8 Ways To Focus Your Child On Learning…Starting Right Now

1. Dress for Success

As tempting as it may be in the homeschool setting to roll out of bed, pour a bowl of cereal, and begin instruction in your bathrobe, it is important that you dress for success. Your children need to know the importance of the education they are receiving. There is no quicker way to give your at-home classroom an aura of respect, than by dressing the part. Clothing does not have to be formal, but it can’t be sloppy either. Similarly, your students should get ready for school in the morning by grooming and dressing appropriately to set the tone for the days work. Expectation is one of the greatest factors in student learning, and your dress reflects your expectations.

2. Eliminate Distractions

Learning time should be focused and efficient. It is important, therefore, to eliminate as many distractions as possible. As a homeschool teacher it may seem impossible to get rid of all the daily interruptions that take place, from phone calls to door-to-door salesmen. However, with a little bit of effort and preplanning disruptions to your class schedule can be minimized. To begin with make sure that you choose a room in your home with no TVs or inherent noise problems. To prevent disruptions in your class, hand a sign on the front door reading, “No solicitors, homeschooling in progress.” Also make sure to turn off the phone and put any pets outdoors.

3. Schedule, Schedule, Schedule

To create an efficient use of time and space in your home, it is vital to have a daily and weekly schedule. School hours should be set and regular so that students know what to expect and are prepared to learn. While schedules are important to the educational environment, don’t let them be your only focus. Unique teaching opportunities arise all the time that should not be passed over to keep to the schedule. These are some of the greatest joys of homeschooling, being about to adapt learning to your individual students.

4. The Proper Tools

The homeschool environment needs to have the proper learning tools just like any ordinary classroom. Beyond the obvious paper and pencils, students need tools at their fingertips to encourage inquiry and problem solving. Every homeschool environment should have reference materials such as a dictionary, encyclopedia, atlas and internet. Hands-on learning tools are also important. Simple objects like dried pasta or building blocks can serve as aids to demonstrate math functions.

5. Text-Rich Environment

The homeschool classroom can always be improved with posters, letter cards, word walls, diagrams, and poems displayed for easy reference. Students are influenced by their surroundings. Giving students a text rich environment will encourage them to read and the repeated reference to these different pieces of language will encourage understanding and memory.

6. Multiple Modalities

There has been a great deal of focus on multiple intelligences in the area of education. The idea that each individual has strengths in different areas can be a very important key in presenting information in a way that individual can understand. Consider including things in the learning environment that will promote the different intelligences in your child. Include photos, graphic organizers, and illustrations for the visual learner. Have books on CD, music and chants for the auditory learner. Provide physical gestures, models, and tracing sand for those kinesthetic learners. There are ways to encourage and incorporate all of your learner’s specific intelligences into the daily lesson.

7. Rules

While you certainly have rules that your children follow in your home, you may want to create a more specific set of rules for school time. Having a set of rules that you develop with your children for their learning time is very effective. When everyone knows the rules and why they are necessary it is much easier to get compliance. Once you and your kids have decided on the rules and the consequences for following or not following the rules, take the time to write them down and post them where they can be referenced when appropriate.

8. Take a Break!

While, as adults, we may be able to push through an entire days work with few breaks, this is not ideal for children. In fact, it may be more beneficial to allow students regular movement breaks. These breaks can be part of the learning process or more of a recess. Either way, physical activity breaks refresh students and give them energy to refocus on their studies.

Megan Wiles is a successful writer for Homeschool-Guidance.com. With 7 years as an educator she hopes to lend her knowledge and practical experience to others. She provides a homeschool-guidance.com free e-course on “Maximizing Your Child’s Learning Potential” and other valuable information on her website.

Test Preparation

The first important thing to keep in mind while preparing for the test is that is not necessary to memorize and remember all the information. Good thing to be done is to analyze all information in general and fine the key words which help remember the most important things. Keywords should contain separate words which should be added with some phrases to explain and give definition of the keywords. So firstly the separate keywords should be found; then explanation phrases should be composed. Explanation phrases must not be remembered, they should be composed in your own words and express your own understanding of the key words. It is better to fix the key words and your own explanations as the notes. Such notes can easily and quickly refresh your memory just before the test begins. They will serve as a summary or an outline for the whole information.

Sometimes tests require not only knowledge and understanding of the whole information; they can also require presenting the details regarding definite pieces of information. In this case summary notes and outlines would not be so helpful. However, it would not be possible to memorize and remember all the details. Here the choice of questions to be answered is the best way to pass the test. Making the choice of definite questions can be based on their weight analysis. You can weigh the questions importance by yourself or you can ask your teacher which questions would give the greater importance on the test results. Focus on remembering the details of the questions with the greatest weight and leave the less important questions for the time left. While answering the questions during the test find these most important questions and give answers to all of them. Then, return to the questions left and give answers to them. Even if you do not have enough time for answering the rest less important questions you can still pass the test by gaining the limit needed for the grade by more important answers.

Whatever test should be done one general thing is to be remembered: you should practice a lot. If you want to succeed in test you must have good memory and time management skills. Memory development and time management skills can be provided best with practice. Find as many sample tests as possible to understand how much time you would really need and what gaps in knowledge you have. Finish each test practice with analyzing your weak and strong points, fix them in written form and keep these notes near you while doing the next test practice.

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Education Agency or Direct Enrollment? A Guide for International Students

If you have a school in mind you can look on their website and contact them to find out how to enroll. Some students don’t feel confident enough with their language ability to do this so prefer to have the assistance of a local who can speak their language.

You need to know that the registrar at the school is willing to take the time to give you information and answer your questions?

While some schools are happy to accept direct enrollments some are likely to direct you to an agent in your country to handle your enrollment anyway.

Price. Won’t an education consultant cost more?

These days with the internet giving students direct access to information on thousands of schools around the world it may seem that it would make sense to go ‘direct’ to the supplier (the school) and cut out the middleman (the agent) to ensure the best price.

Some schools now have information in a variety of languages on their websites and employ foreign language speaking staff and so booking directly with them would seem to be a good idea for students that are prepared to do their own research.

However just like in the travel industry (airlines and hotels) it is unlikely that you will end up saving much money by booking directly with the supplier (the school) and you may end up creating unnecessary stress for yourself.

Agents have contracts to represent schools and receive a commission from a school for enrolling a student with them. Most schools appreciate that a large percentage of their enrollments come through agents and they won’t do anything to jeopardize their reputation with education agents. The commission is set aside for education agents only and if any school were to start giving discounts for direct enrollments they would quickly have a bad name among agents.

One problem for schools is students talking among one another. If some students find out that they have paid more than others then resentment of school management is stirred up, instead of the positive environment that schools need to create to keep students happy.

So generally it is in the interests of the agent and the school that direct enrollments are priced the same as agency enrollments.

Most schools prefer that agents don’t offer students discounts (sharing their commission with the student) however some agencies do this, sometimes giving some of their commission back to students in the form of refunds, discounts, free gifts or scholarships. So booking through some agents could be cheaper then booking direct.

It is likely that you will end up paying a similar amount in tuition fees if you enroll through an agent or if you enroll with the school directly. If seasonal discounts and promotions are offered to students booking directly then they are usually offered to agents as well.

If you have a school in mind it doesn’t hurt to make inquiries and to compare the price of both options. If the program price is similar if booked through an agency or direct through the school you may as well use the agent for the convenience and service that they offer. If the agent is charging excessive consulting fees then you may consider trying to book directly yourself.

Information

The big advantage of using an education agent in your own country is that you can meet with them face to face. You can get a much better understanding of the school and your intended course of study by having a meeting with an expert. Agents have usually had meetings with school representatives, have a lot of school information on file and may even have visited the schools that they represent. An agents business is consulting and they should be spend a fair amount of time to give you information not only on the school but every other aspect of planning your trip as well.

Agents have information on many institutions, courses of study and countries around the world. An agent could save you countless hours of research time on the internet by suggesting options suited to your requirements.

If you have a school in mind then the registrar will probably be happy to advise you over the phone and via email but the communication may not be as clear as with a ‘face to face’ meeting with an agent.

It is becoming more common for students to seek information from an agent and then try to enroll themselves directly into the institution that the agent recommended. Some agents now charge a deposit before they will start the consulting process. Schools will often still honor the agents commission if they find out that a direct enrollment has come to their school as a result of an agent consulting that student.

Visas and travel arrangements

Education agents will usually apply for your student visa for you. They will also usually assist with other aspects of planning your trip such as booking flights and giving you useful information on traveling and your destination.

Schools are not able to give you much assistance with your visa application (apart from providing some of the necessary documents) and travel arrangements. It’s much easier for the agent to handle these things in your home country before departure.

Getting a student visa in some countries is quite simple and it will be easy to do your own application. However in some countries it is a difficult process and you really need the assistance and expertise that an agent can offer.

In Conclusion

Overall I would suggest that for most students using an Education Agency is a better option then booking direct for the convenience that agencies offer students at usually little or no extra cost.

Good luck planning your ‘Study Abroad’ experience!

Steve Sutherland has been an education agent in Taiwan for four years and manages a ‘Study Abroad’ forum called agentschat.com agentschat.com for International Students, Education Agents and Schools.

Copyright – Steve Sutherland 2006

Unschooling – What Is It

Unschooling is a method of learning that is not set in stone. In fact, it tends to mean different things to different people. It is the preferred teaching method of a great number of homeschooling families.

Unschooling is natural learning, which is based for the most part on day-to-day life experiences. It is not based on the traditional curriculum choices and teaching methods utilized by the public school system. Little emphasis is placed on things such as textbooks, quizzes, and scheduled subjects or class times.

When you think back to your school days, what do you remember? Were you stimulated by what you were learning? Were you bored with what was being taught? Was learning fun?

It stands to reason that most children (and adults, for that matter) learn at a faster pace and retain more information, when subjects are presented in an enjoyable manner. Simply stated, learning should be fun!

Unschooling is not an exact science, which makes it very appealing to many parents who decide to teach their children at home. It is also appealing to children who are given the opportunity to learn about things that aren’t offered in the local classroom.

Suppose you have an eight year old who has expressed an interest in learning Japanese or astronomy or genealogy. Chances are slim that these interests would be addressed in a conventional school setting.

Even though unschooling has few rules and many definitions, there have been several wonderful books written on this method of home teaching. If you are new to the concept of unschooling, take the time to do some reading. You’ll no doubt be surprised at the wealth of information that is available.

Join a local homeschool group and online discussion forums. You will come in contact with many homeschooling families who successfully utilize unschooling methods. These folks will answer your questions and steer you in the right direction, if you are just starting out. They can recommend things like books, online resources and teaching materials.

Remember, unschooling is the natural way to teach your children. Make learning fun. You’ll be amazed at the way they progress and how much your children will learn!

—–

Mrs. Kirk Thomas is a homeschool mom and advocate of homeschooling. She has additional resources available on her website everythinghomeschool.info everythinghomeschool.info. She also maintains the following sites: diaper-coupon.com diaper-coupon.com and breastfeedingsource.info breastfeedingsource.info

5 Secret Tools From Google to Help You With Your Assignments

During the old days, writing an essay or completing an assignment means visiting a library. In the new age, with the creation of Internet, a successful research can be done by just about anyone with an access to the network.

This article will show you how to use 5 powerful Google Tools to make writing an assignment a breeze.

Google Scholar This is a little known Google tool. Created for the research community in mind, you are just a click away from medical journals, scientific papers and expert opinions on matters ranging from medicine to academic reports.

Although some research papers or journals may need payment or special access, most sites have an abstract or journal summary to help you with your work. In fact, this could be a blessing since many scientific journals are undecipherable. Reading a summary saves you time and a lot of unnecessary headache.

Why do we point out this tool first? The reason is simple. A reference to a scientific journal is a sure way to gain credibility and trust.

Google News To get the current news on your topic, head on to this part of Google. It gathers the latest information from sites all over the world and is so current, the news heading changes every few minutes.

The good thing about the Google News is it has a search feature, allowing you to seek any news item related to your topic. If your deadline is a few weeks away, you may want to subscribe to the Google Alert. This free service will email you news items related to the keyword you specify.

For example, if you’re doing a research on ozone depletion, you would want to set the alert on the keyword” ozone” and wait an email from the Google team for any development or news related to the term. You don’t have to look for information because with Google News, it comes to you.

Google Books If you hate web pages that churn out useless information, why not look for information in books? This way your research will be fairly balanced and it will seemed as if you’ve gone to your library to complete your assignment.

With Google Books, you have access to millions of books made available by publishers all over the world. In scanned forms, some books are available in its entirety while others offer just a few pages of the books gist.

Yes, it may sound as if you are doing research from scraps but some books offers many pages, enough for filling up bits of pieces of information you may need to complete your assignment.

If too much of your reference are web pages, you know it’s time to head on to Google Books. It’ll save your research paper from being thrashed by your teacher or lecturer.

Google Answers Ask, and you shall receive, advised the Bible. Well, when it comes to the Internet, if you can’t find your information, just ask. Most likely you will receive the information you need.

With Google Answers, real human beings will answer your questions. Some are ordinary folks like you and me while others may be an expert on specific niche.

A paid service, you may want to save your hard earned cash by looking for answered questions first. If you’ve exhausted all options, this could be your savior.

Google Notebook This nifty little tool is another Google tool not known by many. If you’re doing an online research, you know how painful it is to find one piece of information from pages you have saved from the Internet.

Google Notebook will make things much easier for you by making sure you only save the particular section or paragraph that is related to your search. Better than that, it can also store pictures and save the site URL automatically. This way you will know where you get the information and will make things easy when you’re compiling your reference list.

While this may not sound like much, you’ll be surprised at how much time it saves you and how more efficient your information gathering will be with Google Notebook. Once you used it, you’ll stick with it the next time you’re doing your assignment, guaranteed.

These 5 tools created by Google are really useful for those who are doing an online research. Next time you get an assignment, just remember these key tools – Google Scholar, Answers, News, Notebook and Google Books. Enjoy the tips and happy researching!

Note: You can find all the tools online via google.com/intl/en/options/” target=”_blank google.com/intl/en/options/

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Certificates Offered at Traditional Schools

Often times, you will find that traditional schools and colleges offer certificate programs in a vast variety of fields. With the phenomenal growth of education and technology, certificate programs are fast becoming a vital resource to not just students and educators, but to professionals and employers as well.

At a university or college, students may enroll in certificate programs that extend continuing education units, as well as transferable credits that may be used toward a myriad of degree programs. In addition, businesses and other organizations are beginning to incorporate certificate programs into their extended employee training as well.

Hundreds of universities currently offer certificate programs that cover virtually every discipline. While some certificate programs are exclusive to business fields, many others are offered in arts; communications; education; engineering technology; health sciences (medical coding, billing, health information technology, etc.); information science (computer programming; CAD, etc.); law (legal assisting, etc.); and even humanities.

With such a diverse range of prospective educational opportunities, certificate programs exist to support graduate students and other professionals in maintaining or enhancing their career levels. Additionally, there are many trade-specific certificate programs that offer advantages to individuals seeking gainful employment.

If you are interested in enhancing your education, apply to a college or university for your choice of schoolsgalore.com/categories/2/certificate.html Certificate Programs today!

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERAL OVERVIEW and may or may not reflect specific practices, courses and/or services associated with ANY ONE particular school(s) that is or is not advertised on our website.

Copyright 2006 – All Rights Reserved
Michael Bustamante, in association with Media Positive Communications, Inc.

Notice to Publishers: Please feel free to use this article in your Ezine or on your Website; however, ALL links must remain intact and active.

Michael Bustamante is a staff writer for Media Positive Communications, Inc. Find out more about schoolsgalore.com/categories/3/certificates_vocational_schools.html Certificate Programs and schoolsgalore.com/categories/4/certificates_online.html Online Certificates at SchoolsGalore.com; meeting your needs as your educational resource to locate schools.

Online MBA’s – The Benefits of Flexibility and Convenience

If you’ve been working for some time, you might have noticed that having education is an advantage in the workplace. Whether you’re competing with your fellow co-workers, or wanting to get ahead in the game, the need for education increases. With the advent of the internet, getting a jolt of new knowledge has never been easier.

Now, you have the option to get an online MBA. If you’re thinking about getting a master of business administration degree, the internet has a variety of choices for you. Whether you want to become a general manager or even a management consultant, the choice is up to you.

Here are two of the most popular reasons for the popularity of getting an MBA online:

*Increased convenience
*Increased flexibility

While there are many benefits, convenience is at the top of the list. As a student, you get to study from the convenience of your home. You also have the convenience of working at your own pace. You don’t have to race to write down notes as the teacher speaks.

With the flexibility of getting your MBA online, you also get to pick the time you wish to learn. When I was in college, my Tuesday started off at 9 am and my second class started at 7 pm. Since I lived an hour away, I had no choice but to study and wait for my next class. With flexible online education, you don’t have to go through this frustration that I once had.

If you’re currently employed, have a family, or both, you’ll find that online education will easily fit your schedule. After you get out of work, you could go home, have dinner, and study in a relaxed home environment. You don’t have to rush off to take notes for you next ‘lecture’. The convenience and flexibility of getting your MBA online will allow you to balance your life.

Eric Chan provides online learning information through his website: onlinemba.justinformed.com. onlinemba.justinformed.com. Learn how you can get an onlinemba.justinformed.com/ online MBA and easily juggle your career and family.