It’s easy to let school lessons fade away with the freedoms of summer, but just because school is out doesn’t mean kids should stop learning. It’s often a struggle, however, to find just the right information to cover to keep kids engaged and prepare them for the coming year.  A question was recently posed to me by a parent that I thought would be beneficial to share with everyone as we kick-off summer!

Question: What are the best items to focus on during the summer months to ensure that a student is prepared for the fall, without being over prepared and bored in class?

Answer:  I think this is a question many parents, who want to keep their kids sharp over the summer, face as they plan for summer review and fall preparation.

A great goal for the summer is to review concepts from the previous year to ensure that the student has a complete understanding of the objectives taught.  It’s also a great idea for parents to provide a small preview of the material you anticipate the student learning the following year so that they will be confident when fall rolls around.  Reviewing concepts ensures a strong foundation. Remember…it is important that all of the foundations are in place in order to be ready for new and more challenging concepts in the fall!  

For more ideas on how to keep kids sharp over the summer, check out Ashley on NBC4!

Time to put the much deserved spotlight on another one of our successful and super experienced tutors. Dave Trachtenberg is Ashley Tutors “jack of all trades” because he has helped so many different students in so many different subjects. Whether it is basic Algebra, Chemistry, Science, Social Studies, Government, History, English, Literature, Reading, Math, and Writing — Dave can tutor it! I am going to let a press release about Dave do the talking — learn more about Dave’s success with kinesthetic learning all around Montgomery County, Md. and the Washington, D.C. area.

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Mar. 10, 2008 Colleen Lerro

Director of Communications

240.780.3233

colleen@ashleytutors.com

ASHLEY TUTORS EDUCATES ALL AGES IN ALL SUBJECTS

Ashley Tutors helps students earn better grades and build confidence

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. – Ashley Tutors (http://www.ashleytutors.com) launched in October 2007, offers one-on-one in-home academic tutoring to Washington, D.C. area students in grades kindergarten through 12. While other tutoring centers use their own curriculum and parents must travel to their location, Ashley Tutors develops unique, individualized strategies to meet the needs of each of its students in the comfort of their own home.

Ashley Tutors team member Dave Trachtenberg, an American University senior, has taken on every student with amazing zest and success since he joined Ashley Tutors in January. Trachtenberg, who specializes as a reading tutor, has helped his students succeed in subjects from college level English, to high school chemistry, and even confidence building. For Josh Chernikoff, the Ashley Tutors team member who sings Trachtenberg’s praises to new clients, Trachtenberg’s success is no surprise to him.

“Dave’s years of teaching experience, and especially his training at the prestigious Lab School of Washington, made him a perfect candidate to join our team,” said Chernikoff. “Not only has he served as a mentor and tutored students before, Dave has helped teach and supervise students with ADD, OCD, tourette’s syndrome, dyslexia, and behavioral problems. Dave is one of our strongest reading tutors, but he can tutor anything from writing, to arithmetic, to the right attitude.”

The parents of Trachtenberg’s students saw almost instant success. “In only three weeks I think my son has already made great progress with his instructor Dave,” said Rhonda Shore, a parent of a student at Murch Elementary School in Washington, D.C. “He is thinking through his answers a bit more thoroughly, his handwriting is neater, and he is becoming more confident.”

This special rapport Ashley Tutors develops with their students already has supporters from Bethesda to Gaithersburg and all over Montgomery County, Md. “Ashley Tutors really identifies the strengths and needs of each student,” said a Great Seneca Creek Elementary School parent.

“I watched Ashley Tutors work wonders for my son,” said a Bethesda Chevy Chase High School parent. “His grades are up and so is his confidence in and out of the classroom.”

I am here with another great Web site for the students in your life and one that we use all the time with our students at Ashley Tutors.

As adults, when we want to learn more about something, we have all been programmed to say, “Google it.” What are kids to do? Where can they go to investigate a subject that we know is safe? Here is what our tutors have been suggesting:

http://www.kidsclick.org/

This site was designed and is maintained by a group of librarians who were concerned about Internet safety and specifically search engines. These fine people developed a user friendly search engine that will be valuable to your student and direct them to age appropriate web sites. One tutor and his students forwarded me this neat fact from the site — did you know that Benjamin Franklin advertised the first pencils for sale in his Pennsylvania Gazette in 1729? I learned it at www.kidsclick.org!

The more and more we talk with parents all over Montgomery County, Md. and the Washington, D.C. area interested in Ashley Tutors, we are finding out that most students are very smart and motivated – organization in school is the main concern. During the first session, most of our tutors help their students get their binders, backpacks and even lives organized. Whether it be color coding their agendas, making new folders for each subject, or simply throwing away old papers — organization is something that is not taught in school but is vital to every student’s success. At Ashley Tutors, we recognize that and I think it is very important to help all of our students get organized!

AND, IT IS IMPORTANT IN YOUR LIFE TOO! So, here is how you can be more organized as a parent, at work or just surfing the net! I found this very cool site: www.mystickies.com. Here’s how it works — ever go to a web site and want to read an article on it but you don’t have time — put a “sticky” note on it, tag it with a name and come back to it. No need to bookmark the whole page, print the article out or put a sticky note on your computer screen — this site does it for you. The site even organizes your tags so they are easy to find! I usually don’t add tools like this to my computer because I am not computer genius (and I don’t play one at Ashley Tutors either) — but this is easy to use and super helpful!

Good Monday morning to everybody! I hope all is well and y’all enjoyed the weekend. While I spent a lot of time tutoring, I also spent some quality time checking out the Web site of our good friend Brian Cheek of A+ Home Tutors. Brian is based in San Francisco and has a similar outlook on tutoring and education. Plus, he has a dedicated and experienced team of tutors — just like Ashley Tutors.

We both share the same views on communication — which is why we both have journals! Take some time and check out his entry called, Little CEOs: Are kids too busy? Brian is seeing the same trend in the Bay Area that we are seeing here — between school, after school activities, students are working 60 hours a week and are as busy as CEOs! He writes about how his tutors are helping their students/CEOs stay ahead of the game even when it seems time is not on their side.

We have busy students and also supportive parents all over Montgomery County, Md. and the Washington, D.C. area who are turning to Ashley Tutors to help us keep their students organized, motivated and reaching their potential. Ashley Tutors is happy to help, and just like Brian’s strong team, our “tutors can take a load off the student, and a load off parents as well.”

If it is Tuesday, then it is time for testimonials with Ashley Tutors. We like to spotlight our amazing tutors — today Alex Alegria is up. Alex, who is a native of Guatemala and is producing an album to be released in the next few months, took kinesthetic learning to a new level. He used his songs written in Spanish and had his students perform them — “American Idol” style! Here is what a parent said about Alex:

“Spanish never came easy for my student, and she was beginning to get overwhelmed with the class. Ashley Tutors was able to match her with Alex, and the two of them have been working weekly on building a solid foundation for her Spanish skills that will benefit her for years. With Alex’s help, her confidence is up and she is now enjoying the class. Ashley Tutors really did make learning and Spanish fun!”

- Ms. Olga Rush, Parent

Winston Churchill High School (Potomac, MD)

Did you know that thirty percent of Maryland children ages 10 to 17 are overweight or obese? I read all about this in an article published by the Center For Science in the Public Interest called, Junk Food Marketing Prevalent In Montgomery County Schools. I am actually not surprised because our children are surrounded by unhealthy food choices and mass marketing. When you walk down a hallway — you used to see the student’s work on the walls — now you see vending machines and posters for different snack foods.

I have to admit, when I started Ashley Tutors, I brought my students candy. There is nothing wrong with an award for doing awesome on a test or a great effort, but now I am finding healthier food ideas instead of candy. Finally, the schools are also implementing some healthier options such as a black bean burger, soy chicken nuggets, and soy milk. Montgomery County is to be commended for that — it is a great first step. But, when given the choice between carrots or a cookie, most children would choose the cookie. What if we stopped giving students so many choices and instead taught them healthy eating habits?

Healthy candy is not all we do at Ashley Tutors to help curb the obesity rate. We know another contributing factor to our obese adolescents is that they are much less active. I hear about students spending all afternoon sitting in front of the computer or playing video games rather than playing sports and moving their bodies. Our tutoring combines instruction and kinesthetic learning — which is learning and moving the body at the same time. Check out or web site at www.ashleytutors.com to learn more about kinesthetic learning.

I am always looking for new and fun healthy eating tips or treats — if you have any, please let us know!

We are very excited to be partnering with and jamming to the music of Takoma Park’s Echo Boom.  These guys have a bit of everything when it comes to music with their unique sound that keeps your body and mind moving all of the time.  On your winter vacation, why not make the jouney to Jammin Java in Vienna, VA to see Echo Boom in action.  Since it is a venue for all ages,  we expect to see some of our younger students and even Ashley will be out enjoying the tunes.  The folks at Jammin Java called Echo Boom, “Educated, meaningful, yet approachable lyrics; soulful, driving, yet simple melodies coming from a variety of instruments and voices, laid out over rhythm that is sure to keep you moving.”

So, you must be asking, why is a tutoring team working with a band?  Simple – we all believe in education!  From reading, to writing, to math, can’t forget chemistry and biology, and all the way to French, Echo Boom’s members believe in the importance of education.  They all graduated high school in Montgomery County and then went onto earn college degrees too.  The boys always wanted to start the band and be the rock stars, but they kept education as their number one priority.  Our tutors had amazing dreams too and always knew education was the key to chasing their dreams.  Some wanted to be writers, teachers, scientists and an American Idol hopeful – but before they could get to their their career of choice, they had to get an education first!

These guys not only play great music and are great people, they are great proponents of education.  Come out tonight and support these great friends of Ashley Tutors!  Plus, we will have some awesome announcements about our partnership with Echo Boom soon (can you say, free concert for all ages…shhh…)

Jammin Java in Vienna, VA on Tuesday, December 30 at 8:30pm. All ages are welcome so come out and support a group of guys that support us too!!!!!!!

http://ca-es.facebook.com/pages/The-Echo-Boom/44998343200

Time and PlaceStart Time: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 at 10:00pm
Location: Jammin Java
Street: 227 Maple Ave E
City/Town: Vienna, VA

Contact InfoPhone: 703.255.1566
Email: http://www.jamminjava.com/

Report cards are out and many parents are seeing grades below their child’s true capabilities.  Are you one of them?  The good news is that with the proper guidance, it’s still early enough in the school year for your child to improve their grades and rebuild confidence.

Just give us a call and one of our team members will help your child.  Our dedicated team of innovative, qualified tutors has a proven record of helping even the most frustrated or reluctant students grasp the concepts that are keeping them from excelling in school. Our tutors work one-on-one with your child in a setting most comfortable to him or her – your own home!

We are not just any old tutoring company.  Our team at Ashley Tutors has so much more to offer:

•    Qualified tutors with excellent references
•    Tutoring in all grade levels (K-12) and subject areas including the sciences, math, English and foreign languages
•    SAT and standardized test preparation
•    Positive role models
•    Tutoring tailored to specific learning styles
•    Engaging, entertaining methods that motivate learners to stay on task while building confidence and self-esteem
•    Immediate feedback for students and parents through detailed reports after every session
•    Free consultation with educational goal setting
•    No minimum or maximum number of sessions – we tailor a program to your family’s needs and schedule

Call us 7 days a week at: (240) 329-2222.  Or e-mail me: ashley@ashleytutors.com.

Look forward to hearing from you!

Did you know that music lessons can help improve the memory of children? When the guys from B&B Music World, a D.C. based, in-home music lesson service told me that – it was music to my ears!

That is why I am proud to announce that we have formed a special partnership with B&B Music World. Through our new friendship, we are going to encourage our students to work with B&B to learn awesome music and improve their memories (that will help them in school too). And, since their team is a lot like ours at Ashley Tutors – energetic, experienced and always looking to make learning more fun they will get to learn in a 1-1 setting, which is exactly the same successful experience they have at Ashley Tutors.

Go see and hear for yourself! Check out our new friends at their website. Be sure to watch their free music lessons, too! Don’t forget to read this great article all about music and memory.

In November, we are really going to begin rocking and rolling with B&B Music World. So, listen up because we have some terrific contests and prizes planned for our students!

Did you know that music lessons can help improve the memory of children? When the guys from B&B Music World, a D.C. based, in-home music lesson service told me that – it was music to my ears!

That is why I am proud to announce that we have formed a special partnership with B&B Music World. Through our new friendship, we are going to encourage our students to work with B&B to learn awesome music and improve their memories (that will help them in school too). And, since their team is a lot like ours at Ashley Tutors – energetic, experienced and always looking to make learning more fun they will get to learn in a 1-1 setting, which is exactly the same successful experience they have at Ashley Tutors.

Go see and hear for yourself! Check out our new friends at their website. Be sure to watch their free music lessons, too! Don’t forget to read this great article all about music and memory.

In November, we are really going to begin rocking and rolling with B&B Music World. So, listen up because we have some terrific contests and prizes planned for our students!