September is a time of so much change. The leaves turn to autumn beauties but, more than that, for our kids it’s an even more significant time to turn over a new leaf. Every new school year feels like its own New Year’s for my kids.
They make new promises to themselves, deciding to be more organized or take time with printing, read more challenging books — whatever it is.
But it always feels…BIG.
And there’s a lot of power in that feeling if you can harness it.
So now that we’re into week three of school, your kids are probably finding their grooves and you probably have a good handle on what kind of teacher they have for the year.
Because by now, you can probably already determine — based on what has (or hasn’t) come home —how engaged their teachers are.
Fortunately, this year, my kids have two really strong teachers. We’ve had agenda entries every day, newsletters explaining what’s to come and our kids are talking to us about everything they did during their days at dinner.
For us, these are all really good signs.
Now we can plan our extra-curricular activities, something we were waiting to do until we felt confident that our kids were assigned great teachers.
Had we the slightest bit of concern, they would have been signed up for Oxford Learning to help carry them through the year. They spent a wonderful summer at Oxford Learning Bowmanville and I would have had zero issues shelling out to keep them there to ensure they didn’t lose all of the momentum they just spent two months gaining.
If you’re waiting for hockey or dance schedules before you decide if your child can benefit from a program like Oxford Learning, I’d urge you to think again. To me, that’s a bit backwards.
If you already know that your kid doesn’t have a strong teacher, or you already know that he or she could benefit from some extra help, sort out a schedule with Oxford Learning now and then bank on their flexibility once hockey practices, games and tournaments or dance classes and recitals are locked down.
Education first. Extra-curriculars second.
There’s no question that Oxford Learning Bowmanville — even in just two months of the summer program — gave my kids a big boost. Particularly in math. Neither of my kids went into the summer with what you’d call strong math skills.
So imagine my (very pleasant) surprise when we were in the mall one day the week before school started and The K Man and I were talking about allowances; I explained that when he turns 13, he’ll get $100 a month to start learning how to manage his own money. He’ll have to buy his own clothes and shoes and budget for entertainment.
He thought for a bit and asked, “How much is it to go to the movies?”
“By the time you’re 13, it’ll probably be $15,” I answered.
“So if I went to the movies, I’d have $85 left over for that month?”
It stopped me dead in my tracks.
He might have pulled off subtracting 15 from 100 on paper the last time we did math together in June, but MENTAL MATH? This was new.
So we started quizzing Miss Q on some addition and subtraction. Lo and behold, she would pause, look up into the sky and — BAM! — most of her answers were right, too.
Oxford Learning Bowmanville is responsible for that. They’ve armed my kids with some great tools that they can now take back to the classroom.
If you don’t think your kids have the right tools to navigate their school year, I can tell you with total confidence that Oxford Learning can help. If you live in the Durham or Clarington regions (near me), I can’t recommend the team in Bowmanville enough. They really “got” my kids and appreciated their quirks and distinct ways of learning.
And as a parent, that’s what I want from my kids’ educators — whether they’re in or out of the traditional classroom.
DISCLAIMER: Oxford Learning Bowmanville provided summer tutoring for my kids. All opinions and recommendations are nevertheless my own.
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