Welcome to our August newsletter. I have some news you may not be aware of. My husband, Ken, and I have sold our Wallsend centre. It is now owned by one of our previous staff members, Sonia. If Sonia has tutored your children, you will know that she is a wonderfully caring and talented lady.
We are sad to loose her as a tutor but we are very happy for her. We know that she will take excellent care of our Wallsend families. We sold the Wallsend centre because Ken and I were finding it difficult to put the time and energy into it, as it was a long way from our home.
Christine Hawkins
Owner KMEC Hunter
In contrast the Raymond Terrace and Greenhills centres are just 15 minutes from home. We are also looking into the possibility of opening a new Kip McGrath centre on the western side of Maitland. Email or call me if having a centre on that side of town appeals to you. I would also like to hear if you have any suggestions on a suitable location.
Now, back to our ‘7 C’s of Learning Series’. In previous newsletters I have discussed Confidence, Curiosity, Creativity, Communication and the ways you can help develop these important aspects for effective learning in your children.
This month is about Collaboration. Collaboration is more than cooperating with others; it is working together to accomplish a common goal. Simply telling children to work together won’t lead to them collaborating effectively. We need to develop activities and projects where children have reasons to help one another to achieve an outcome. Here are a few to try at home.
Buddy tracings. On a large sheet of paper, have each child trace around the outline of the other. Decorate them together. Point out that the kids couldn’t have made them without each other.
Make-believe Scenes. When kids enter a pretend world and take on roles, such as mothers and fathers when playing house or teachers and students when playing schools, they learn to work together both to create that world and what is within it.
Relay and Three-legged Races. These simple physical activities require each child to trust and rely on one another for the team’s success. Blob tag is another great collaborative game. Here are the rules: Chose someone as “IT”. IT starts the game as regular tag, but when he catches someone, they must join hands with IT to create a large Blob. Once the Blob has 6 people, it can split into groups of three only, and may split into groups of three any time thereafter. The person left without being tagged, is IT and the game starts again.
Have fun collaborating!
Teacher’s Tip
Describe fractions to your child as parts of a whole. The bottom number (called the denominator) is the size of the parts.
The top number (called the numerator) is how many we have of these parts. For example, ¾ is read as 3 quarters.
Monthly Joke
Sudoku
Fill in the blank squares with the numbers 1 through to 9.
Every row, column and 3×3 region of a 9×9 grid must contain each number only once
Student of the Month
Award for Outstanding Improvements in Maths
Jemma is really enjoying her extra studies with Kip McGrath.
It is very beneficial working with her tutor and reinforcing what’s being taught in her class at school.
Regards,
Jody (Jemma’s Mum)
Salmon and Leek Slice
Cook 2 sliced leeks in a tablespoon of olive oil until soft. Add a drained 210g can of salmon (or tuna if you prefer), 4 lightly beaten eggs, a cup of grated cheese and 1 cup of self-raising flour to the leeks. Mix, season with salt and pepper and spoon into a baking paper lined 20cm square tin. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and bake for 35-40 minutes in a 180-degree oven. Pack a few slices to make a beautiful light lunch.
