Homework Help Today – A Tutoring Blog for Students and Tutors Where Students and Tutors can help each other out!

Homework help can be a daunting experience, especially for those parents that have been out of school for years. Use these tips to make the process easier while helping your child to understand the concepts that have been taught that day at school.

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.

Posted under Parents and Children, Tutoring

A few people have been bugging me lately by mistreating the English language, and I thought I might get my frustration out and clear the air about a few myths at the same time.  The following are a few phrases and oft-used words which shouldn’t be so oft-used at all.

1.  The saying is “for all intents and purposes,” NOT “for all intensive purposes.” You can check out Wiki Answers on this if you don’t believe me, but it’s an old legal saying from English law.  It is used to compare two different acts, such as “He just asked me to sign the divorce papers, which for all intents and purposes means our marriage will soon be over.”  You can think of it as “for all practical purposes” or “in effect.”

2. Irregardless is a word.  That’s right, I said it – according to the Merriam Websiter online dictionary, irregardless is a word, just not a very good one.  A nonstandard form of the more proper “regardless,” “irregardless” originated in the early 1900s and is still popular today.  Most people will correct you if use it in a sentence because it is basically a synonym of “regardless,” which is the preferred spelling.

3. You do well; Superman does good.  When someone asks you, “How are you doing?” don’t answer them with “I’m doing good,” instead say “I’m doing well.”  Unless, of course, you happen to be foiling a bank heist when they ask you.  The difference is you (as a person) can do something well, but things (inanimate objects) are good.  The notable exception is Superman, who “does good,” meaning he is performing acts of goodwill.

In case you’re looking for more assistance with your grammar, or just anything else related to English language studies, check out some of our many online English tutors over at Tutormatch.com.  Or visit TutorMatch to find a tutor locally near you for private tutoring sessions.

Posted under English and Grammar, Reading

As a 6th grade math teacher in a private school, I often discovered that my classes were a general blend of different public and private schools that either taught traditional Math or adopted newer and alternative forms of math instruction.  I found that the students with the alternative instruction came to 6th grade with a weak set of multiplication and division skills using big numbers and decimals.  I often watched the pain and anguish develop in the faces of these generally good math students because they were behind the rest of the class.  So, what can a parent or teacher do in this case?  Start reviewing early and often!

The first thing to test is your child’s ability to do standard multiplication and not the ladder method. This is fine with small numbers, but once they get to 3 digits and decimals, it becomes nothing but a pain and often a source of errors.  I usually had 2-3 students in each class using the ladder method.  I worked with them during extra help or before school, retraining their multiplication and wouldn’t you believe … they found it much easier to do the traditional vertical multiplication method!  What you can do at home is each night give your child a few problems to do using traditional method. They will be confused at first and might forget, but after a few days they should catch on.  Don’t overwhelm them with a ton of problems; 2-3 each night is fine.

The next thing I suggest is to review their long division skills.  Some students came to 6th grade only knowing how to do “partial sums” which again is fine with small whole numbers, but once you get into decimal division, it doesn’t work as well and creates confusion.  So first, review long division (or teach it depending on the case) and then review decimal division.  Most 5th grade math curriculum covers both long and decimal division so it should not be a foreign concept to a 6th grader.  Each night, give your child 2-3 decimal or long division problems.  Don’t overwhelm or overload.

Parents, if you don’t feel confident about making up your own problems, contact the teacher and ask if he or she can send your child home with a worksheet or if they can recommend a website with problems and examples.  Two very good websites with worksheets are edHelper.com (which is a paid subscription) and Math.com which is free.  And teachers, send your students home with worksheets to do at their own pace.  It may seem like a lot at the beginning of the year, but retraining math skills only makes learning new ones easier.

About our Guest Blogger and Author:
Mrs. Hilary M. is a Math Tutor and Teacher from Princeton, NJ who offers her professional math tutoring services on TutorMatch.com.  She also blogs at Mrs. Mo’s New Jersey, Baby! and HCM Tutoring.

Posted under Math Tutoring, Parents and Children, Tutoring

If you’re interested in blogging as a guest blogger, please just drop us a line at support@tutormatch.com.  Since we’re just starting out we’re open to just about any suggestions related to homework help, tutoring, or teaching issues.  In exchange you can write about whatever you would like, and link back to your blog or service as well!

Posted under News

I just found this interesting educational video on Youtube which explains what seasons are, and why we have them.  The video goes into some pretty good detail talking about the effect of the sun as the earth rotates, as well as more advanced subjects such as equinoxes and solstices:

Educational videos like this one are certainly good for some homework help, but if you are really struggling in Geography you should probably consider hiring a professional Geography Tutor.  Whether you work with one online or find a tutor located near you who can provide in-person tutoring, you’ll find learning is a lot easier when you have someone helping you.

Posted under Geography Tutor

Hi, my name is Diane Palumbo, and I am the new owner of the Homework Help Today blog.  I wanted to just write a quick note and say hello to everyone stopping by.  In the coming months I plan to manage this blog about everything related to my professional field, which is tutoring and teaching.  I’ve been working in the tutoring and professional mentoring field for about 10 years now, and have gained quite a bit of experience, so hopefully I can impart some of that to you!

This blog has basically 2 audiences: there are tips for people who want to become or already tutors, and there will be some tips for people looking for tutors.

In the interest of full disclosure; I will explain that I do work for TutorMatch.com, the premiere Tutoring and Homework Help website for Tutors.  If you’re interested in becoming a tutor, or if you want to find one near you or online, then TutorMatch is the place you want to go!

Posted under Tutoring