It is May and There is Work to be Done!

Today I am meeting with my web designer again finally.  I want to get my new web site up and running.  I have been checking out jobs at the nearby universities but nothing has caught my eye.

I enjoyed working with a new student.  She is in 6th grade and was having some troubles with percentages and fractions and decimals.  I only had two sessions before she took her test,  The results were not good.  I think she may have some test anxiety as well.  I would love to work with her over the summer to see if I could prepare her for 7th grade math.

I have another student to prep for 8th grade math.  It might make sense to run some math clinics over certain weeks in the summer and have three to four students come at a time.  I feel students learn much better with others around.

So I hope in May to

1. finish my web page
2. find a tax accountant
3. work on the start of a marketing program
4. advertise in local newspapers
5. advertise on craigs list.

Article from Vanderbilt on Autism

Humanoid robot helps train children with autism.

This story explains that children with autism are able to follow the humanoid robot better than a person.  Drs. see this as a start or an additional support for children with autism spectrum disorder.

Today there are more children than ever diagnosed with ASD.  The resources to help them all is limited so this humanoid robot might be a break through to helping more children.

Vanderbilt engineers help design and make this robot.  Children wear a special hat which has sensors to see their head movements in response to commands from the robot.

Children spend more time viewing the robot that looking at a person's face.  So the designers of this robot hope that it can be a tool to speed up the process for ASD children to gain social skills.

Need my Web Page Finished

I have not worked hard on finding clients because my web page is still not complete.  I need to coordinate with Irene on a time that works for both of us to complete this web site.

Irene now has a full time job.  I have been doing a lot of traveling and having company.  But now is the time to complete this project.

I think emailing back and forth is hard.  Sometime what you say in an email is not how the other reads it or understands it.

I had the opportunity to have Stephanie Bettman and Luke Halpin stay for two nights. I love their music.

My daughter and family came out for eight days.  Both she and her husband were sick so I had fun with my grandson Connor. I also had fun holding Sebastian.  Andrew came down from San Fransico for Easter and we had a good time.  He had to sleep on the couch.  I was out of beds.  Sebastian had the library for his room.

The day Becca and Ben left, my friend Debbie Baker came with her boyfriend.  They were here to dance but we had great times together.

Dyslexia Workarounds

Yesterday there was  a great article written by Melinda Beck, "Dyslexia Workarounds: Creativity Without a Lot of Reading".  (April 2, New York Times.) Many people have dyslexia up to one in five.  Of course there are various degrees of dyslexia.  It seems the people with higher mental capacity have the option of working around this disability.  Dyslexia just means the person has trouble with reading.  It really has nothing to do with intelligence.  Some people listen to their books on audio.  Some students memorize everything.

Dyslexia runs in families.  My husband has it as well as my oldest son.  My son never understood phonics.  For a few grades he did quite well in spelling.  He just remembered the order of letters his teacher felt were important.  He did not understand the sound letters make or how the blends work.  He finally read in fourth grade.  His fifth grade teacher said his writing was not very good.  When I explained he learned to read last year, the teacher was shocked.  While in college, he never missed a class, attended every study session, and read as little as possible.  He became a very good writer but still would rather watch a show than read a book.

As Melinda states in her article, Dyslexia can't be cured, but programs that help children learn sequential sound-letter relationships can help.  I have a special program to help dyslexic students to read and would love to help students over the summer.  In fact Henry Winkler, the guy who played Fonzie on "Happy Days" has written a book about a fourth grader who has dyslexia.

Remember as an adult, there are no more timed reading tests.

Too Busy?

I have a student to tutor but  keep going out of town.  This time we left for Denver.  Here we helped clean Marion and Dave's apartment.  Marion is recovering from a broken pelvis.  She spent one month in rehap center.  She is doing well but uses a walker for additional support.  We cleaned their carpets, found there were leaks in the apt. so we hired a plumber and left for skiing. 

We spent Friday - Monday skiing at Beaver Creek.  There was fresh snow every day.  Sunday was a bit like a white out but I skied anyway.  Monday was the best and more families were out on the sloops.  We left early around 2 pm to head back to Denver.  We had pizza with the entire Smith clan.  Bill and Rebecca's family keep Kosher so they ordered a specialty pizza without the bacon.  Their daughter is engaged.  Her finance is going to basic training next month.  They hope to marry when he finishes then go to his first assignment together.  She is 17. but will turn 18 in a few months.   She has no plans to go to college.  She was home-schooled all her life.  It will be interesting to see if she never pursues higher education.

I met with the principal of Cabrillo Elementary School.  I was shown four projects the Day of Service might complete for him.  He would like us to deep clean 5 classrooms, clean the carpet in the auditorium, clean up two garden areas, and remove staples left up on the wall, (floor to ceiling). We are hoping to have sign ups from the community after Easter.

I picked up my daughter and her family in the afternoon.  I have been playing with Connor who is almost four.  I love holding the baby who is four months old.  He cries.  So far Connors, favorite toy is the pirate boat by Playmobile.  He also likes the Fisher Price house.  These are all toys I saved from my children.  We are down in the grandma room.  Josie has decided she does not like the airplane.  (also by Fisher Price)  I knew there was a reason I kept some of my children's toys.

Web Site questions

So why am I having trouble finding clients?  I need to get my cards out in the community.  I need to finish my web site.

Here is my old one: https://sites.google.com/site/pointlomatutor/

Below is the design for my new site.  I realize I need a much better picture for the home page.  Please offer advice!!  It should be on the site Pointlomatutor.com  soon. :)

Article from New York Times Dec 16, 2012

Some Tutors are Sholdering a Wider Load
By Abby Ellin

Large tutoring centers are helping student in college who start to feel overwhelmed.  The example was about a Austin Learning Center where a tutor spent 30 hours helping the client become more comfortable in her new life.  Tutors are being hired to just be "general life support".  Now this only happens in households where money is not an issue.

Now tutors are become more that helpers for academics.  They are becoming:

• counselors
• mentors and personal cheerleaders
• and a liaison between student, the college and parents.

Another client spook about his tutor as a therapist and a personal assistant.

"The tutor is not just a tutor anymore" said Dr. Sanki Ayaz from the National Tutoring Association in Lakeland, FL."  They find themselves certifying tutors as academic coaches.  The tutoring industry is now a $50 billion industry.