Children today are under enormous pressure due to their incredibly busy schedules. They go to school all day, five-days a week, homework to do after school, and any extracurricular activities they choose to do. Kids are busy, and they can often feel anxious about meeting academic deadlines and absorbing the necessary knowledge to keep up their grades. Top colleges are tightening their standards, making it more difficult to gain admission and making the competition unrelenting.
The good news is you can help. There are steps you, as a parent, can take to ease your child's anxiety about school while they are in the impressionable elementary grades. Giving your student a solid foundation from which to draw when they embark on the journey of middle school and high school.  
Study Area
A great place to start is ensuring that your son or daughter has a good place to study. This should be a place that is readily available whenever it is needed. Here are some other guidelines for finding the right study space:
• It should be large enough for your student to spread out his or her study materials and still have plenty of room to write
• There should be good lighting as it is difficult to study in an area that is too dark or too bright
• Temperature can affect your student, so their study space should not be too hot or too cold
• It should have a comfortable chair
• Supplies should be readily available
• It should be free of distractions, such as younger siblings playing or the sound of the television
Homework Routine
Routines are important for children, and establishing a homework routine can help lower anxiety by giving them the comfort of knowing what to expect. Here are some tips for setting a good homework routine:
• Have a designated area for homework
• Set a specific time of day for homework
• Establish a daily homework schedule
• Start each homework session by sitting down with your child and reviewing what needs to be done
• Discuss how long each subject should take and make a plan together
Homework Help
Sometimes it is difficult to help your child with their homework, not because the subject is challenging, but because when you are emotionally invested, it is much easier to become impatient and lose your cool. Our children seem to know just what buttons to push, and that can make it very trying to sit down and help. However, it can be done. Here are some tips for helping your child with their homework:
• Focus on one thing at a time
• Praise them when they are successful
• Try not to show disappointment
• Get excited and make it fun
• For younger children, use hands-on materials whenever possible
• Help your child make connections between what he or she is learning and what he or she already knows
• Keep it fresh and allow breaks
• Encourage your child's creative thinking
• Encourage him or her to be independent
• Build your child's self-esteem
• Speak positively about the school and teacher; remember, you are the teacher's partner
Test Taking Techniques
Many of us suffer from test anxiety, and our children are no different. They are constantly being tested over the material they learn at school, but we can help them feel more confident by teaching them tried and true test taking skills. Tests are a part of school life starting in Kindergarten, so it is never too early to instill these valuable test taking tips:
• Before the test
o Use a study guide if the teacher provides one, or make your own (your child can learn a lot by helping you make a study guide)
o Make a mock test and have your child take the test
o Focus on main ideas
o Don't cram, study a little bit each day
o Remind your child to listen to the teacher and follow the written instructions on the test
o Make sure your child gets a good night's sleep
o Have your child eat a good breakfast
o Tell them to do their best, but don't add pressure by setting specific requirements
• During the test
o Read all of the directions
o Answer the questions you know first, then go back and answer the hard ones
o Once you finish the test, go back and check your answers

Life is full of challenges and school is just the beginning. Give your child the tools to succeed in life and deal with what life throws at them. School can cause a lot of worry for students, but with a little help at home, your student can gain the confidence needed to flourish in school.

Those three words can send chills down a parent's spine. Perhaps it's because we look at the total amount that it will cost us.  I found this tip the other day and wanted to forward it along.  Just like our children need to "chunk" information to learn, parents, or  your teenager, need to "chunk" the cost of college.  $5 a day for 365 days=$1,825! That's the start of a great savings account for all the extras you need while in college, like residence hall decor, pizza, gas, movies etc . . .   Now that's a great New Year's resolution !

Attentions students and parents!  Beginning with the 2011-2012 school year, semester grades for yearlong courses may be averaged in order to receive credit.  Information regarding the new policy  can be found at http://k-12.pisd.edu/Schools/pwsh/index.html or by calling Creative Tutors. This is a new policy for Plano ISD but other school districts in the metroplex have been using averaging for some time.

The PSAT is behind you--now what?  What do your scores mean?  Are you ready for the 'real thing?' When should you take your first SAT?  Should you take the SAT or the ACT?  How many times should you take  the tests?  All questions that many students and parents ask every year!  Creative Tutors Plano has been preparing students for the ACT, SAT and college for over 8 years and we  can get  help you prepare so that you, too, will be successful on the SAT and/or ACT!  Creative Tutors works with our students based on their  individual academic needs, using highly qualified SAT and ACT prep teachers.  At the same time we can answer all of your other questions regarding the tests,  college applications and those dreaded college essays.  We have a Junior and Senior calendar that we share with our parents that covers what needs to be done during those two years.  Call now to find out more!

Public Comment Period - October 17, 2011-November 7, 2011

Passed by the 82nd Texas Legislature during its 2011 Regular Session, SB 1788 requires the Texas Education Agency (TEA or Agency) to develop a model form for developing an individualized education program (IEP) for a student with a disability by December 1, 2011.   The intent of the bill was to have available to school districts a standardized form that is concise and understandable to parents and educators.  The bill sets out requirements for the information contained in the form, requires TEA to post the form on its Internet website, and authorizes a school district to use the form to comply with the requirements for an IEP under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  Under the bill, this optional model form may include only the information included in the federal model form and the information required by state laws and rules that are not required under federal law.

On September 20, 2011, the committee presented a draft of the model form to a small group of individuals who were instrumental in the passage of the bill.  The committee collected feedback on the draft model form from the meeting participants, and some of this feedback was incorporated into the current draft of the model form.  The draft model form sets out the IEP content that is required for all students with disabilities and also includes several supplemental sections that must be completed if applicable to the specific student.  TEA is now soliciting public comment from interested stakeholders throughout the state on the draft model form. The form will be posted on TEA's website from October 17 through November 7, 2011, along with a link to Survey Monkey for comments.  The link will be distributed through TEA's Special Education Updates listserv and through the 20 regional education service centers. TEA invites public comment on whether the draft model form includes the content required by the new statute and is understandable, usable, and complete.
To read SB 1788, click on the following link.
http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/80R/billtext/html/SB01788F.HTM
The Draft Model Form link is included in the link for the survey at (Public Comment Period – October 17, 2011 – November 7, 2011):  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/IEPmodelForm