Achieve Learning Centre

Letters to Kenya!

2011-11-09T06:09:00.000-08:00

Check us out! Achieve Mails Letters to Kenya

15 Signs of Dyslexia

2011-11-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

The following information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.

One out of every five children in the United States has dyslexia, a language-based learning disorder which can cause difficulties with spelling, writing, reading fluency and word recognition. Early diagnosis can be extremely helpful, so here we're sharing a rundown of the early signs of dyslexia in children.
Generally, symptoms of dyslexia include slow speech development, difficulty gauging directions, problems understanding sequences, poor reading ability, bad handwriting, poor organization abilities, and poor memory about non-relevant facts. More specifically, the following are common signs of dyslexia at various ages.

Read Full Article Here (source: Circleofmoms.com)

Back to School Tips!

2011-09-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

Visit the following link to read an article from Canadian Family full of great tips on heading back to school! Back to School Tips!

Stop Summer Learning Loss in its Tracks!

2011-06-19T16:31:00.000-07:00

Check out this great video on what summer learning loss is and how to stop it in your kids!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/8146912/ns/today-parenting/t/stanch-your-kids-summer-learning-loss/

Achieve is open all summer long with a wide range of programs and camps to help keep your child's skills sharp and retain what s/he has learned over the school year. Flexible dates and schedules, call us!

Time For A Change in Education...can you calculate a tip when dining out?

2011-04-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

When you eat out, can you calculate the 15% tip?

This opinion piece in today's Spec argues that Ontario schools are failing our students at every turn. Agree? Disagree? Would love to know.

Time for a change in education - Hamilton Spec Article April 20

BOOK REVIEW

2011-04-17T11:26:00.000-07:00

The Bully, The Bullied, and the Bystanders

by Barbara Coloroso

Lately, I have seen an increasing number of news reports on bullying. In extreme cases, sometimes these kids have been bullied to death - either picked on by their peers to the point of physical violence, or tragically taking their own lives in at attempt to escape their daily torture and fear. If you are like me, you shake your heads at these stories, almost in disbelief that these things have really happened - and are happening. And you don't know what to do about it but change the channel and try not to think about it.

Barbara Coloroso helps us to make sense of these tragedies and this pervasive trend in her #1 bestseller
The Bully, The Bullied, and the Bystander. She covers all three by suggesting strategies to empower the underdog, understand the abuser and motivate and embolden the observer. She chronicles several accounts of children, as young as 8 who have suffered immense pain as victims of bullies and the diary entries their families have made public in the days leading up to their suicides.

Most importantly, Coloroso provides parents, teachers, students and caregivers with the tools and awareness they need to break these cycles of violence. This is a very helpful book and especially important to read even if you don't think bullying is an issue that affects your children or students. You will learn how to identify the signs of bullying or being bullied which will let you take action and intervene, before it is too late.

Read more and visit the author's website at http://www.kidsareworthit.com/.

Healthy Choices, Healthy Brain - What Should Our Kids Be Eating?

2011-04-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

Article No. 1, April 2011

By: Ellen Hay Forst, Certified Nutritional Consultant (CNC)

How can we decide what our individual dietary needs are? First and foremost, we should always attempt to listen to our body. If we have forgotten how to do this, we can learn again. In the case of our dear little children, we as parents must guide and teach them about proper food choices. What we eat and drink is in direct relationship to how we feel, and, in turn, how healthy we are, since food choices can directly impact immune systems and even moods. Yet, many people will not take the time to make the changes in their lives that will allow them to reap the benefits of healthy lifestyles through better nutrition, so it helps to start again with just the basics. If we can get the building blocks of healthy eating down, the exploration and fine tuning of our diet will then become the art and adventure of nutrition.

For children ages 2 to 12, it is critical to instill good eating habits early and avoid overindulgences in refined sugars, white flours and high-fat, fried fast foods. Children need nourishing foods to provide them with all of the important nutrients for growth, both physical and mental.

Creating healthy eating patterns begins with providing children with good quality, wholesome foods. Vegetables, then fruits, are the most important food groups that offer the greatest nutritional ‘bang for the buck’. Be creative with your veggies. Most children prefer raw to cooked, so it is a good idea to have cut up vegetables in the refrigerator and offer them as a snack instead of chips, cookies or cheese. It is also very easy to add spinach, lettuce or other greens into delicious fruit smoothie blender drinks, such as in the recipe below. Encourage your children to help you make these fun smoothie drinks. Talking about the excellent nutritional qualities of fruits and vegetables and how delicious they are becomes even easier when doing a food preparation project or working together in the kitchen. In general, children need about 13 different vitamins and 15 minerals daily, and they can all be attained through a proper and varied natural diet. The trick is to incorporate as many different types of vegetables and fruits into the weekly diet as possible. Think of all the colors of the rainbow, and try to get as many colors of vegetables as you can. The brighter in color the vegetable, the more nutrients it contains.

Try to add several vegetables and fruits into your weekly eating meal plan. At every meal, have two to three different vegetables - some steamed and some raw. A great guideline from Dr. Bernard Jensen, DC, ND, Ph.D. and author of the New American Food Program, is to focus daily on eating 2 different fruits; at least 4-6 vegetables (of which at least 2 are green and leafy); 1 protein; and 1 starch; with fruit or vegetable juices (ideally freshly pressed/juiced with no added sugars) between meals. This becomes a ‘General Diet Regimen’ in our everyday living, rather than constantly thinking about or calculating daily intake of vitamins, mineral elements or calories. Get started right now by blending up this tasty smoothie. Here’s to You and Your Family’s Health!

Favorite Green Blueberry Shake

2 to 3 cups fresh organic baby spinach

1 cup frozen (or fresh) blueberries (or raspberries, blackberries, mangoes, papaya, etc.)

1 tablespoon ground flax seed AND/OR 1 tablespoon flax oil

1 cup almond milk

Optional: 1 tablespoon spirulina AND/OR 1 scoop ‘Clean Greens’ (i.e., powdered green superfoods available in health food stores)

Optional only if needed for taste: 2 dates OR a few drops of stevia OR agave syrup

Directions: Blend until creamy and enjoy! This is an excellent after school drink or a morning breakfast drink.

Healthy Eating: A Rainbow of Choices

Spring Lecture Series at Achieve - register today!

2011-04-08T05:44:00.000-07:00

DundasStarNews.com: A & E: Story: Centre presents lecture series

Need a boost? Try this song - my daughter's current favourite.

2011-03-31T07:18:00.000-07:00

Achieve Summer Camp: fun and educational

2011-03-29T18:42:00.001-07:00

Spring Seminar Series coming to Achieve!

2011-03-24T18:04:00.000-07:00

New StudyBuddy Homework Club Coming to ANCASTER!

2011-03-24T17:58:00.000-07:00

Achieve Learning Centre in partnership with Early Scholars Preschool and Premier Martial Arts is pleased to announce our new
StudyBuddy Homework Club!

This new program will be offered at 1175 Wilson St. East
(beside the bus loop) in lower Ancaster. Take advantage of this amazing deal to upgrade your child's marks just before year end. 5 hours of classes for only $39.00 with purchase of a punch card. You provide the homework, we provide a quiet and organized workstation, a certified teacher and the guidance and motivation your child needs to stay on task.
Catch a class at the Martial Arts Studio upstairs or send your child to us while your other children are busy at their music or dance classes!

For more information or to register call Achieve at 905 627-2024 or send us an email at achievelearningcentre@gmail.com.

Check out these videos on bullying - thanks ThinkMedia!

2011-03-10T04:57:00.000-08:00

Think Media Project: Videos from NBC - "My Kid Would Never Bully", very...: "Thank you to NBC for the videos. Think Media Project does not endorse any of the products advertised within the video embedding. 'Mean Gir..."

Child Has a Learning Problem? Take a seat, we'll be with you in 2-3 years...

2011-03-04T15:15:00.000-08:00

NEWS FEED: Re: Halton board fast-tracks special needs testing - Hamilton Spec March 4/11

After outraged parents made a big stink, the Halton school board has seen the error of its ways and now plans to fast track students who have been waiting for psychological educational (psych ed) assessments. Parents got feisty after plans were revealed to test the gifted kids first.

Way to go, Halton! Psych. Ed. assessments are a prerequisite to a student receiving an I.E.P. (Individual Education Plan) which modifies and accommodates curriculum to meet their needs so they can still be academically successful despite their areas of struggle. Not that I.E.P.'s don't come with their own challenges but that's another blog...

The story goes like this.... Johnny enters JK/SK on part-time basis (soon to be full-time), plays and interacts in an overcrowded classroom. The teacher may notice behaviour issues or have his/her suspicions about a future LD (learning disability) diagnosis but it's too early to do any testing and too early to know whether little Johnny is 'special needs' or just a little over excited about all those shiny green dinosaurs. Johnny graduates to Grade 1 where there is far less playtime and greater expectations and curriculum to be covered. Still a little boisterous and distracted, he is behind in reading, reverses his numbers in math and can't seem to sit still or focus. Again, his parents and teachers may feel their spidey-sense tingling but he's still so young, after all he was just a baby in Kindergarten a few months ago. Let's just see how it goes everyone says....

This mantra continues until about Grades 3 or 4 when benchmark testing, EQAO and dyslexic screening set out some pretty clear labels and expectations about where Johnny should or shouldn't be by this point. Finally, in Grade 4 he is referred to 'resource'. They give him a quick once over, determine that yes, based on his academic history and some parental pressure, he is a candidate for a full psych. ed. His parents can organize one immediately through a private psychologist for a mere $2,000 - $3,000 or the school board will provide one for free. Free is good! BUT it will take 2-3 years for the assessment date to roll around and after that likely another 6 months to a year before an I.E.P. and any AT (assisted technology) is in place. Johnny now is in Grade 7 but doesn't get his full I.E.P. implemented and laptop computer until Grade 8. One year before high school. He has struggled his entire elementary school career.

Wonderful, marvelous and so progressive to hear that Halton is going to fastrack kids on their current waiting list with a future goal of eliminating wait times altogether. In a time when there is so much bad news about public education, we must celebrate this victory. It's almost as if it's an election year in Ontario...but hey we'll take it. Hear that Hamilton? Now it's our turn.

Is your child on a waiting list for a psych. ed./I.E.P.? Have questions and no answers? Achieve can help. Watch for our 4-part seminar series coming this May with one segment devoted to "Navigating the School System: A Roadmap for Parents". We hope to shed some light on what can often be a confusing, murky mess.

How to motivate your generation y child - or x for that matter.....

2011-03-03T11:41:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed a wonderful presentation by Dr. Karen Gordon on Tuesday night at St. Augustine's school in Dundas. World renowned motivational speaker, author, educational consultant and parenting expert, Dr. Karen (as she is called) had easy and useful strategies on how to relate to, connect with and motivate children - at any age. Her key area of focus was on motviating generation Y (ages 10-29).

In a nutshell, we have 4 types of youth: The Achiever, The Go-Getter, The Coaster and the Dreamer. Identify which your child is, which type of parent you are and apply her four strategies to build a healthy relationship with your child and motivate them to be all they can be. Check out Dr. Karen's tips here!

Dove Real Beauty Workshops are coming to ACHIEVE this Spring!

2011-03-03T07:48:00.000-08:00

We are thrilled to announce that the popular Dove, Real Beauty Workshops are coming to Achieve Learning Centre this Spring! For moms/aunts/grandmas/caregivers and girls 8-12, these empowering wohttp://www.thinkmediaproject.ca/2011/02/dove-real-beauty-self-esteem-workshops.htmlrkshops, led by facilitator Cassandra Dorman will help the young girl in your life gain confidence and a strong sense of self. Click here for more info and to register but hurry! Space is limited and going fast...

DOVE REAL BEAUTY WORKSHOPS

Think Media Project: Dove Real Beauty Self-Esteem Workshops... coming t...

2011-03-01T18:58:00.000-08:00

Think Media Project: Dove Real Beauty Self-Esteem Workshops... coming t...: "Coming this Spring to the Hamilton area - If have a daughter or know someone who has a daughter - age 8 to 12... this is not to be missed! ..."

From the NY Times today....interesting debate on kids' addiction to tech

2011-02-25T10:02:00.000-08:00

A Parent’s Struggle With a Child’s iPad Addiction

I think my 6-year-old is addicted to the iPad.
He asks for it constantly. He wants to use it in the car. He wants to use it at every unscheduled moment at home. He brings it to the dinner table.
When I tell him it’s time to shut off the iPad and head up to bed, or put his shoes on, or head out to the bus, he doesn’t hear me the first three times I ask. Sometimes, he gets bizarrely upset when I say I have to take it away now — out-of-character upset. That’s what makes me think he’s addicted.
...read more by clicking link below!

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/24/a-parents-struggle-with-a-childs-ipad-addiction/?src=me&ref=homepage

Homework - friend or foe?

2011-02-24T20:18:00.000-08:00

We meet all kinds of parents and students at our Centre. Some feel their children are not receiving enough homework, others are concerned their children are drowning in it. I had an interesting discussion with a parent tonight around how much is too much? Personally as a parent and a teacher, I see the merit in work completed at home as part of an on-going, hands-on research project and/or when class time has not been used wisely. Practicing discipline and good time management skills to thoroughly prepare for an upcoming test or assignment seems more than reasonable. The completion of reading logs, writing journals and rehearsing of oral presentations can be enriching and have a valuable place in a child's academic work. But what about work assigned that must be completed at home and takes up hours and hours of a child's evening? Like the rest of us, kids have hectic schedules and limited time. If they are working hard at school and completing their assignments within the time allotted, why pile on more at the end of a lesson, just because? Kids spend the majority of their day, week and life at school. It is their world. When they come home they need time to relax, visit with their families, eat a good meal, play and exercises, see friends and most importantly...sleep. To come home and struggle with hours of math and language drills just turns kids off these subjects and adds to their burnout which in turn, blocks their intake and retention. My girls are still little but when they start receiving lots and lots of homework you can bet their annoying teacher parents will be in complaining to anyone who will listen. Let's let kids be kids and encourage them to play just as hard as they work.

Agree? Disagree? Where do you weigh in on the homework debate?

NEWS FEED: Parkside High in Dundas proposed for closure

2011-02-24T11:27:00.000-08:00

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/483200--parkside-high-in-dundas-proposed-for-closure

Check out this recent article re: school closures in Dundas, Ontario. The plan for Parkside and the other west end schools will be featured at a March 1 public meeting at Westdale Secondary School. Both meetings are also from 6 to 9 p.m. Have your say!

Real Beauty Blogger: Walmart Launches Make-up Brand for 8-year-olds...

2011-02-20T17:13:00.000-08:00

Real Beauty Blogger: Walmart Launches Make-up Brand for 8-year-olds...: "This month, Wal-mart (the biggest retailer in the WORLD) introduced a brand new line of cosmetics aimed at girls ages 8-12. The line is cal..."

Great idea for teachers: Book in a Day!

2011-02-20T14:23:00.000-08:00

"Students work together to create book in a day" - check out this link for great ideas to encourage literacy in the classroom! http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/489893--students-get-on-same-page-to-craft-a-book-in-a-day

Calling all kids! Watch Mickey Mouse while mom shops for groceries!

2011-02-18T19:12:00.000-08:00

TheSpec - Grocery chain using video screens on tots’ shopping...(02/18/11)

I can't help it. Once I get a bee in my bonnet, it stings and stings until I let it out. A particularly annoying one buzzed out of today's morning paper and it's time to set it free.

Good news parents! Coming soon to a store near you, animated shopping carts! Guaranteed to keep annoying children at bay while you whiz through your shopping list at lightning speed! Just enter store, plug your whiny kid into a snazzy car-shaped shopping cart and press the on switch to activate the electronic babysitter. Oh yeah, and added bonus - as you fly by products in warp speed, a 30 second grown-up commercial will play validating your burning desire to buy whatever you might be missing! Seriously? Sigh. I guess I was naive not to see it coming. I often feel naive these days. And old-fashioned...even though I'm supposed to be in the prime of my life.

I get it. Instant gratification. Expediency. Time is money. Okay. So, never mind that we're all obese. Or sedentary. Or don't connect with our kids enough. Or are nutritional morons. Never mind that each newspaper that lands on my doorstep lectures me on how I ought to limit screen time, teach my kids where a carrot comes from, cook a meal from scratch and eat it together at a real table which was first cleared of the e-gadgets. Snoozer! Why go to all that trouble when I can push my kid around in a cart, stress about my hectic day while not talking about anything to anyone (unless it's on my mobile) and get home as quickly as humanly possible to nuke a frozen dinner while the kids log more tech time. Wow, we really have our finger on the pulse here don't we?

Of course, the article is not totally one sided. While it certainly extols the many virtues of the car-shaped carts, there are a couple of downers. Quite fairly, it points out that parents might find those sound bites a bit annoying. Oh, and that while the kids are plugged into Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, they may miss their chance to harass mom or dad into shelling out for the actual Mickey Mouse toy on the shelf which was strategically placed at their eye level. This could, in turn, cost the store money while bringing in no real revenue from the souped up carts. Guess they figure the parents will make up the difference with the lure of those clever ads.

Dare I suggest that grocery shopping can be a wonderful way to spend time with your children, chock full of potentially prime teachable moments like where this food all comes from, basic nutrition, money or math? If that's not your thing, what if we just...you know, talked? If the kids are really wired, might we let them out of the cart for a bit of exercise? Well, that's just crazy talk, isn't it?

Do we really need to find new ways to disassociate from our kids so we can scramble around even faster? According to one shopper I should just "get over it" because "we're tech now" and this is one way to "keep the crew calm" while getting the shopping done. As a thirty something mom, teacher and business owner, maybe I am too old-fashioned for this new tech world. I can live with that. But 30 second product placements in lieu of giggly squeals during cart races down the Food Basics aisle? Going cold turkey on seeing my blue eyed blondies proudly check 'broccoli' off the grocery list that they helped create? Thanks but no. I'll stick with the retro cart. Better yet, maybe we will all just walk.

But, that's just me and my radical ways. What do you think?