Learning – Premier Tuition Centre

How To Support Your Child With Maths

Premier Tuition — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 11:03:51 +0000

Overcome Maths Anxiety

I’ve made no secret about the fact that I struggled with Maths since primary school and this is one of the main reasons why I started Premier Tuition Centre.

I first began to experience Maths anxiety when I was in Senior Infants!

Although I was a smart child and was never considered to be a candidate for additional support at school (in fact, I used to help out in these classes when I was in 6^th Class) I silently struggled with Maths for the duration of my time in school, primary and secondary, and developed really bad anxiety towards the subject.

If this sounds like your child, and you want to give them some support before their difficulties worsen, try these 5 tips:

💡 Tip 1

Help your child with their homework every night. It’s not always easy in a busy household but set some quiet time aside so that you can sit with your child each evening. Consistency is key and you might be surprised to find out that the thing they’re struggling with is really easy to solve. For example, when I was in Senior Infants, I panicked when asked to add money. Even though I could add numbers very easily, for some reason it took me a while to understand that adding money was done in the exact same way.

💡 Tip 2

Use lots of concrete materials and hands on activities to help your child develop their problem-solving skills. Every child learns differently. Some children are visual learners while others are tactile/kinesthetic and these children often begin to struggle with Maths when they’re expected to solve problems abstractly (in their heads) before they’re developmentally ready.

💡 Tip 3

Use digital resources to help your child understand new concepts or topics. Parents/caregivers and their children don’t often make for the best teacher-student relationship! Children can get frustrated with their parents and vice versa. Youtube has some great Maths tutorials that might help your child understand a new concept better than if you’re teaching it directly. There are also loads of interactive Maths games available online that make learning and practicing Maths really fun.

💡 Tip 4

Try to incorporate informal Maths activities into your daily routine. This can be easily done through cooking or baking activities but it’s also possible to practice counting, adding and subtracting skills throughout the day. When possible, ask questions like “how much more do I need” or “how much less than…” to help develop their Maths language. Ask your child to help you with the time and get them used to buying items in a shop with money and collecting the change.

💡 Tip 4

Don’t panic if your child doesn’t understand something immediately. Learning takes time and consistency. Putting too much pressure on your child could make the situation worse. If you try these activities and nothing is working, speak to your child’s school and see what they can do to help.

Thinking About Maths Tutoring?

We offer Maths tutoring to primary school pupils from Senior Infants – 6th Class.

Our tutors are fully qualified and experienced but also incredibly kind, patient and supportive.

We use inclusive methodologies to support all learners.

To find out more, click on the link below.

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Dyslexia: How to Support your Child

AnneMarie Brosnan — Sun, 09 Jan 2022 16:49:54 +0000

3 Easy Ways to Support Your Child with Dyslexia

Did you know that dyslexia affects 10% of the population?

Indicators of dyslexia can vary from age to age but some of most common signs present as:

✅ difficulties with learning the connection between letters and sounds

✅ difficulty repeating multisyllabic words

✅ confusion with small words

✅ poor concentration

If your child has dyslexia, here are some ways that you can support them:

1. Read to your child. Children with dyslexia often develop a dislike of reading because they find it so challenging. Make the experience enjoyable by reading to them. This means that they get to experience the benefits of reading but none of the stress or anxiety that often goes with it.

2. Children with dyslexia often have low self-esteem because they recognise that they learn differently to their peers. Talk to your child about this in a positive way. Help them to develop their talents and focus on the things that they do well. Actively promote positive thinking by regularly using phrases such as “you can do it” or “you are good/smart enough”, “you are intelligent”.

3. Get familiar with assistive technology which can help your child achieve their full potential. Text-to-Speech software can be used to support academic learning while apps like Audible have hundreds of fiction and non-fiction books available to download at the click of a button.

Get an experienced tutor who has worked with children with dyslexia before. Children with dyslexia should be taught in a direct, explicit and multi-sensory way that is often quite different to traditional approaches.

"Children with dyslexia should be taught using direct, explicit and multi-sensory approaches" - AnneMarie

Specialist Dyslexia Tutors

If you’d like to learn more about our specialist dyslexia tutors, get in touch with us today.

Tuition is available to primary school pupils from Senior Infants to 6th Class live online through Zoom or at our tuition centre in Castletroy, Limerick.

Understanding Dyslexia in Primary School Children

Premier Tuition — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 09:29:33 +0000

Let’s talk about dyslexia…

Dyslexia is a learning difficulty which makes it hard for some learners to read, write and spell. They may also have difficulties with memory, processing numbers and time management (or other organisational skills).

Most people with dyslexia are intelligent, and many have above-average intelligence. They can also be extremely creative, imaginative and good at problem solving – just look at the multi-billionaire Richard Branson! Unfortunately, for a very long time, intelligence has been measured by how well someone can read, write, spell and compute. Thankfully, perceptions are changing and people with dyslexia are being valued for the skills and abilities that they do have.

Lots of parents are naturally quite worried when it’s first suggested to them that their child may have dyslexia. This is a common reaction but we would urge all parents and caregivers to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that their child can avail of any additional support that is available to them.

People with dyslexia most certainly can succeed in education, whether that’s at primary, secondary or third-level. But early intervention is key to ensuring this success. This is because people with dyslexia DO need additional, specialised support in helping them to learn to read, write and spell. We work with lots of children with dyslexia, and many of our teachers have undergone specialised training in this area, so we know first-hand that children with dyslexia thrive off direct and explicit instruction. In fact, it can often be counter-productive to force a student with dyslexia to complete the same home/school work as their non-dyslexic peers (there are exceptions, of course).

If a child has not been diagnosed with dyslexia, they may not be in a position to receive specialised support at school. A diagnosis will not pigeonhole anyone. Instead, it will allow them to avail of this additional support. It’s also worth considering that a diagnosis of dyslexia, properly explained, can help to boost a child’s confidence as they now understand that their difficulties with reading, writing and spelling is not a reflection of their intelligence.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch. Our contact details are below. You may also find the following sites useful:

https://www.hse.ie/eng/health/az/d/dyslexia/symptoms-of-dyslexia.html

https://www.sess.ie/dyslexia-section/dyslexia-and-reading-instruction