education

From our Smarty friends at Charlotte Lab School Opening in fall 2015, the Charlotte…

Don’t miss this week’s School Open Houses we’ve listed below. This is NOT the…

Smarties, meet Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools (MACS) and see what makes them different! What…

Last week while meeting with one of my Huntington families, I was reminded of…

By guest blogger, Marian Hodge

You may have heard this term used in your child’s school or by other parents and wondered, what in the world is that? Orton-Gillingham (or O-G) is a highly effective and well-known learning approach. O-G uses a specific set of guidelines and principles to teach children (mainly PreK-4th grade) the most basic fundamentals of reading and writing. Orton-Gillingham is different from other approaches because of its multi-sensory aspect. Engaging all of the senses simultaneously is the key to the effectiveness of O-G. By opening more pathways for information to reach the brain, the chance for that information to be imbedded in memory is greatly increased.

O-G is proven to work extremely well for children who have ADD, ADHD, or Dyslexia, but it is also a wonderful intervention tool for children who are struggling to keep up with their grade level. The Fletcher School in Charlotte uses O-G as an instructional method, and many private schools recommend that children who are falling behind learn this approach through private tutoring. In tutoring sessions, children are taught (or retaught) the building blocks of the English language beginning with in-depth phonics, phonological awareness, and English grammar rules. Private O-G tutoring gives your child one-on-one instruction that they may not be able to get in a classroom full of children.

By Charlotte Shackleford
Director of Mouzon Weekday Preschool

Has your preschooler ever brought home artwork that looks partially finished? Or something that just looks a little off? Well, I hope they have. The first year I taught preschool I found myself obsessing over the snowman with one eye, or the farm animals that were pasted on upside down. I wanted to encourage the children to place things in the correct spot, and fully color in their pictures. Well, if you have a preschooler, you know I was rarely successful. It was my dear friend and co-teacher at the time that told me, “When you are teaching preschoolers, it’s all about the process, not the product.” Man, was she right.

Three Weeks Before School Starts

1. Take a proper inventory of backpacks and lunch boxes. Replace items that are torn, dirty or too small.

2. Wash items that are in good condition. Spot clean or run backpacks through the wash. Disinfect lunch boxes. Replace worn labels.

3. Purchase new shoes and allow each child to wear them for a week to make sure they don’t irritate their feet.

4. Double check dress code for school.

5. Purchase any new clothes as needed. Wash them and decide on “First Day of School” outfit.

6. Review school supplies needed and purchase. Once home, label all supplies.

7. Start children on an earlier bedtime schedule.