As the school year comes to a close, many parents are faced with the realization that their child has not mastered this year's educational skills and goals. Some are faced with the option of either socially promoting the child despite the fact that they have not learned the needed material to be successful in the coming year or grade retention and having the child repeat this school year.

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NC State Board of Education has adopted Student Accountability Standards. Their website lists questions parents should ask themselves, teachers, principals and counselors throughout the school year to assist in monitoring the child's progress during the school year. Getting involved early will help the parent be able to find the help a child needs to become a successful life learner.

SpellQuizzer is a great program to use for spelling practice. The parent can record the spelling words for the week into the computer and allow the child to then practice on their own. Students really enjoy using this program to practice spelling words as it makes learning them fun. Be creative and use a funny voice as you record the words. Ask your child's tutor or teacher for other creative ways to practice spelling words.

As reported by WRAL, Andy Hoang and Erik Salgado, who are fifth-graders at Salem Elementary School in Cary, NC, won the national Scrabble tournament. Way to go Andy and Erik!

This is the time of year when students around the country are taking the annual end-of-grade test. More and more "stuff" is now riding on those test scores. School ranking, school funding, teacher raises or jobs, and so much more. Our kids are feeling the pressure to succeed--to score high--from school administrators, teachers and parents. Parents are feeling stressed as well hoping that their children will score high or at least as high as Billy and Jane who live next door.

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Does your child skip words or lines while reading? Complain of frequent headaches? Rub their eyes a lot? Is your child reading below his grade level? Struggling to succeed in school?

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Spring is here and many children suffer from seasonal allergies. Unfortunately, many children suffer with allergies year round from contact with a variety of allergens...pets, food, dust, pollens, cleaning supplies or other chemicals, etc...which affect their ability to learn

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Kids take in information, store this information in the appropriate areas of the brain and retrieve the learned information much easier when whole body, multi-sensory techniques have been used. When learning math facts, spelling words, vocabulary terms, history facts and science formulas, encourage your child to get their hands and feet involved in the learning process. Give them a small trampoline, jump rope, do jumping jacks or just have them jump up and down while they memorize their work. It makes learning fun and will make those facts stick a lot faster.

http://www.wildtales.org is a new blog established for the public to post and seek answers to questions about wildlife and rehabilitation efforts directed by certified provider Kim Ashby.

Creative Tutors seeks PTA associations to invite Kim Ashby to deliver local assembly programs to their elementary school students, free of charge! It is Kim's personal passion to educate children about wildlife rehabilitation. She welcomes classrooms to post questions for her to answer. Follow Kim's Tweeker at kimwildtales and keep updated with the care of the wild animals she is rehabilitating. Also follow Kim on Twitter at Creative Tutors kimCTwakeconc.

If you are interested in contacting Kim about her assembly program please email her:
kima@creartivetutors.com or call her cell number: 919-656-3878!

She will be booking events with local Wake County Schools.

Last week I received a phone call from a client whom we had worked with several years ago. Her two children tutored with Eric (science) and Marc (math) in 2002. The client recalled our tutors names! I recalled her voice instantly and when she told me her name I knew exactly who she was. It was great to hear about her children and their success in school since the tutoring had ended. It is my personal mission to help children reach their potential and ability levels and it was clear that these children were doing just that and that their mother was proud of their accomplishments.

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This is an interesting article on literacy. It is vital for people to be able to read in order to get through every day activities. As parents and educators, we need to do all we can to ensure that our children are literate and prepared for the adult world.

This YouTube video is one of my personal favorites. It motivates me to help our students become the best learners they can become... Why? Well, children are preparing for jobs that don't exist today. College students learning about technology will be out dated before they reach the end of their 3rd year of college... technology is advancing quickly and our children and their brains are literally connecting and adapting to the quickness that technology delivers to their world. We are teachers of PreK-12th grade students and we are charged with the mission to help students become creative learners...learners that are prepared to discover how to adapt in a changing world.

Enjoy this wonderful http://tinyurl.com/5o4jva message....

The SAT question of the day is a great way to build a students SAT skill level. High School students should plan to begin the SAT question of the day several months before taking the SAT. "A slow and steady pace wins the race" and students who make use of their time a few minutes per day pays off on SAT day! This tool allows students to receive the SAT question of the day sent directly to their email address.... and guess what... the http://www.collegeboard.com website will send it to mom and dad too....sign up today!

This is a great source of support for families home educating a child with special needs.