1. Provide a quiet place for the child to study and review the concepts that have been learned that day. This could be a time after dinner when the table is clear or any another designated study area within the home or the bedroom.

2. Keep track of assignments. The more you are involved in the child’s school schedule, the more the child is going to consult about it with you. Remember when assignments are due, when assignments need to be started and when any tests or quizzes occur within the classroom.

3. Help children with basic skills including math skills like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. These basic skills are required for any further math concepts to become developed throughout their academic career.

4. Use everyday situations to help your child learn math, English and scientific principals. This will ensure the child will realise the importance of the lessons that are being taught while reinforcing the information that has been covered in the classroom setting. Repetition ensures that the child will retain the information.

5. Use worksheets, computer software and educational games to further develop and practice the concepts that have been taught within the school. Using the skills learned on a daily basis will help to solidify the lesson within the child’s brain.

And finally, don’t be afraid to seek professional tutoring help if you’re in over your head or if your child is simply struggling too much.  Tutor Match has thousands of Math tutors, English tutors, and Science tutors available either in your neighborhood or offering tutoring services online.

For a while now I’ve been looking for a way for TutorMatch.com to work with a charitable organization and it seems like this one is a pretty good match, since it directly involves tutors.  I exchanged a few emails with Dan Bassill, the President of the Tutor/Mentor Connection, to discuss the possibilities of working together.

I had mentioned perhaps we could send a notice out to active tutors on TutorMatch asking if anyone was interested in volunteering their time as tutors, but he said what they need most at this time is donations, not just tutors.

According to Dan, “For there to be tutoring/mentoring in poverty areas we don’t just need tutors; we need donors who help pay the rent and other costs of making a tutor/mentor program available. This is what enables us to offer free services to our kids and families. If you can build the connection between those fortunate enough to be able to afford paid tutoring, then many of them might become the donors who also support tutoring for poor kids.”

So that got me to thinking, what if we donated a certain percentage of each TutorMatch Premium Subscription to the Tutor/Mentor Connection?  We don’t make a whole lot, but by giving back and making potential tutors aware of the donation perhaps we can increase tutor signups and help out the Tutor/Mentor Connection at the same time.  Even if we don’t, I think it’s just our resonsibility to help out community improvement programs like this one whenever we can. 

For anyone who is (or isn’t) involved with TutorMatch and would like to donate you can visit their donations page and help them out.  As they say, “if it is to be, it is up to me” … it’s up to you to make a difference!

Your child’s education is important. Use the summer months when school is out to help improve your child’s education, rather than give them a chance to fall further behind in their studies.

If your child has been struggling in school over the past year, summer is not the time to let him or her forget everything they learned. Many parents don’t capitalize on the summer months when school is out, but this is the best time to continue your child’s education with either personal, face-to-face tutoring, or an online tutor.

I would hate to suggest you curtail any kid’s highly anticipated summer vacation, so we’re not talking about summer school here. But if your child has been having a hard time in math, or english, or any subject over the past academic period, then summer is the best time to bolster their education and prepare them for the upcoming school year with a professional tutor.

There are some factors to consider when looking for the right tutor for your child:

1. Does your child have a short attention span? If so, then working with an online tutor may prove quite difficult. You might want to consider a more personal approach with a tutor located near you that can work with your child in person. Most tutors are very flexible, and will either come to your home, or meet with you and your child in the local public library.
2. Does your child have special needs? If so, you may not be able to find someone appropriately qualified close to your home. If this is the case, consider an online tutor. An online tutor can work with your child right at your home computer with you right next to them. Often online tutors will use email, chat rooms, digital whiteboards, or even voice internet phone services such as Skype, which will allow you to converse with them over your computer’s microphone without having to pay any long distance phone bills.
3. Is it difficult to schedule time for tutoring? If you’re busy, and are away from home working quite a bit, there are even some tutors who will offer themselves as babysitters. You may pay them to tutor your child for an hour or so, and then pay a decreased rate to have them babysit your child for the rest of the day.

Of course, whenever you are looking for someone to work with your children, make sure you research and interview them thoroughly.

So don’t let the summer go by without taking this opportunity to improve your child’s education. You’ll be thankful you did come September.

Tutor Match Tutoring and Homework Help, http://www.TutorMatch.com, is a free service which lets parents and students search for both online and personal, face-to-face tutors. You can find tutors for just about any subject, including (but not limited to) English and Reading, Math, Science, History, and Foreign Languages such as Spanish, French and German.

Tutor Match Tutoring and Homework Help is a free service which lets parents and students search for both online and personal, face-to-face tutors. You can find tutors for just about any subject, including (but not limited to) English and Reading, Math, Science, Social Sciences, and Foreign Languages.