It's a New Horizon on Tuesday July 14!

Today we’re not going to talk about parenting, or testing, or school. Today we're going to talk about PLUTO! You know, the tiny non-planet that travels the outer edge of our solar system? I Can Barely Contain My Excitement!  Today is a milestone in America’s aerospace history as NASA completes the last step in the quest to explore each of the planets in our solar system, starting with Venus in 1962. 

The New Horizons spacecraft, about the size of a baby grand piano, has traveled three billion – that's THREE BILLION - miles over the past 9½ years.  Traveling at an astounding pace of 36,000 miles per hour, it’s the fastest spacecraft ever launched, and it carries the most powerful suite of science instruments ever sent on a scouting and reconnaissance mission of a new, unfamiliar world.

New Horizons’ scientific instruments will be going full force as it arrives at its closest point to Pluto, just over 7,700 miles away, at 7:50 a.m. on Tuesday.  Just fourteen minutes later it will pass Pluto’s jumbo moon, Charon. Because the spacecraft will be busy collecting data most of the day, scientists won’t be assured of the mission’s success until Tuesday night when New Horizons “phones home”.  

This is a once-in-a-lifetime exploratory opportunity for NASA scientists, who expect to see craters and possible volcanic remnants on a very active and dynamic world.  Pluto has a jumbo moon named Charon, and four known ‘baby’ moons called Styx, Nix, Hydra and Kerberos.  New Horizons will be on the lookout for others, and will collect extensive data about Pluto and each moon.  Scientists believe a liquid ocean and a rocky core may lie beneath the icy shell that covers Pluto.

NASA’s New Horizons team is hoping its mission will be extended indefinitely as the spacecraft moves toward the edge of the solar system, behind NASA’s Voyagers 1 and 2, and Pioneers 10 and 11.  They look hopefully at Voyager 1 as its example. Originally launched in 1977, the same year "Star Wars" was released, it was originally designed for a four-year mission to Saturn.  Now, 36 years later, the spacecraft is nearly 12 billion miles from Earth, still hurtling away from Earth and deeper into interstellar space. After months of analysis, scientists determined that the spacecraft exited the Milky Way solar system on August 25, 2012.  Data collection continues to this day.

It will likely be Wednesday before New Horizon's close-up photos of Pluto will be released, and late in 2016 before all the data is transmitted to Earth.  It all promises to be very exciting. 

You can click on the link to NASA's web site, below, to learn more. 

NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto

 Be patient, my fellow Earthlings. 

Observe, learn, and be amazed.

Is Your Child Overstimulated?

Not likely. The biggest problem most of our children have during the summer break is a lack of stimulation.  Here are some ways you can help your children stay at the top of their game through the summer. 

Read   Reading is one of the best ways for students to expand their vocabulary and stretch their imagination. The most important thing is to make sure they’re reading something.  So whether it’s a book, a magazine, the newspaper, or a comic book – reading is worthwhile!

Community Service   Spending time helping others is a great way to feel more connected and meet new friends. 

Build a Portfolio   Have your student create a portfolio of projects they have worked on and include a narrative that provides context and explains what they are.  When presented to colleges and potential employers, it creates a compelling case for acceptance. Portfolios should be updated each year.

Learn A Useful Life Skill   If your student will be heading to college, make sure they know the key self-sufficiency skills.  Cooking – doing the laundry – cleaning the bathroom – balancing the checkbook . . . so much to know!

Learn A New, Fun Skill  Have your child learn something like a new sport, drawing, or cooking - and get really good at it.  This builds self-confidence that will carry over to the other many new experiences coming their way.  

Internship   If your child believes they know their desired career path, this is a perfect time for an internship with a local business in that industry. This valuable experience can help them confirm their interest in that field or decide to look elsewhere. 

Test Preparation  If college is in the future, SAT/ACT test preparation may be worthwhile.  Strong test scores can result in recurring annual scholarships worth tens of thousands of dollars.  And remember - we can help!  

How to Help Your Child Be Successful and Self-Assured

Consider Your Compliments  If you tell your child "Good job!" with every accomplishment, or exaggerate your praise (“You’re the best player on the team!), they may have a hard time recognizing when their work is really worth celebrating.  Instead of praising your child when they do something they’re supposed to do, try a simple “Thanks” instead.  Make every effort to give very specific feedback. Instead of saying their artwork is beautiful, maybe you could praise them for their design or use of a particular color.  

Let Your Child Make Decisions   When your child has the opportunity to make choices, they’ll gain confidence in his own good judgment.  When they’re young, it’s best to give them two or three choices.  Rather than asking what they want to wear, for example, allow them to select between two or three outfits you’ve put together ahead of time.  And let them know there are other things that aren’t up for a vote, like swimming lessons, or weekly trips to the library. 

Cooking in the kitchen with Mom

Encourage Special Interests   Expose your child to many activities, and encourage them when they find interests they want to pursue. Kids who have a passion are proud of their expertise. And hobbies can be helpful for kids who find it difficult to fit in.  A student with a talent for painting, for example, may lead the pep squad in creating posters supporting the school’s sports team. 

Look for Ways to Help Others   It’s empowering for a young child to help you with a project.  Seeing the effort and planning that grown-up tasks require, and watching their parent taking mistakes in stride, will make kids feel better when they have to work at their own projects in the future.

Don’t Save Your Child   We all want to keep our child from getting hurt, but when you intervene you’re not doing them any favors.  Kids will learn to succeed by overcoming obstacles, not by having the obstacles removed for them.  They need to know they can take risks without feeling their parents will criticize or correct them for doing something wrong.  We all learn by doing – and by being allowed to make mistakes without being reprimanded - or seeing you mess up without making a big deal about it - will help your kids understand that mistakes are part of life, and something to be learned from.

These are just a few things you can do to help your child be happy, healthy and confident. At the Tutoring Club of Jacksonville, we focus on your whole child, by improving academics, building character and instilling confidence.  Our kids love to come here; more importantly, they love the results they get from their work with us.  Call us at 268-8556 to see how we can help your child.    

Keeping Off the Summer Slide

What’s on your schedule for summer?  The family vacation, camp, trips to the pool . . . and something you didn’t think about, the summer slide. That’s what we call the educational ground children lose during the three-month break from school, especially when it comes to reading.   

According to the authors of a report from the National Summer Learning Association: "A conservative estimate of lost instructional time is approximately two months or roughly 22 percent of the school year . . . It's common for teachers to spend at least a month re-teaching material that students have forgotten over the summer. That month of re-teaching eliminates a month that could have been spent on teaching new information and skills."

Summer learning can erase early reading deficits   

The transition from third to forth grade marks the change from “learning to read” to “reading to learn”.   Summer learning programs have been shown to mitigate summer learning losses in reading and to help children gain needed proficiency in reading skills as they enter the fourth grade. 

The summer before high school is one of the most critical transitions    

The transition from eighth to ninth grade is one of the most pivotal moments in a student’s education.  Students who receive extra support of adults in summer learning programs are more likely to navigate this transition successfully. 

High-quality summer learning programs level the college entry playing field

Evidence shows the need for remedial coursework in two- and four-year colleges has created a sense of urgency around college preparation programs, particularly for first-generation college attendees.  Students who participate in SAT / ACT test preparation courses can increase their scores by 200+ points.  This may be the differentiating factor between winning a one-time $500 scholarship award and a more valuable 4-year scholarship. 

Make sure to put reading on your list of things to do this summer.  Make a weekly trip to the library a fun family event.  Read to your kids, and ask them to read to you.  For more help in preparing for school in the fall, call the Tutoring Club of Jacksonville at 268-8556. 

Summer is for Reading, Too!

Hooray! It’s summertime!  No more teachers, no more books  .  .  . um, what?  No more books?  Summer is a great time to relax, but it's no time for your child to stop learning! 
   

Many schools have a summer reading list for students, typically made up of a few classic titles that wouldn’t ordinarily make the cut if it were up to your child.  But with all the books out there, how do you help your child select age-appropriate titles that catch their interest?  

The first place to go is your local public library.  If you haven’t been there in a while, don’t hesitate to ask for help.  Your librarian is trained to help you find what you’re looking for: a specific title, books that are good for reading out loud, books related to a particular topic or even books for kids in a specific age group. 

Some parents enjoy providing award-winning books for their children. The Caldecott Medal (for illustration) and the Newberry Medal (for writing) are the two most important awards for children's literature.  They are awarded each year by the American Library Association, but they are given to only two of the more than 2,500 new children's books published each year. 

The library will also have several journals on hand that review children's books, including the Horn Book and Booklist; they can help keep you current with what’s new, what’s trending and what’s worth pursuing in children’s books. 

You can find a huge variety of discounted books at library book sales (usually held annually) and used book stores.  Jacksonville’s best is Chamblin Bookmine; the store on Roosevelt Boulevard has more than 50,000 square feet of books.  There you can find hundreds of books – many in like-new condition – at discounted prices.   

Lots of kids cut their reading chops on comic books, which have been around since the 1930s.  These days, you have comics that tell the stories of teams of popular superheroes like DC Comics’ Justice League and Marvel’s Avengers, as well as comics dedicated to each of the superheroes individually. 

Calvin and Hobbes is a comic that is no longer produced, but you can find them all in paperback at any local bookstore. Calvin and Hobbes will help you remember what it’s like to be a kid; it’s funny and endearing, perfect for children of all ages.  

When your child is young, it’s a good idea to start a small library for them.  Keep some books for little children to handle freely. And once your child learns to read for themselves, keep reading together - encourage them to read to you some of the time.  

You really can’t go wrong with whatever your child selects to read: fiction, non-fiction, magazines, comic books or the newspaper. Reading nurtures literacy, language development and thinking skills. So find a few good books - enjoy your summer, and enjoy a good read!