Smarties Tutoring is a Fun Way For Kids to Learn to Read

Smarties Tutoring is a Fun Way For Kids to Learn to ReadSmarties Tutoring is a completely interactive tutoring service that allows children from a variety of ages to have a fun and rewarding experience as they learn how to read. While it is obviously easier for most kids to interact with their parents when they are in school, this really isn't the case with Smarties Tutoring, which lets your child interact and learn with a tutor.When you sign up for Smarties Tutoring, you can choose whether you want a tutor or not. They provide personalized tutoring for each child so that each student has access to the exact same learning environment. You can also choose from several different lessons, and the tutor will teach both children at the same time.In many schools today, your children may have problems reading because of poor reading skills, so having an effective and fun tutoring service available can really benefit your child. Smarties Tutoring is a unique program because each tutor will b e assigned to your child as he or she progresses through his or her lessons. You and your child will be given lessons that are specific to your child's learning needs.Smarties Tutoring is highly interactive and will bring your child from complete silence to all out conversational reading in no time. This type of tutoring provides the type of tools that are required for early childhood development and reading instruction.If you are an English teacher and would like to use Smarties as part of your regular lesson planning, you can take advantage of the tutoring service at any time. Smarties Tutoring will work together with you so that you can set up a special tutoring session that fits in with your needs and your children's learning needs.While you will obviously need to have a reading curriculum in place for your class, using Smarties as a teaching tool is a great educational opportunity for your students. It helps your students develop their reading skills by engaging them in real co nversations and practicing the skills necessary for reading. Because it is interactive, it forces your students to think and become attentive to their surroundings.If you are considering the use of Smarties Tutoring, do yourself a favor and visit the website to see for yourself. You will be amazed at how well the tutoring service will work for your class.

Teaching Children English Using The Six Thinking Hats Technique

Teaching Children English Using The Six Thinking Hats Technique Finding the right way to teach English classes for children can be difficult. How do we keep them interested? How can we help them to remember information? How can we encourage them to want to continue learning?Six Thinking Hats, a teaching model promoting critical and creative thinking attributed to Maltese physician and consultant Edward de Bono, is a great way to get young learners stimulated. It is straightforward, versatile and popular with children, particularly around 8 years and upward, worldwide. So why not use it for teaching young  students English?The theory is that our thought processes (of both young and old) can be predicted in 6 steps and that classes be prepared in accordance with the structure of this 6-part thought processes.The six hats are:White: In this phase we think about the facts of what we are learning. We think about what facts we have and what facts we need to understand a given topic.Black: In this stage we use out judgment. We use our critical judgment. We think about problems, dangers, if we are wasting time with a topic, etc.Yellow: Here, we use our judgment again. However, now we are positive. We think about the advantages, benefits, hopeful side to what we are learning.Red: This stage is characterized by an emotional response to what we are learning. What do I feel about this issue?Green: This is the creative phase. What is my response to this?Blue: This is a development of the creative phase but here we consider the ‘overall’ picture. What are the consequences of what I am learning? What should I learn next?Diagram of The Six Thinking Hats model.How can this theory be applied to teaching children?Children can be given colored pages corresponding to the different hats and or even cut-outs of the hats in their different colors.Over a series of classes they can be taught the associations with each hat and how to express them in English:Objective terms (White hat):We know thatLet’s see what we have already learned…Creativ e terms (Green hat):I believe that…I think that…Positive (Yellow hat):I/We can…I/We shouldNegative (Black hat):I don’t think thatI wouldn’t doIntuitive (Red hat):I feelProcess (or Progress)I would continue by…We should proceed by…Then, present a series of questions for example:What would happen is the world was square?What would happen if your country won the world cup?What would happen if we were all grown up tomorrow?If you are working with a group of children, give them a different color hat each and ask each of them for their response based on the color of their hat.If you are working with an individual child you can rotate the hats and ask for responses to the question based on each one of the hats in turn.Watch this video to find out more:Did you find this lesson helpful? Feel free to share it on Facebook and Twitter. Also, contact us if you would like your child to take classes with us.Clases de inglés para niños

After Spanish, These Are 6 of the Best Languages to Learn

After Spanish, These Are 6 of the Best Languages to Learn Your Move: 6 of the Best Languages to Learn After Spanish Choosing a language to learn may not seem like a strategic move.After all, for many, Spanish is the obvious choice.But after you learn Spanishâ€"Wait, hold on. After?Well, yes.Spanish covers a lot of the world. English covers quite a bit more. But added together, you might still only get… about a fourth?There are still many, many places around the world where Spanish and English wont get you far at all. Besides, there are plenty of native Spanish speakers looking for additional languages to learn, too, and maybe youre even one of them!So whether youve already learned Spanish, you grew up speaking Spanish or you dont know Spanish but are still curious about what other languages are out there, its certainly worth considering your options carefully.From bustling cities to remote jungle villages, the world is absolutely full of languages. So why limit yourself?Even if youre English-Spanish bilingual, youve still only scratched the surface.Learning an extra language or two will definite ly give you a leg up in business, travel and even your day-to-day life. And looking into languages to learn aside from Spanish will give you a chance to weigh the advantages of each.So, out of the whole  vast linguistic landscape, here are six of the best languages to add on top of your English and Spanishâ€"or just to learn based on their own merits. Your Move: 6 of the Best Languages to Learn After SpanishThe languages below are highlighted for their overall usefulness but also for how they can benefit those who are learning or who have already learned Spanish.FrenchFrench might be the number one obvious choice.English is a Germanic language with huge numbers of Romance loanwords, most of them from French. Spanish is, well, a Romance language to begin with.If you already know English and Spanish, youll go into French basically knowing every other word. Plus, all that grammar that gives first-time French students nightmares? Youll have been over it.And once you learn French, youl l be able to communicate with millions of people all over Europe, Africa and North America  who have learned French as their first or second language.Tip: It’s a good idea to focus on listening from the beginning with French because there are some tricky sounds and the pronunciation isnt always clear from the spelling. Once your listening is strong, its smooth sailing.FluentU has a very robust collection of videos for learning French that you can start using to build up your listening and speaking skills with authentic language right away. FluentU takes real-world videosâ€"like movie trailers, music videos, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language lessons. You can also check it out for German or Russian (below), and use it to learn Spanish along with any of the languages on this list.PortuguesePortuguese, of course, is already extremely similar to Spanish. Many Spanish speakers can start reading newspapers in Portuguese with little to no preparation.Des pite that, the approximate 220 million native speakers of Portuguese in the world are often quite proud of their own language. Many of them understandably somewhat resent tourists who only bother to speak portuñol (essentially Spanish in a Portuguese disguise).In fact, as Portuguese isnt as well known as French or Spanish, few Portuguese speakers even expect foreigners in their home countries to be able to say more than a few words.That means if you can speak good and correct Portuguese, theyll understand that youve really put in the time to understand their culture and their language, and probably appreciate it.Tip: Since Spanish is so similar to Portuguese, if you want to learn both, the best way to avoid mixing the two is to achieve a very comfortable level in Spanish first (unless you go for Portuguese first, in which case you can do it the other way around). Give your brain two or three years to really internalize Spanish.Then, when you begin learning Portuguese, translate fro m Spanish to Portuguese and vice versa to keep the rules for the two languages separate in your mind.Additional tip: If you want to learn European Portuguese, it can be tricky to find resources online, but this guide should give you everything you need to get started. If youre learning Brazilian Portuguese, here are some apps you may find useful.GermanLots of people say that German has hard grammar. In reality, it just has different grammar.If you already have substantial experience learning Spanish, that experience will have taught you about using the subjunctive as well as grammatical gender in general. Thats a significant advantage.Ordinary, everyday words in German tend to be more similar to English than Spanish, such as Buch for book compared to Spanishs  libro. As vocabulary moves up into higher registers, however, the German words tend to come from Latin roots that look an awful lot like Spanish. One example: To try is  probar in Spanish and probieren in German.Heres a more d etailed look at what learning the German language entails.If you know German, Spanish and English, pretty much every Romance and Germanic language becomes transparent. You could probably pick up Dutch over a summer or Italian in a handful of weeks.And although German speakers have a reputation for speaking perfect English to learners, thats far from a universal guarantee. Even in the most metropolitan cities, people will appreciate that you know their languageâ€"and that opens doors every time.Tip: One of the best free resources for starting out as a German learner is  Deutsche Welle. You can even explore some of their content  through Spanish!ArabicOkay, so none of the varieties of Arabic are related to either English or Spanish. Arabic is going to be a challenge.But if you know Spanish, you have a few tricks up your sleeve.Thanks to around 800 years of Moorish influence in Spain, the Spanish and Arabic languages actually share a deep pool of vocabulary. You cant describe food or a ccommodation in Spanish without tripping over Arabic-derived words like  azúcar  (sugar), alfombra (carpet), albahaca (basil)  or naranja (orange).The benefits of learning Arabic are manifold. The Arabic language covers an enormous swath of the Middle East and North Africa, including millions of people who arent comfortable speaking English or Spanish.Plus, with Arabic, Spanish and English, youll know exactly half of the official working languages of the UN!Tip: Spanish speakers, when it comes time to learn the beautiful Arabic script, you can actually start with texts in aljamiadoâ€"a way of writing Spanish using Arabic letters. Its far, far easier to get used to reading a new script if you already know what it says.IndonesianIndonesian (and its closely related cousin Malay) is the first or second language of millions in Southeast Asia, and thanks to a huge diaspora, people speak Indonesian all over the world, from Australia to the Netherlands. And have you ever dreamed of the whi te sands of Bali? Knowing some Indonesian will help you thrill the locals and make your trip an unforgettable experience.Its true, Indonesian isnt related to Spanish, either. However, as the Malay Archipelago has been a Muslim-majority region for centuries, youll find that quite a few Arabic words in Spanish also appear in Indonesian.And the grammar and pronunciation are extremely simple from a European language perspective. No tenses, no casesâ€"just some interesting verb features.All the time honing your Spanish accent will pay off here: Virtually all the sounds of Indonesian happen to be  found in either English or Spanish!Tip: The biggest hurdle is definitely remembering all the unfamiliar vocabulary. The best way to handle that is to take things slow when you start out and do a ton of review to really make those new words second nature.But theres a great surprise in store, because advanced vocabulary in Indonesian is frequently Latin-based and resembles English and Spanish quit e a bit! No prizes for guessing the meanings of ekonomi or multikulturalisme.RussianNow, Russian is a challenge for any language learner. Between the script and the grammar, its no cakewalk.And yet, although Vladivostok and Madrid are practically on opposite sides of the globe, there are several features of Russian that are quite similar to Spanish.Take the way you say I like it, for instance. In both Russian and Spanish, a construction along the lines of it pleases me is used.Someone who knows Spanish also already has a leg up on learning the sounds of Russian: Your old friends ñ and rr are along for the ride once more.Russian, too, has borrowed heavily from Latin for terms of politics and science. And French was all the rage in Russian aristocracy a few hundred years ago, which means another helping of Latin-derived terms for high society and luxury goods.Russian is spoken across pretty much all of Central Asia to this day. Its even still widely understood in much of Eastern Euro pe, not to mention among the enormous Russian diaspora all around the world.Tip:  Start by doing a lot of listening and reading to get a feel for how all the familiar sounds get rearranged and fit into Cyrillic letter shapes.If you learn another language after Spanish, youll almost certainly gain from some shortcuts like shared vocabulary or similar grammar.But the most important advantage youll have learning any language after any other language is knowing how to learn. Picking up a third language goes significantly faster than your second.But even if youre only starting on your second language now, you already have an advantage in that youre thinking consciously about your choices and considering your options. Why not set the bar high and consider learning multiple languages  so you can reap the benefits?If it takes you three years to get conversational in Spanish, dont be surprised if you reach the same level in Portuguese in less than 18 months.Not only can you quickly relate fe atures of any new language to other languages you know, but if youve previously learned languages you know yourself and you know that, lets say, you really dont like vocab flashcards. So just replace the flashcards with word lists or more reading work. Or focus on listening from the start, if it took you a long time to get used to native Spanish accents.Whatever language or languages you choose, it only gets easier and easier.The only question isâ€"whats next? And One More ThingIf youre digging these language recommendations, youll love using FluentU. FluentU makes it possible to learn languages  from music videos, commercials, news and inspiring talks.With FluentU, you learn real languagesâ€"the same way that natives  speak them. FluentU has a wide variety of videos like movie trailers, funny commercials and web series, as you can see here:FluentU App Browse Screen.FluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples . Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.Didnt catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover your mouse over the subtitles to instantly view definitions.Interactive transcript for Carlos Baute song.You can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentUs quiz mode. Swipe left or right to see  more examples for the word you’re learning.FluentU Has Quizzes for Every VideoAnd FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It uses that vocab to give you a 100% personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.Start using FluentU on the website  with your computer or tablet  or, better yet,  download the FluentU app from  the  iTunes  or  Google Play  store.

Ivy Bound International School

Ivy Bound International School Ivy Bound International School Ivy Bound International School is a progressive school located in the heart of Bangkok that serves children from Pre-K to Grade One. Our school is passionately committed to bringing out the best in each child (each childs uniqueness) and believes that developing social-emotional skills, alongside academic skills, will instill lifelong habits that are critical for both future academic and social success. An essential feature of Ivy Bound is our small class size, which focuses on a multicultural approach using various templates and frameworks to fuel diverse interests and validate personal passions. We believe that supporting childrens innate curiosity and promoting inquiry, fosters critical thinking, creativity, mindfulness and self-reflection. Most importantly it creates lifelong learners who will become self-confident, self disciplined, responsible individuals with the tools to embrace diversity and negotiate differences respectfully. They will become dynamic contributors and leaders in our increasingly complex global community.

Withdrawing From College GradGuards Tuition Insurance Is Here To Help

Withdrawing From College GradGuard's Tuition Insurance Is Here To Help pixabay.com GradGuard is one of the few places that offers you something that may ease your pain a little: tuition insurance which can help minimize your risk of financial loss due to withdrawal. The insurance is there for primarily if you need to withdraw for a covered medical reason, so that you can protect your investments, i.e. your tuition and fees. GradGuard offers special pricing and coverage options to more than 100 colleges and universities; the tuition services they offer are typically about $135 for about every $10,000 of coverage you need. They are there to help you if you need it, so be aware of the resources at hand. Considering certain options before doing anything is always a healthy option. You want to make sure to consider the following before making any moves: •What is my schools refund policy? •Can I afford the financial loss if something happens? •Get the protection you need BEFORE classes start! GradGuard is here to help protect you in the ways you need, so you aren’t stressed if something happens later. College students are at a higher risk for reported mental illness and medical issues, so make sure to cover yourself before an issue breaks out and not after. The insurance won’t be there to help you after. Make sure to equip yourself with the right tools before making any moves believe me, you will thank yourself in the long run.

8 Apps You Need to Plan an Awesome Trip

8 Apps You Need to Plan an Awesome Trip via Pixabay   Hopper You know you want to go on a trip, but aren’t sure where. Maybe you have a certain time frame in mind and who you want to go with. Thankfully, Hopper is here to help you make that decision while also notifying you of some awesome flight deals! Set up a specific search of destinations you would like to visit and let the app find flights for you. Every day or so you will receive a notification on your phone of the newest and cheapest flights to one of your desired destinations. Don’t hesitate too long though because tickets don’t last long! SkipLagged Fly for cheap with the flight hack app  SkipLagged. Essentially, this app will help you find cheap flights with your desired destination as a layover. For example, say you wanted to go to England. SkipLagged may find a flight going to India with a layover in England that is cheaper than going straight to England. With me so far? Instead of getting on the last leg of the flight, you just stay in England! Some may call this practice of traveling unethical, but if it saves you money, why not take advantage of it? via Pixabay TripIt Instead of searching through your email inbox every time you have to board a flight or hop on a bus, TripIt allows you to keep all of your tickets in one place. It’s the ultimate itinerary app! This app allows you to see an overview of your trip including where you’re staying, transportation plans, and how long you will be in each place, all while providing your tickets and confirmation codes. This app is great for travelers who tend to be a little disorganized and are prone to losing emails in their bulging inboxes. via Pixabay Currency Converter When traveling in different countries, it can be easy to overspend when you don’t factor in the currency exchange rate. That’s why XE Currency is the perfect app to keep you in line with your budget. Super easy to use, just pick which currencies you would like to convert and add in how much to convert! Next time you think you’re getting a deal on something in a foreign country, check the app and see exactly how much you are spending. via Pixabay HostelWorld If your trip consists of backpacking through a country or continent, you may not need to plan very much before you leave. HostelWorld is one of the best apps when looking for a cheap place to stay without booking in advance. Staying in hostels is all about meeting new people, saving money on lodging, and living life on the edge. This app allows you to search within a certain distance of your current location and set your preferences on what type of hostel you’d like to stay in. Even easier, you can book a room or a bed directly in the app! via Pixabay Airbnb Maybe hostels aren’t your style and you’re looking for a more private and cozy place to stay while traveling. Luckily, Airbnb gives you the opportunity to stay in a nice room while still being exposed to a different culture and meeting new people. Similar to the HostelWorld app, some properties on Airbnb can be booked instantly without waiting for a confirmation from the host. You can set your preferences and price range as well. It’s the perfect app for finding affordable lodging while traveling. via Pixabay RoadTrippers Maybe you aren’t thinking of planning a trip abroad, but rather a road trip throughout America. RoadTrippers is the best app when driving long distances through different states. It allows you to plan your route while notifying you of lodging, attractions, and restaurants along the way. It’s your own personalized GPS! via Pixabay PackingPro Don’t you hate that feeling when heading to the airport that you forgot to pack something? With PackingPro, you never have to experience that feeling again! This app organizes what you need to pack into categories and acts as a checklist so you know exactly what you are bringing. This is also great when packing to leave your destination because you know exactly what you brought with you, so you won’t leave anything behind.

Tips to Help You Talk About Your First English Lesson

Tips to Help You Talk About Your First English LessonOne of the most important methods to become fluent in English is to talk about a positive experience with learning or using English. Some people may have talked about their first learning experience before they started learning how to speak English, however it can be great if you are able to talk about it and share with others about it. Let's go over how to do this.The way to talk about your first English experience is to say something like: 'When I first began to learn how to speak English, I wasn't sure if I would succeed.' Or, 'I was trying to find out what it was that people were saying when they used English. But I found out that many people wanted to talk about the positive experiences that they had. This really got me motivated to learn more.' Or, you could say something like: 'I know that when I started, I didn't know whether I would ever be able to learn how to speak English. After all, I couldn't think about anything else other than being in a classroom and listening to English teachers.'You could also try telling how you would feel about speaking English if you are currently experiencing this problem. For example, if you are studying Spanish, and you hear someone speaking Spanish to you, and you don't know the language, you might want to smile and say 'Muy bien' (thank you). This way, you will be able to remind yourself that it is possible to get a job in Spain or even have a chance to go there someday.Another way to talk about your first English lesson is to write it down. Write down everything that you learn about speaking English, from the moment you started to use it and try to figure out how to pronounce the words, to your first attempt at reading and writing the English word for the sentence, and eventually to becoming fluent in it. Writing down these things makes it much easier to remember how much easier the learning process was.Also, it will make it easier for you to imagine and picture wh at it is like to actually be able to speak in English. Being able to think about it will help you picture how it might feel when you are able to speak English fluently.Finally, talking about your first English lesson can also be a great source of motivation when you are thinking about how to learn more English. So, when you are having difficulty in your English learning, thinking about how you could have been able to speak with other English speakers helps to push you ahead of the times.These are just some tips that you could use when you are talking about your first English lessons. Just try to stay optimistic, and enjoy the feeling of trying out your new English skills. If you use these tips, you will be surprised at how easily you can pick up a second language, and you will soon be able to learn the next language!