  When they move into abstract thought, they can rely on the concrete examples or the visual image in their minds of the concrete example.
• When students are performing operations with decimals, coaches have them use graph paper to help students align numbers.
• They use patty paper to teach transformations.
• Coaches create foldables for notes.  Students will take more ownership in their notes and tend to use them more than when simply writing in a notebook.

 
WhizKidz EF Coaches & ELA

• Coaches help with the entire process of writing from prewriting to drafting, revising, and editing.  Many of our EF Coaches who specialize in writing are one or more of the following: Windward/PAF trained, Orton Gillingham and/or Wilson’s trained or certified, literacy specialists with training and practice in The Writing Revolution and Teacher’s College Reading & Writing Project.
• Coaches use clear prompts and methods to help students keep organized.
• Writing is broken down into pieces. (i.e. writing topic sentences and practicing repeatedly)
• Coaches use sentence frames, continually scaffolding until the student can write the full sentence without prompting.
• Coaches use graphic organizers, break down writing into small chunks, use sentence starters, reminders, conferences, and modeling.

And, if you’re finding those aren’t enough, then there are professionals at WhizKidz Tutoring who can work one-on-one with your child - and you! - to help them manage life and school in a productive, confidence boosting, fun way.

Imagine a futuristic wonderland designed just for kids. A world full of endless possibilities and adventure, where kids can explore and experiment with advanced, cutting-edge technology. A place where today’s kids invent tomorrow. 

Introducing Codeverse, the world’s first fully interactive coding studio for kids ages 6-13. Opening at The Westchester this summer, Codeverse will be offering weeklong summer camps, weekday coding classes, and weekend parties. 
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Codeverse's ~3,000 sq ft space at The Westchester will boast a wide range of high-tech features contributing to a completely immersive and collaborative learning environment. The studio will be riddled with cutting-edge gadgets, including a 20ft TV wall and professional-grade lights and speakers, which can be programmed by kids using real code! 

Codeverse teaches kids how to code using KidScript - a proprietary language that enables children to build mobile games, projects and apps, as well as program dozens of objects within the state-of-the-art studio. KidScript draws inspiration from, and acts as a gateway to, many other languages, including JavaScript, Ruby, Python and Visual Basic.

Who teaches kids how to code at Codeverse?
All Codeverse camps and classes are led by Guides. 

Guides are a collective of K-12 certified teachers, improv comedians, seasoned designers, engineers and game developers. This diverse mix of backgrounds, skill-sets, and experiences creates a dynamic, fun, and engaging learning environment for the children. 

Guides are equipped with iPads that display real stats on how every student is progressing through the curriculum. Tracking every interactive, milestone, and mistake gives Codeverse Guides an unprecedented amount of rich data that is then used to craft a personalized approach to learning to code.

2020 Summer Camps at Codeverse Westchester
From video game creation and robotics, to 3D printing and circuitry, Codeverse camps are packed with hands-on STEM activities designed for beginner and pro coders, alike.

Each day of camp is assigned a theme and is comprised of fun, engaging, and educational adventures, including:

• Studio programming - Learn how to program cutting-edge gadgets (such as lights and speakers) using real code.
• Robotics - Build a real robot. Compete in high-speed robot races on obstacle courses designed by fellow campers.
• Coding - Learn all the core fundamentals universal to any programming language.
• 3D Printing - Create jaw-dropping 3D printed designs.
• Circuitry - Learn all about circuits and sensors.
• Game Development - Design multi-level, multi-player video games.

To cap it off, kids show off their coding creations to family and friends during Demo Day, a fun celebration that is held every Friday afternoon during camp.

Summer camps run Monday-Friday from 9AM-3PM throughout the months of June, July, and August. All allergy-free meals and snacks are included. Complimentary early drop-off and pick-up options are available.

Be one of the first to experience Codeverse Westchester! Parents can sign kids up for summer camp at codeverse.com/camps. Early bird special is $399 until June 1st, 2020. (Regular price: $499) 

Codeverse Westchester
125 Westchester Ave, #1160 (next to KidZania and Neiman Marcus)
White Plains, NY 10601
(914) 461-5914

Many articles and blogs have written about the benefits of musical instruction, you may have read some of them. The instructors at New York Piano School want you to know these 5 ways that their students and their families have benefited from lessons.

​Proper and consistent musical teaching can:

1. Develop and improve your child’s fine motor skills:
   Proper technique for two hands to work separately but together, for fingers to press lightly or with more weight, for eyes to follow the written music while following notes and rests will develop motor skills that will be transferrable to many things later in life. Whether your child becomes a poet or a surgeon, an athlete or, we couldn’t leave this one off the list, a musician, they will forever benefit from learning to engage their fingers, hands, arms and bodies earlier in life.
   
   
2. Help them learn creative problem solving:
   Mistakes happen. A good music teacher will help your child address the wrong notes and help them assess the situation and work toward fixing it – creative problem solving. For beginners, this can be as simple as change a finger placement to hit the right note. Wrong notes happen. With more advanced students, the teacher will work on helping the student find the essence and form of the piece, dissect the beginning, middle and end, and find the right personal approach to the piece’s structure for each student.
   
   
3. Reinforce self-discipline and patience:
   We all wish we had more self-discipline and patience, why not help you child reinforce these while learning a new skill in a nurturing environment. Learning to play the piano will help with objective setting, keeping accountability, following through on pre-set plan, adapting to mishaps, building patience and self-confidence, all while working toward achieving a goal.
   
   
4. Boost your child’s imagination
   What is a piece of music? Objectively speaking it is a set of notes and rests with instruction on how to play it. Subjectively speaking it is a bird song, a rush of a river, a love ballad, a freedom dance, an exciting adventure from beginning to end. Great instructors will inspire your child to think about what each piece means to them and to write their own adventure.
   
   
5. Make it a cherished family activity: 
   Many a morning, day and night is spent planning social activities for our kids. While playing music can greatly improve their social skills when playing with others (listening, waiting and harmonizing with fellow musicians), it can also bring you closer as a family. Your child will love showing off their new learned skills and showing off progress as they practice at home. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, neighbors alike will come together to see your child find joy in music.​

Help your child and you enjoy these benefits at New York Piano School.

Click the links below for more information about its programs and instructors.
www.nypianoschool.com
www.nypianoschool.com/about-new-york-piano-school

​Searching for the perfect gift for your kids this holiday season? Toys are fun for the moment; the gift of quality music education lasts a lifetime. 

Research proves that studying music teaches students lifelong skills. Learning to play an instrument or sing improves overall academic performance, strengthens motor skills and cognition, as well as develops self-motivation, self-confidence, teamwork, and leadership skills. 
​
Music Conservatory of Westchester, voted Best of Westchester’s ‘Best Music School’ for two consecutive years (2017 and 2018), provides the quality music instruction your child needs to begin their journey to future success.

Starting with its First Notes progressive curriculum for babies and toddlers, parents participate in their child’s early musical and developmental growth. Each First Notes class (Bravo Babies, Toddler Tunes, Pre-school Prodigies) begins with a welcoming “Hello Song” that invites each child to sing by repeating simple sounds. Activities involve moving to music, a variety of hand drums, playing a variety of hand drums, shakers, colorful scarves, and using other music aids to develop the child’s sense of hearing, sight, and touch. These classes are a great way to help build a bond with your child in a fun learning environment.
 
As young students advance from First Notes, they can participate in Pre-K Music Skills classes to introduce children to fundamental music theory concepts in an interactive way. In these classes, students learn in a fun group setting as they begin their music education. These classes help students as they progress into playing an instrument. 
 
The Conservatory’s comprehensive Suzuki program instruction in violin, cello or piano for students ages 4 and up focuses on an equal triangle of support and cooperation between the student, teacher, and parents. Our highly qualified Suzuki teachers train young musicians to become skilled instrumentalists, performers and ensemble players, while developing their motor skills and focusing ability.

Piano lessons are a great way to start a child’s introduction to learning to play an instrument. In the Conservatory’s Group Piano classes for beginners in Pre-K through grade 1, students are able to experience playing the piano in a fun and nurturing setting, preparing them for private lessons as they grow.

The Conservatory also offers Group Guitar classes for beginners in Pre-K through grade 1. These introductory classes teach students the basics of this popular instrument, to continue to private lessons and specialize in their favorite style of music, whether rock, jazz or classical. 
​

For young students who love to sing, the Conservatory’s Youth Chorus is the perfect way to experience singing in an ensemble. Singers in grades 1-6explore their vocal capabilities through unison and simple two-part vocal music ranging from folk songs to popular tunes.The chorus performs at the Conservatory and in various community locations.

As students develop skill with their instruments, they are encouraged to join ensembles at the Conservatory to experience making music together. There is something for everyone: rock band, string ensembles, chamber music, jazz groups, vocal ensembles, and more!

As part of our inclusive musical community, the Conservatory provides numerous performance opportunities throughout the year for students of all ages. With more than 80 expertly qualified faculty of professional musicians with exceptional academic and performance credentials in their specialized instruments, the Music Conservatory of Westchester truly offers your child the best possible start!

Giving your child the gift of music at early stages in their brain development provides a positive, creative outlet for your child with which to grow. 

This December 2019, the Conservatory is offering early registration for group classes and ensembles beginning new sessions in 2020. Visit musicconservatory.org for more information about all the Music Conservatory of Westchester has to offer your family. 

Music Conservatory of Westchester
216 Central Avenue
White Plains, NY 10606
914-761-3900
www.musicconservatory.org

Sponsored Post

Ah, homework. *Insert grimace here.* It’s one of the endless chores of being a student. And our kids have to do it. Every day. After a full day of school. On repeat.

And nobody likes it. Right? I am correct in saying that NOBODY likes it?!

But homework lasts from the end of elementary school on through college, so the sooner our kids can develop habits to master it, the better. It ain’t goin’ nowhere!

*More grimacing. Insert eye roll for good measure.*

Most people who give homework argue that not only is it great for reinforcing what kids learned in school that day, but it also gets them practicing life skills like time management, organization, and responsibility. So fair enough!

You can empathize with your kids because you’ve done your fair share of homework too. But I bet you can see just how much harder it is these days with all the distractions available for our kids and teens. Aside from the dinging and pinging of social media and smartphones, so much homework is now computer-based, and ohhhh the tabs they could open and the browsing they could be doing instead! It’s just so tempting to, like, look at a couple of cat memes first…

So you can see how a simple homework assignment could turn into a field day of distraction or get drawn out way longer than it should. But the easiest way to instill good homework habits is to talk to your kids about it so they’re aware of the challenges they face. Then they’ll be able to self-regulate and guide themselves to be more efficient and less distracted… and this is a skill that’s useful forever. Like through high school, college, and even work days in the office. Here’s how to help your child make their homework habits a little healthier or “improve their homework hygiene” if you will.

1 – Tell them you feel for ’em.
Empathize. You know homework can feel like torture. You know how hard it is to focus after a full day of school. And you’re aware that they’d rather be doing other things and the Internet is just calling their name…

2 – Make it an interesting convo!
This isn’t the time for nagging or judging. Stay calm and keep the subject neutral but interesting.
For instance, you could ask them to guess how long the average student stays focused on homework before switching to a technological distraction. The answer is six minutes, by the way. Yup, bring up this study. It’s true!

Or talk to them about the different types of distractions and which one they think affects them more. Is it usually an external distraction, like the light of an Instagram notification or a vibration from their phone? Or is it more an internal one, like a flash in their brain that says “I should just check Snapchat real quick!”?

3 – Strategize
​How do they do approach homework as it stands now? Do they make a to-do list? Do they get everything set up on the kitchen counter and put their phone away before diving in? Then throw out some ideas of your own… (or mine, whatever).

• Get some exercise in before doing homework. The body learns more efficiently this way. (Perfect if your kid has just come home from sports practice anyway!)
• Start with the task they dread the most. If they can just work on it for ten minutes, that gets over the mental barrier of doing it and makes it more approachable.
• Try the “Pomodoro Method” – set a timer and work on homework for 25 minutes straight with no distractions. When the timer goes off, take a short break of about five minutes before jumping back in. Repeat this a few times and then take a longer break… or however long you need to finish up all the homework. It helps the brain get over distractions and be more productive.
• During homework breaks, they can check social media or get on the Internet if they like, but mix it up with things like playing with a pet, chatting with you, or getting a breath of fresh air outside.
• If all else fails and they’re really having a tough time keeping their technological distractions in check, there are apps for parents to monitor their Internet usage during homework time. But it’s better if they can learn to monitor themselves!

Getting into these healthy homework habits can help your child be more independent, focused, and efficient. They know they have to do it, so why not streamline the process, eliminate distractions, and get homework finished so they can do the stuff they really want to do after school… like hang out with you maybe? Hey, we can dream…

About the Author: 
Laurie Wolk is an Author, Educator & Motivational Speaker focusing on parenting adolescents and social media. A “go to” girl since childhood and a cheerleader at heart, her passion is helping parents and young girls learn how to communicate and connect with themselves, each other and the outside world.

She works directly with companies, schools, organizations and individuals on building confidence, leadership and digital citizenship skills. Her goal: teaching girls how to put down their digital devices and develop “in real life” communication and relationship skills. 

A graduate of Emory University, Laurie received her BA in Psychology and is the Author of the book Girls Just Want to Have Likes: How to Raise Confident Girls in the Face of Social Media Madness due in bookstores nationwide this August. She is the Editor of The Spark Report, a weekly report that helps parents of tweens/teens spark meaningful conversations with their children. Laurie received advanced certification at the Martha Beck and Girls Leadership Institutes and is on the Board of the Westchester Children’s Museum and at Girls Leadership.
​
 An engaged and hands-on mother of three + dog, Laurie understands adolescents and connects with them both as a guide and a friend, teaching them important social and emotional skills that will serve them for a lifetime. She has been called a “modern mentor” by clients and forms natural connections early on with both parent and child.

www.lauriewolk.com

One of the most challenging things that happens on a student’s journey from middle school to high school is based in psychology: as humans, we begin to seek approval from people beyond our parents such as friends in school. Status becomes complicated, and we start to feel pulled in different directions. As students, the ways you studied and approached school up until now, whether now means 9th grade, 10th, or 11th, may not get the same results as before. Or, just maybe, there were patterns in mindset, studying, grades, or test scores that go back many years, but many people tend to focus on what happens in high school as what is most important.

Students, whether you want to hear it or not, your parents are often right in their observations in terms of your study habits, attitude, or mindset. Remember, your parents have a tough job: they are solely responsible for your well-being and in helping you become the best version of yourself — this is the most rewarding and most challenging job on the planet! Yours is tough, too, because while you must honor your parents, you have to become increasingly independent, make your own choices, and sometimes those choices may contradict your parent’s goals or wishes.
​
Here are 8 suggestions to reset your relationship as you move into and through high school:

1. Great expectations: Set clear expectations for grades that are based on precedent, quarter by quarter, so that your “team” knows what is expected.
2. Meet weekly: Besides any daily dialogue, meet once per week with the sole purpose of reviewing the week’s assignments and schedule upcoming assignments.
3. Know your roles: Students, your job is to honor your parents and your well being by working hard to be your best, to focus on your studies, to do well. Parents, your job beyond caretaker is to identify necessary resources to help your child succeed, and never falter on proactively solving problems you see.  
4. Advocate: Parents, when necessary, advocate for your child at school, not to get a grade that is not warranted, but for one that is, or for when you are not experiencing a responsible counselor or teacher to help your child succeed.
5. No surprises: Students, share your successes and your struggles, your A’s and your D’s as they come in so that you can, together and without judgment, figure out what to do.
6. Support: Parents, using judgmental words like “lazy,” comparing sibling against sibling, or telling autobiographical stories about your youth tend to be counterproductive. Focus on supporting positive study habits, clear goals, and help manage distractions while incentivizing positive changes. This is the most effective way to get results.
7. Be open: Students, the more you close off your parents, the more every tiny detail of your life will be analyzed, scrutinized, whether understood or not: Why? As parents, we have been caring for our children with more energy, love, time, and compassion than you can fathom at this point in your life, and you are preparing to soon go off to college and be independent. Share more, and you will find your parents are less concerned and will not let their imaginations lead them astray!
8. Family time: Set aside time to just live, and enjoy each other without focusing on school, lessons, or lectures. Recharge, and reset.

Written by F. Tony Di Giacomo, lifelong educator and founder of Novella Prep, an education company providing study skills and college planning to help families and students improve academic outcomes and support college planning for students in grades 6-12. He has 20 years of experience working in admissions, development, teaching, and research at various universities. Prior to launching Novella Prep, Tony worked at the College Board, where he led and managed research on the SAT, PSAT, AP, and other programs. You can reach him at [email protected], watch helpful Youtube videos with tips and strategies, follow on Facebook and Instagram.

The road to college is an enduring theme that helps parents and students conceive of the steps toward college (and life) being akin to a road with waypoints along the way. They key to success is knowing which are the waypoints, when parents and students have the ability to go left or right, and knowing what that means. The greatest excellence comes from the aggregate of many small mindful decisions over time, leading to a better informed, better prepared, and thoughtful student.In the following post, you can explore some of the essential steps to consider:

We have more information than ever at our fingertips and understand so much about this world, and yet being a successful student is still challenging and puzzling. For middle school and high school students, parents, and educators, this column will provide you with answers and clarity on what it means to be a successful student today as you navigate The Road to College. 

As parents, we want the best for our children and often equate academic success with setting the foundation for our child’s potential to build toward a successful and fulfilling career. However, many parents may not realize the college-related choices a high school senior has extend far back – sometimes to decisions made many years prior (7th grade!) – ranging from how they study to the rigor of their coursework and the career track they are potentially pursuing. 

The goal of this information is to supplement what the school, community, and family already teach and value, and to help readers gain perspectives, information, and knowledge to help students plan the year, the quarter, and the day. With current industry knowledge and research, readers will have the ability to help students get or stay on a path toward better grades (study skills and course selection), increased test scores (which to take, when to take, and ways to prepare), and preparation for identifying and applying to best-fitting colleges (with a holistic approach considering the whole student). That is, to consider all the factors that matter, from emotional and physical health to trends in admissions or changes in testing, as well as what colleges want and how to channel hard to work to get the best results. 

We know from research that early college planning, when done right, has very powerful and positive results for students. Initially, some students may feel that the thought of college triggers stress, and often the desire is to push starting the process to the spring of junior year. Frequently, adults in students’ lives follow suit. By junior year, however, there is little time for a true exploration of what one may wish to consider as a career path, let alone obtain enough information to choose a major. This could lead to a critical misstep that could adversely affect the prospective college list or later increase the chance of changing majors or transferring schools. Studies conducted by American Institute of Research, a leading education research organization, as well as NYU Steinhardt School of Education, have found early engagement in the college planning process leads to a very positive outcome for most students. Plus, with the high cost of college and importance of graduating in four years, considering a holistic approach to planning can help students connect interests, talents, and skills to the consideration of career paths as a way of identifying the right major and college list. This type of preparation often leads to students’ changing their major in college at a lower rate than the national average of 30%.  

The Road to College can be fun and empowering to students and families, and can cultivate character when done right. This column aims to support that spirit along the way, embracing the path toward the destination as a teachable experience of growth. 

Written by F. Tony Di Giacomo, adapted from his blog on RiverJournal.com. Dr. Di Giacomo is a lifelong educator and founder of Novella Prep, an education company providing study skills and college planning to help families and students improve academic outcomes and support college planning for students in grades 6-12. He has 20 years of experience working in admissions, development, teaching, and research at various universities. Prior to launching Novella Prep, Tony worked at the College Board, where he led and managed research on the SAT, PSAT, AP, and other programs. You can reach him at [email protected], watch helpful Youtube videos with tips and strategies, follow on Facebook and Instagram.

On the road to college, parents and students have much to consider. One question I’m asked quite often is, “When should I start college planning?” The answer: Identify what matters most in terms of the healthy development of your child, and balance that against what college admission officers will utilize when deciding on who to admit.  

At the core of this answer is course selection. Which classes and how rigorous these classes are determines quite a bit later on, ranging from identifying appropriate college majors, college application competitiveness, and readiness for standardized tests. For example, did you know that math taught in 7th grade is on the SAT and ACT? And the various tracks students are on often trace back to 6th or 7th grade? Knowing and being mindful of this early matters. However, that does not mean active college planning (creating a portfolio, visiting colleges, and applying) begins that early. To the contrary, 11th grade is the active year of college planning and visiting colleges. So, while not called college planning, which decisions are the most important affecting course selection? 

As parents, helping students understand choices like selecting next year’s classes (as many of you are doing now!), but also in being truly honest with how they spend their time is critical. We all have to work hard to be disciplined, focused, and to prioritize what truly matters. With students, growing up in a world replete with digital distractions, tasks often take longer. The entire duration of homework, as a block of time, probably takes longer than it otherwise should. Why does this matter? If we can take a more structured and honest accounting of how students spend time, they can often accomplish more work more efficiently, and at a higher degree of difficulty, with fewer distractions. When students I meet share what distracts them, whether it is the vortex of YouTube-recommended videos or the endless saga of Fortnite, activities that lack “stopping cues” are the most detrimental to their overall wellbeing. Therefore, they must be taught how to create their own cues. 

If you’re a parent of students in grades 6-10, start with the core of your focus being on study skills. Students juggle so many tasks and expectations, such as school assignments, activities, friends, family, chores, etc. Whether they are getting high grades in the most challenging classes or are getting B’s, C’s, D’s, or lower, all students have the capacity to pivot. That is, to stop and turn in a new direction for the better. Below is a checklist students can use to see if they need to make some changes to their study habits and even sleep schedule. 

• Does the student start their homework within 1 hour from when they get home from school/sports? 
• Do they have a plan for the order of homework subjects or checking their online school portal for new assignments? 
• When writing a paper, do they start the outline 5 days out if possible, giving time to write a first draft, revise, and have time to make improvements each day? 
• When studying for tests, does the student start studying three days in advance based on an outline prepared previously, or know the right ways to use the study app Quizlet to simulate their testing environment? 

• Are they able to accomplish all of their homework by 10pm at the latest and get 8 hours of sleep? 
• If not currently doing a sport, did they get any outside exercise today, even as simple as going for a walk? 
• Do they have trouble sleeping due to school-related stress? 

Not every student will always achieve all of the items on the checklist, but they are a useful reminder of how parents and students can reimagine what it takes to be a successful student. And no single factor is the magic solution that will solve all problems. Rather, the combination of small improvements, made at a comfortable pace, will help students step forward toward becoming a successful student. In doing so, you and your child are addressing the core of who they are as a student and establishing a foundation upon which any later college or life plans are built. 


Written by F. Tony Di Giacomo, adapted from his blog on RiverJournal.com.
Dr. Di Giacomo is a lifelong educator and founder of Novella Prep, an education company providing study skills and college planning to help families and students improve academic outcomes and support college planning for students in grades 6-12. He has 20 years of experience working in admissions, development, teaching, and research at various universities. Prior to launching Novella Prep, Tony worked at the College Board, where he led and managed research on the SAT, PSAT, AP, and other programs. You can reach him at [email protected], watch helpful Youtube videos with tips and strategies, follow on Facebook and Instagram.

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STEM, while a short, seemingly harmless word on the surface, can present a variety of challenges for any student or parent who is unfamiliar.

Science, technology, engineering, AND math? That’s a lot to cram into such a simple acronym.

If you’ve been wanting to get your kid or teen more involved in STEM, but have been discouraged by any number of roadblocks, we are here to help!

Believe it or not, sparking a passion for STEM and getting a child started along their journey can begin right now—with robotics.


Breaking into STEM through robotics
One of the most effective ways for any child to get going with STEM is through robotics. Thanks to its hands-on nature, the availability of robotics clubs at school, simple robot toys for home, and nearby robotics classes or summer camps, it has never been easier.

Robotics clubs at school
In case you didn’t know, a robotics club is a gathering of students, who after school, will get together to learn and work with - you guessed it - robots. Such clubs typically take place in a school classroom, and are moderated by a member of the teaching staff or school administration.

Clubs sometimes compete at local robotics competitions, where teams of students are tasked with designing and building a robot to take on opponents in a series of challenges.

The main benefit for those interested in STEM - but unsure of where to begin - is that a robotics club is a relatively easy, low-cost way to get your student involved.

Such clubs help to strengthen your student’s STEM skills, both hard and soft. Creativity and problem-solving are essential in building a 'bot that can overcome obstacles, and your child will have to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions when the robot doesn’t perform as expected.

Last but not least, hanging out with like-minded peers is always beneficial, providing a valuable way for kids to make friends and build their networks.

With robotics toys, at home
Many of today’s “toys” barely resemble the traditional definition of the word thanks to the inclusion of different educational components.

For instance, the SparkFun Inventor’s Kit (SIK) is a great way to get your child started with coding and hardware interaction using the Arduino programming language.

I know what you’re thinking...coding and programming? What does this have to do with robotics? And, I thought this was supposed to be an easy way to get involved?

Well, coding is the underpinning of robotics, providing the instructions a robot needs to read in order to execute actions.

And toys make coding and robotics easy. For example, the SIK includes everything your child needs to complete five in-depth projects consisting of 16 interconnected circuits. These projects teach everything from blinking an LED to reading sensors and more. The culminating project is your child’s very own autonomous robot!

This is just one example of many different available robotics “toys” that are useful in getting kids and teens interested in robotics. LEGO, Cozmo, and VEX are additional options to look into.


At summer camp, with a robotics course
One of the biggest benefits of summer camp is that it allows campers to build a unique interest in something they might not otherwise have a chance to explore.

While many schools don’t offer courses in robotics, summer camps do. They also provide an environment free of pressure, homework, and tests.

Think of a robotics summer camp as a combination of robotics club and school, to an extent, where students get to experience the camaraderie and teambuilding of a club, and the learning aspect of school.

In the end, however, an entirely new experience is created; one that doesn’t really resemble a club or school at all, where kids can explore to their heart’s content, without being bound by curriculum and large, impersonal classrooms.

Instead, they have the freedom to create the projects they want to create, and can receive personalized learning thanks to small class sizes.

Summer camp is a unique venue for growth, allowing kids to become independent and self-confident, while socializing and making new friends, and even learning new skills, like robotics.

Ready to get started?
Summer is just a few months away, and programs are filling up fast!

We encourage you to consider iD Tech, the world’s #1 summer STEM camp for ages 7-19, with over 20 years of experience and 400,000 alumni

Programs are held at 150 prestigious campuses in the USA, Europe, and Asia, including Manhattanville College, Pace University, Iona, Stanford, NYU, HKU, Imperial College London, and University of Cambridge.

Courses are led by top-tier instructors, so students build in-demand skills for futures in robotics, coding, game development, design, and more. Guaranteed small class sizes ensure personalized learning for all skill levels.

Exclusive to Westchester NY Moms readers, you’ll receive $75 off when you register with code WNYMOMS19 before 8/22/19.
​Courses sell-out quickly. Get started today at iDTech.com or call (888) 709-8324 for personalized course recommendations. Make unlimited updates to your registration up to 3 weeks before your session with no fees.

On Saturday, June 2, the Music Conservatory of Westchester will hold an immersive Open House for parents and their children to experience and understand the Suzuki philosophy of music education designed for young students ages 4 and up. The Open House will start at 9:30am with special musical performances from violin and cello Suzuki students on the front steps of the Conservatory, followed by open studio lessons at 11:00am, and a question and answer session at 1:00pm. 
​
Students in the Conservatory’s Suzuki Program study music with the belief that “Every Child Can” encouraging every student’s innate musical talents at an early age. The Suzuki philosophy extends to all ages and abilities, and the Conservatory’s program welcomes students of violin, viola, cello, and piano.

Try the Suzuki Program during the regular school year or over the summer. This summer, the Conservatory is offering a Suzuki Beginner Special for introductory lessons for young beginner students starting at age 4 in sessions from August 6th-10th and/or August 13th-17th. 

Come learn about the unique and proven Suzuki philosophy for learning to play a musical instrument on Saturday, June 2 at 9:30am.

Give your children the best possible start with music at the current ‘Best of Westchester’ Music Conservatory of Westchester, a musical community like no other. Visit www.musicconservatory.org for more information.

Suzuki Open House and Student Performance
Saturday, June 2nd, 9:30am
Music Conservatory of Westchester
216 Central Avenue
White Plains, NY 10606
[email protected]

​Perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions about STEM is that it is too challenging, or too hard to break into -- that getting your kids involved requires buying a big, expensive 3D printer or having the background to give them an advanced understanding of artificial intelligence or machine learning. Actually, such thinking couldn’t be further from the truth!
 
Here are a few ways you can spark your child’s interest in STEM at home, along with some tips on how to take those interests to the next level!
 
Get Started with Online Courses
If your child would prefer to learn to code, use Photoshop, or build a website from the comfort of home, there are a variety of fun and effective online STEM learning platforms. Get started with the free Code.org tutorials! Code.org features fun, valuable tutorials across a number of topics and activities. CodeAcademy, Khan Academy, and Scratch all provide excellent online learning options as well.
 
Create Excitement Close to Home
Getting kids involved in STEM could be as easy as heading down to your local library or museum, or participating in STEM activities and programs those organizations are offering. Find a STEM museum near you!
 
Maker Faires serve as collaborative showcases for passionate creators of all ages. Find a Maker Faire near you and ignite your child’s imagination. They’ll discover one-of-a-kind tech inventions and interact with talented, inspirational innovators.

Have Fun and Learn with STEM Toys
These toys aren’t just fun -- they also provide hours of STEM educational value!
 
Cozmo is your child’s AI companion with a mind of its own! Cozmo relies on your child to keep it going by feeding its basic needs through maintenance, care, and play! The bot progresses with each interaction. What makes this even greater for STEM learning is that Cozmo maker, Anki, has also released a new Code Lab, giving kids access to Cozmo’s core functionality, which can be controlled through visual programming or Python for more advanced learners.
 
Another excellent STEM toy option is littleBits, offering easy-to-use electronic building blocks that teach children the basics of electrical engineering! If your kids like Star Wars, check out the littleBits Droid Inventors Kit, which allows students to learn circuitry and motors to power their very own Star Wars droid.
 
If that sparks an interest, check out iD Tech summer courses featuring Cozmo - Code-a-Bot: AI and Robotics with Your Own Cozmo - and littleBits--CreationLab: Inventing and Coding with littleBits.

Become the Student
If you give your kids the chance to teach or talk to you about what they’re learning, the odds of them wanting to learn more and retaining what they learn increase. You don’t have to leave the house to spark or enhance STEM learning, and you don’t need anything “extra” here -- simply have a conversation based on the things they are already doing. Add these tips to those above:

• When you give your child STEM toys to play with, play alongside them. Ask questions!
• If your child is working through online tutorials, hold them accountable for the time they’re spending and ask for updates, progress reports, and more.
• And of course, video games can be mindless at times, but with some conversation and questions, they can be the valuable tools you read about previously.

 
This role reversal will encourage kids to take ownership of their learned topics, and empower them as the “expert” who can’t wait to teach mom and dad something new!
 
If you do send them off for a week or two at a STEM camp like iD Tech, fully vest yourself in the experience. Have a conversation about what course they want to attend, and talk about how
learning those skills will better prepare them for school and future careers. Once camp is
over, talk about next steps with your child, and what the next stop along their coding, game
development, robotics, or design pathway might be, and how to best get there.
 
After camp, you can supplement your child’s learning with additional resources, like live, one-on-one college advising sessions with iD Tech instructors (certified by Synocate, a leader in college prep). In these sessions, students can spend an hour (or more) diving deep into high school course recommendations, the college application process, career paths, and more, all with experienced, passionate, tech-savvy iD Tech instructors who have gone through it themselves and are eager to share their knowledge.

More about iD Tech
Exclusive to Westchester NY Moms readers, receive $75 off when you register with code WNYMOMS18 before 5/31/18!
 
Why iD Tech?
iD Tech has been the #1 summer STEM program for 20 years, with 350,000 students passing through their programs.
 
Students ages 7-18 learn to code, design video games, produce videos, mod Minecraft, create with Roblox, engineer robots, model and print 3D characters, work with AI and machine learning, build laptops, learn about cybersecurity, and more!
 
Programs are held at 150+ locations nationwide, with many convenient to Westchester residents, including Manhattanville, Sarah Lawrence, and Fairfield University, and others nearby at NYU, Columbia, NYIT, Marymount Manhattan, and SUNY New Paltz.
 
iD Tech students often go on to launch startups, found nonprofits, and land dream internships and jobs at companies like Facebook and Google. Get inspired by these awesome success stories.
 
Different program options include iD Tech Camps (weeklong, co-ed, 7-17), Alexa Café (weeklong, all-girls, 10-15), and iD Tech Academies (2-week, teen-only, 13-18).
 
Courses sell out quickly, so get started today. Visit the iD Tech website or call (888) 709-8324 for personalized course recommendations.​

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One River School of Art + Design will be opening two new locations in early 2018 in Larchmont and Hartsdale, NY.  The company, which was founded in 2012 in Englewood, NJ, is “transforming art education” across America and they anticipate 15 schools across the United States by the end of 2018.
 
“We already have over 1,000 people who have reached out for information on our program in Westchester County.  I have long believed that we need to bring fun and really compelling art education to suburbia and I am proud to say that One River is fulfilling this need through our proprietary method of teaching art and design.   People of all ages need to tap into their creative spirit and we’re providing them a place to do so” says Matt Ross, Founder and CEO of One River School. 

Classes are taught by working artists and art educators who help each student tap into their creative side through fun projects inspired by contemporary artists and current concepts. The program is built around a flexible membership model that allows for students to start at any time with no long-term commitment. Additionally, all materials and equipment are provided. With a diverse schedule of classes, summer camps and events, One River provides Westchester residents with exciting opportunities across studio art, digital art, design, photography and filmmaking.   The schools feature:

• State-of-the-art facilities featuring three art studios, a digital lab and photography suite and a gallery space for contemporary art exhibitions
• Classes offered in the mornings, evenings and weekends for all ages and skill levels: Art Shuffle™, Art Focus™ and Digital Art Shuffle™, which are among some of their most popular programs available
• Over 70 unique weekly summer camps offered for kids and teens, across street art, drawing, portfolio development, cartooning, animation, filmmaking and more

​The Larchmont location will be hosting its Grand Opening events in late January - featuring free class workshops, school tours, discounts and opportunities to meet the Founder, school staff and instructors. Grand Opening dates and times as well as enrollment for classes can be found at Larchmont.OneRiverSchool.com. The Hartsdale school will follow in March at 112 S. Central Ave in Hartsdale, NY.

For more information about One River School of Art + Design and to enroll in classes, visit OneRiverSchool.com. For more information about available franchise opportunities, visit www.oneriverschool.com/franchise.

ABOUT ONE RIVER SCHOOL OF ART + DESIGN
 Founded by Matt Ross in September of 2012 “one river” west of New York City, One River School of Art + Design has embarked on a mission to transform art education in America.  In a short window of time our innovative program in Englewood, NJ has taught thousands of students and established “a new direction in art education.”  
 
One River School has developed a proprietary method for teaching a wide variety of art and digital programs to students of all ages in a state of the art facility. Our process allows students to have more fun, make inspiring artwork, develop new friendships and grow their art making skills along the way.
​
We also present exhibitions from emerging artists who are making work that we believe to be current, relevant and potentially important. 
 
One River has developed an innovative franchise partner program that is seeking talented, motivated business professional to join our mission coast to coast.

As the workplace has evolved, the skills kids need to succeed have changed as well. It’s no longer enough for students to just learn about science, technology, engineering and math—they must also have the ability to think creatively and adapt their thinking to a fast-changing world.

Today, educators talk about STEAM education, which includes teaching children about Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. At Whitby School, however, we believe that education needs to go beyond STEAM to truly prepare students to succeed in the 21st century.

Originally known as “STEM,” this educational acronym sprang into wide usage around 2010, when President Obama prioritized educational initiatives designed to help educate a rising class of students to meet the increasing need for professionals in the sciences and mathematics fields.
The concept of STEAM arose in 2012 when the Rhode Island School of Design began championing “innovation that comes with combining the mind of a scientist or technologist with that of an artist or designer.”

STEM by itself is extremely powerful. Its scale is amazing. But that alone doesn’t create warmth and humanity and connection. For instance, a thing like an MP3 Player is a STEM technology. But until Apple came along, it didn’t become desirable. It was a STEAM technology that made it a part of our everyday lives.
- John Maeda, President, Rhode Island School of Design

Today schools talk about the importance of STEAM in helping prepare students to be the innovators and entrepreneurs of the future—but we argue that it’s not enough.

At Whitby, we believe that it’s important to prepare students to thrive in the real world. We want to help students become lifelong learners, critical thinkers, action-takers and global citizens. To do that, we believe that education must be broad, balanced and relevant to a student’s life.
​
At Whitby, STEAM is not a new idea. The IB program emphasizes teaching students to become knowledgeable across a range of disciplines. And the Montessori education has long taught the value of art in helping students learn to think in creative ways.

Yet we also believe STEAM is not enough—especially since it doesn’t include critical subjects such as English and the humanities. Nor do schools teaching STEAM always tie those subjects together in a way that helps students amplify their knowledge by understanding how it applies to the real world.

Instead of approaching STEAM areas as separate subjects, we believe it’s important for students to discover how different disciplines interweave in the real world. For example, instead of just exploring the science of weather, we want students to learn how data is collected, practice interpreting the data and discover how to make weather predictions based on actual data. Those exercises turn a science unit into something that is bigger than data collection.
​
As another example, we also look for opportunities to bring subjects together. Two years ago, we had a farmer come in as a guest speaker during a plant science unit. He talked about how understanding plant science helped him make the right decisions as a small business owner. It was a chance for students to see how the ideas from their economics and plant science units came together in the running of a farm.

By using this transdisciplinary approach, our educators mimic the experience of being in the real world. When students engage in different disciplines simultaneously, they learn to look at issues from a variety of different perspectives. This approach prepares students for the true challenges of our increasingly complex world.

Our focus on interconnectedness between subject areas begins in Whitby's private elementary school. During the six different units of inquiry, Lower School students create opportunities for students to make meaningful connections between science, social studies, language, mathematics, PE and the arts.

In our private middle school, educators come together as grade level teams in a Teacher Work Week every fall and continue these conversations throughout the year. Every Upper School subject shares their Year in a Glance curriculum and then the teachers brainstorm ideas for interdisciplinary learning opportunities.

Recently our Lower School students had a unit of inquiry focused on how cultures use performance and light to tell stories. To help students learn, their teacher collaborated with our physical education teacher to challenge students to tell a story through creating a dance. Students not only learned storytelling, they discovered how to use light and movement to create patterns and how to use their bodies to create a desired visual effect. Learn more about this project on the IBO blog.

Our sixth grade students completed a unit on sound that connected both science and music. Instead of just learning about sound conceptually, students were challenged to create and play their own instruments. This hands-on experiment helped them learn how sound is made and how an instrument’s shape can change the pitch of a sound. At the end of the unit, they presented their instruments to the class and explained the choices they made to create their desired sound.
​

​In eighth grade, we use a transdisciplinary unit to help prepare students for the secondary school admissions process. Instead of just Whitby counsellors teaching students to how to do admissions interviews, a team of teachers helped students understand what it takes to interview well. In English class, students studied the power of the spoken word by discussing famous speeches and podcasts. Meanwhile in their theatre class, eighth graders learned how to hold their body and use their voices confidently. Then students bring it all together by creating a podcast where they practice speaking their beliefs. As a result, when students head off to their interviews, they feel confident that they’ll be able to do a good job.

The recent push to have students learn about art in addition to technical subjects is a step in the right direction—but it’s not enough. Students not only need to learn creativity, they need to learn how everything they study is connected. After all, no one subject exists in a vacuum in the real world.

For true 21st century learning, it’s important for educators to teach students to hold multiple ideas and perspective at once, and encourage students to develop knowledge and understanding about real life issues through a variety of lenses.

To learn more about how Whitby prepares students for the future by helping them build bridges from one subject area to another, schedule a tour of our International Baccalaureate and Montessori school.

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Today’s best STEM summer camps teach science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in a fun and engaging way. Kids and teens can learn foundational STEM skills while meeting new friends and building self-confidence.

Trying to decide which summer camps are best for your child? Here are some of the benefits your child can gain from a STEM summer camp:

1. Avoid Summer Brain Drain
Summer brain drain, the term that’s used to describe the fact that many students lose as much as two to three months of math and reading skills each summer, is real. And while certain students are more likely to suffer from brain drain than others, all kids can be impacted by the phenomenon.

STEM summer camps help combat brain drain by keeping students interested and engaged in a variety of topics. Skills like problem-solving, creativity, and if-then thinking encourage kids and teens to think through complex problems and come up with logical solutions. When parents make simple changes like incorporating STEM camps into their summer plans, kids are less likely to suffer from brain drain, and they learn many new skills and ideas.

2. Learn Important New Skills
Speaking of new skills, kids and teens can learn a lot from attending academic camps. In the case of technology, most K-12 schools still don’t adequately teach computer science and other related technology fields. Without the help of summer and afterschool programs, where will kids learn the important tech skills needed to give them an edge in school, college, and future careers?

STEM subjects require students to have a good grasp of foundational concepts that can make them better at many subjects, STEM or otherwise.

3. Prepare for Our Ever-Changing Future
Studies predict that there will be one million unfilled STEM jobs by the year 2020. By unfilled, they mean that there will be numerous job openings, but not enough qualified individuals to adequately fill them. Now that we know there is a huge occupational gap that needs to be filled, it’s time to start equipping our kids with the skills they need to thrive in our ever-changing world.

People are already talking about how robots could assume many of the roles people work in today. And with the advent of 3D printing and other emerging technologies, it’s hard to imagine what new innovations our world will think up in the next 5-10 years. Attending summer STEM camps helps ensure that your child will be interested and knowledgeable about STEM topics, which can make them more likely to pursue a STEM career in the future.


4. Get Inspired
Summers always seem to fly by, but they still have the power to make a lifelong impact. Everyone remembers summers spent at camp or with relatives or traveling to a different state. So while a summer STEM camp might only last a week or two, it can make a lasting impact on your child. It can help kids get excited about STEM, find a lifelong passion, discover new interests, meet inspiring mentors, and so much more. Studies show that kids who are interested in STEM from an early age are more likely to pursue these subjects later in life.

5. A promotional discount from iD Tech
Although there are many technology summer programs to choose from these days, iD Tech continues to stand out as the nation’s premiere program. One of the key factors in choosing the right camp is convenience. iD Tech has locations at Manhattanville College (with overnight stays available for ages 10 and up) and Sarah Lawrence College (day camp only). You can save $75 on a week of camp with the promo code WNYMOMS (code valid through April 30, 2017).

Plus, iD Tech is the only camp to guarantee its low 8:1 student-to-instructor ratio, even if it means flying a talented instructor across the country to ensure your child receives the personalized instruction they deserve. Factor in the company’s year-round online learning platform, Tech Rocket, and professional tutors, and it’s easy to see why so many parents love iD Tech.

More than 275,000 students have attended iD Tech since 1999. Some alumni go on to work at Google, Apple, or Facebook. Others start their own game studios, launch startups, or found nonprofits. But all have become tech savvy, and the doors of possibility have swung wide open. According to iD Tech students, the fun camp culture, next-level instructors, and innovative curriculum make iD Tech the best camp ever.

Typically, parents do not seemingly realize when certain ADHD symptoms are present in their child or adolescent. How can that be? We often see what we want to see, because to see the child or adolescent’s negative or inappropriate behavior is often too difficult to accept, nonetheless manage.

There has been so much talk lately about the overdiagnosis of ADHD. The fact that a child has a diagnosis or does not have a diagnosis does not matter to me. Instead, I look for persistent symptoms that interfere with (or as the new DSM states, impacts) the life of a child or adolescent with ADHD.

The operational word here is persistent. I am not talking about behaviors that the child exhibits once in a while, but rather, those that occur consistently over time. Some of the behaviors that parents should notice, as I state in my book, ADHD and Social Skills: A Step-by-Step-Guide for Teachers and Parents,  are the following, as adapted from the Conners Rating Scale:

• Restless in the “squirmy” sense
• Excitable, impulsive
• Fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or other activities
• Is an emotional child
• Restless or overactive
• Does not appear to listen to what is being said to him/her
• Leaves seat in classroom or in other situations in which remaining seated is expected
• Inattentive, easily distracted
• Has difficulty waiting his turn
• Does not know how to make friends
• Fidgeting
• Disturbs other children
• Talks excessively
• Runs about in situations where it is inappropriate
• Has poor social skills
• Fidgets with hands or feet
• Demands must be met immediately—easily frustrated
• Blurts out answers to questions before the questions have been completed
• Interrupts or intrudes on others
• Easily distracted by extraneous stimuli
• Restless, always up and on the go

​If you have noticed any of these behaviors, please feel free to send me your questions about how to manage those behaviors.

Dr. Esta Rapoport is experienced in working with children with ADHD and other similar special needs and their parents. She has a B.A. from N.Y.U.an M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University, and an Ed.D from Boston University. Her book, ADHD and Social Skills: A Step-by-Step-Guide for Teachers and Parents has been endorsed by elite professionals in the field. 

Her social skills training includes interventions to help children with ADHD and similar special needs to learn how to develop positive social skills so that they can make friends and succeed in school and in life. She also helps these children to improve their executive function, in terms of learning how to organize their lives both at home and at school so that they can reach their educational and personal goals with less stress. 

Contact her to schedule an appointment in Westchester County NY or to answer any questions at 914-629-4225 or [email protected].