Happy National Teacher Appreciation Day from Omega Learning® Center! In honor of National Teacher Appreciation Day, we want to thank all of our tutors at Omega Learning® Center! We appreciate their dedicating, hard-working, and loving support that helps make a difference in every child’s educational future. Here are the top 7 reasons why Omega Learning® tutors are special.

1. Omega tutors are teachers. Our tutors are qualified, motivated, and certified teachers who care about your student’s success.

2.Omega tutors are educated. Many Omega tutors have master’s degrees and special education degrees, and all must complete the Omega Certification Program.

3.Omega tutors produce results. Omega tutors achieve results using our AIM Tutoring System®. The average academic growth is 2.6 years after completing our program.

4.Omega tutors are local. Our tutors live and work in our community. They believe in the power of a strong education and its value for your child’s future.

5.Omega tutors are dynamic. Our tutors engage their students and use auditory, visual and tactile instructional methods to achieve lasting results.

6.Omega tutors are connected. Omega tutors communicate with hundreds of teachers daily directly with schools through our software system to help you achieve success.

7.Omega tutors believe in education. By providing opportunity for growth, building student confidence, and encouraging critical thinking skills, our Omega tutors help students achieve academic success.Omega Learning® Center offers Tutoring K-12 with certified teachers for every subject in school.

Find a center near you! http://OmegaLearning.com

Summer Reading Enrichment

Help your student discover the love of reading and writing this summer with Omega Learning® Center’s enrichment-based OutpAce® curriculum. Omega’s certified teachers help students develop and improve the fundamentals of reading and writing. Our highly-effective summer program includes sight words, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, grammar, language arts, and writing skills. In our AdvancED® learning environment students build vital critical-thinking skills needed for Reading and math application.

Summer Math Enrichment

Math can be fun! Omega’s certified teachers help students develop and improve fundamental math concepts including basic calculation skills, math facts fluency, word problems, and math reasoning. Through Omega’s enrichment-based OutpAce® curriculum, students build vital critical-thinking skills needed to apply their knowledge to more advanced, multi-step math concepts. Preview fall math curriculum and get a jump start on the upcoming school year at Omega Learning® Center this summer!

Kindergarten Success

Benefit from individualized instruction by certified teachers this summer and help your child become fully-prepared to begin Kindergarten and achieve success throughout Kindergarten. Omega’s caring, certified teachers help young learners, ages 4-7, build vital critical-thinking skills and develop the fundamentals of reading, writing, and math. Omega’s certified teachers use auditory, visual, and tactile teaching materials to optimize the learning experience. Omega’s program builds the confidence and skills needed for a lifetime of success!

SAT/ACT Boot Camps

Omega Learning® Centers offer customized Test Prep camps during the summer that are designed to target and improve your student’s scores in math, reading, writing, and vocabulary. Omega’s teachers provide strategic remediation, mock testing, guided instruction, and strengthened critical-thinking skills.

Summer School

ALL High School Math courses are available at Omega’s Summer School! Earn credit recovery at Omega Learning® Center this summer. Students benefit from Certified Teachers and a low Student:Teacher ratio. Omega Learning® Center offers flexible scheduling and affordable pricing. All centers are AdvancED® Accredited.

S.T.E.A.M. Camps

Students develop new skills, expand creative thinking, foster team building, and meet new friends. In our AdvancED® accredited learning environment, summer camp students benefit from small group instruction led by certified teachers. Upon completion, each student will be presented with a certificate for the successful completion of the Omega Learning® Center S.T.E.A.M. Summer Camp.

Summer Programs may vary. Call center for availability.

Spring is just around the corner, which usually means it’s time to clean up the house. If your house is anything like mine, you have a lot of work ahead of you! But let’s not talk about dusting and sparkly clean windows. Instead, let’s focus on one thing clutter. More specifically book clutter! Now we all know that in theory books are shelved neatly in endless bookcases that display their wonderfulness and we always have enough room for more. In practice, your kids have spent the winter reading every last one of the Rainbow Magic books, a few rounds of The 39 Clues adventures, Geronimo Stilton numbers 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20 and 37. (Because that’s how they roll.) Not to mention your picture book selection is filled with more dust bunnies than fictional ones because your kids are independent readers.

• Your bookshelf is there. You just might not be able to find it. So this leads us to that inevitable moment every book lover must deal with the purge! We all want to keep every book we’ve ever read forever, but we can’t. So how do we say goodbye to books with no regrets?

• Involve your kids in the process! They may not pick up those picture books these days but you KNOW they have an emotional connection to some. Let them do some of the sorting. (But save the ones you know they’d want to pass on to their kids or you think your kids might need to come back to at some point in life.)

• The same goes for series books. Your kids are (hopefully) reading through them at a breakneck speed and most likely, are as proud of the accomplishment of reading them than they are attached to the actual books. Maybe make a list of all of the books they’ve read in a series for display rather than 2 shelves of them. Of course, you should keep a few for book reports or summer re-reading.

• Let’s not forget all of YOUR books! You need to lead the way for your kids. That means you should take a hard look at your storage space, the books you will realistically reread or want to keep for sentiment and those YA books your soon-to-be tween might want to read in a few years. Now, you have a semi-neat and perhaps spacious bookshelf and a box of books that need a new home.

• Here are a few ideas for finding them one: Friends read too! You have them. Your kids have them. Maybe their daughter loves Geronimo Stilton too but has only read numbers 2, 8, 9 and 11. It’s a match made in mouse-heaven!

• Check with your child’s teacher or school librarian. They may need to spruce up their classroom library or might know of a child who really loves the Rainbow Fairies and would appreciate the chance to conquer the series over the summer!

• See if your local bookstore also deals in used books. If not, there are also quite a few options for selling used books online.

• There are tons of charities that will use gently used books or raise funds through book sales. If one speaks to your heart, it’s good to know your books will continue to be loved and go toward a good cause. Let’s be honest.

• Some books have seen so much love that they probably aren’t suitable for donation or resale. Don’t put them out on the curb for the recycling truck just yet, though. They can become part of a collage, homework assignment or some other craft project. Be creative and have fun! After all that work, congratulations! You’ve earned the right to relax. Sit down with a cup of tea and read a good book!

Source : https://www.scholastic.com/parents/others/blogs/spring-cleaning-your-bookshelves.html

Are you in a goal-setting frame of mind? The New Year is a great time to have your child evaluate herself and her school year and set goals for a fresh start. Ask your child: How is her homework routine? Is she practicing math facts nightly or weekly? Does she have good study habits in place? These are questions every child should think about and ask to gain more responsibility and independence. And this time of year is the best time to do it!

If you’re looking to use the New Year as an opportunity to set math-focused goals, here are some area to focus on.

1. Set goals together and make them visible.

Setting goals for the remainder of the school year shouldn’t feel like a chore. Look for creative ways for your child to share goals: He can create a poster, write goals on colored index cards, type on the computer in fun colors/fonts, or even develop a PowerPoint presentation (complete with animation effects!). Make it easy for your child to remember the goals by placing them where he can easily read them.

2. Spend some time thinking about homework.

This point in the school year can be a moment of change for after-school responsibilities and activities. That makes it the perfect moment to review your child’s homework routine and schedule and make adjustments as necessary. Are assignments being turned in on-time? Are homework corrections being made either in school or at home? Consider cleaning out and reorganizing the homework folder. Does the order in which homework is being completed need to change?

3. Make time to review math facts. 

By mastering math facts, your child will be able to seamlessly know that 3+5 = 8 without having to do the addition. This bone-deep knowledge of math is essential for all four operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Often, reviewing basic math facts, like the times tables, falls to the wayside as the school year progresses, but it’s extremely valuable and should be incorporated into daily or weekly routines. If your child is sick of flashcards or other memorization techniques, try switching it up.

4. Instill good study habits. 

Most teachers give a few days’ notice for quizzes and tests. Your child should see this time between when the test is announced and when it takes place as a preparation period and begin to implement strong study techniques. Have your child review old exams and quizzes to evaluate common mistakes and understand why answers were incorrect.

5. Focus strongly on problem solving when setting goals.

Word problems are an area in mathematics that most students need to improve on. Many can solve the problem, but have a difficult time explaining and showing reason for how they solved it. Incorporating math vocabulary is a great way to increase problem-solving skills. Consider setting a goal that’s age-appropriate, where children have to use one to three math vocabulary words in the problem solving explanations.

Whatever goals you and your child set for the New Year, remember to keep them attainable and within reason. The focus should not be on getting perfect test scores or being the fastest, but more about making small improvements that will have a lasting effect on your child’s math knowledge.

Source: https://www.scholastic.com/parents/school-success/learning-toolkit-blog/5-tips-new-years-math-goals.html

The holiday season is one of my favorite times of the year. There are so many wonderful activities, events, and traditions for families during this time. Here are a few fun ideas that incorporate literacy into the magic and anticipation of the holidays.

1. Create a Book Advent
The advent calendar is one of the most popular ways to count down the days until Christmas. Last year, instead of opening chocolates each day, we opened books! The book advent quickly became a treasured tradition that our family will continue to enjoy and anticipate for years to come.

To create a Book Advent, you will need to purchase and wrap 24 picture books. Choose a collection of 24 classic picture books like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 24-holiday books, or any mix of titles your children will enjoy. I took the opportunity to bolster our picture book collection last year, and will focus on Christmas/winter books this year. I spend several weeks/months browsing thrift stores and searching through the latest Scholastic Reading Club flyers to find just the right titles. When you select books, choose titles that will be of high interest to your children.

I placed all of the wrapped books in a basket under the tree. I want my children to begin to understand that reading is a gift! (And honestly, books make just about the best present!) Each night in December, we choose one book to open and read it together as a family.

2. Teach Your Child About the Holidays
Last year, I picked up a few books about Hanukkah. I chose several non-fiction titles for information and several fiction titles for story and enjoyment. I wasn’t sure how my children would react but were so pleasantly surprised at their delight and level of interest. They enjoyed learning about the holiday celebrations of another religion/culture so much, that we will spend time each year learning about the different ways people celebrate the holidays.

Select a winter holiday that your family doesn’t normally celebrate, or choose to learn about how the holiday your family observes is celebrated in another country.

Check out a variety of fiction and non-fiction books about the holiday/cultural celebrations you are learning about. Prepare traditional food. Make crafts that reflect the symbols/activities associated with the holiday/cultural celebration. Play games, listen to music, and get your children involved in the research/learning process. Not only does this idea encourage literacy, but shows your child that learning about something new can be fun and exciting.

3. Remember Books Make the Perfect Gifts
Many families have gift-giving traditions. Some children receive a new pair of jammies every year on Christmas Eve or on the 4th night of Hanukkah, etc. This year, make an effort to incorporate the giving of books into your holiday traditions.

I want my children to fall in love with reading and begin to view reading and receiving great books as precious gifts. Commit to making books part of your holiday gift-giving routine.

Some ideas include introducing your children to a new-to-them series each year, like Ricky Ricotta or Ivy + Bean, or introducing them to a favorite book from your childhood. You could choose to give a fiction and a non-fiction book about a topic of interest to your child. Choose several books that are right at your child’s reading level. Set aside a special day during the season to select a new holiday book or snuggle up as a family to enjoy The Night Before Christmas. Give your kids one new holiday-themed book each year. Stuff their stockings with books or stack a pile under the tree.

This year, let’s give our kids the gift of reading. Let’s fill our holiday packages and homes with a wide selection of titles and raise up a generation of children who are excited about reading.

Happy reading and happy holidays!

Source: https://www.scholastic.com/parents/school-success/learning-toolkit-blog/3-holiday-reading-traditions.html

Want to set a solid foundation for your children’s academic future? Read to them multiple times a day, and they’ll enter kindergarten having heard more than a million words.

A study from The Ohio State University found that young children who are read to five times daily (it’s OK if books are repeated!) will hear nearly 1.5 million words by the time they turn 5 — boosting their language development and setting a strong foundation for school success.

Researchers randomly chose 30 of the most circulated board books and 30 of the most circulated picture books, as identified by the Columbus Metropolitan Library, and tallied up the number of words in each book. According to their findings, board books contained an average of 140 words, while picture books contained an average of 228 words.

With these averages, the researchers calculated how many words a child would hear from birth through age 5 with a mix of board books and picture books. Based on their calculations, kids who were read to once or twice a week would hear 63,570 words, while children who were read to three to five times a week would hear 169,520 words. Daily reading would result in 296,660 words, and five books a day would result in a whopping 1,483,300 words heard by age 5!

Though children’s picture and board books showcase a simpler set of vocabulary than, say, a title from the Harry Potter series, many contain words that are rarely found in everyday conversations. The picture book Fancy Nancy and the Sensational Babysitter, for instance, introduces children to words like agenda, ensemble, melancholy, demonstrate, and of course, sensational. That’s why reading is so important for language exposure — everyday conversation is typically not as rich in vocabulary as books, even those books for the littlest of readers.

Additionally, the “extra-texual” talk after a reading, during which parents discuss a book with their little ones, can further enhance a child’s vocabulary. (Here are some storytime questions that will get you started.) Though children may not fully understand every single word they hear, this early exposure prepares them for future instances when they may encounter these words in print, such as at school.

Five readings a day may seem like a lofty goal, but the best way to get started is to build your home library with a variety of books that both you and your little one love — and to engage with extra-textual conversations after reading.

There’s no better time to refresh your bookshelf with read-alouds, because World Read Aloud Day is February 5! This annual advocacy day is presented by global literacy nonprofit LitWorld and sponsored by Scholastic, and unites people around the world by highlighting the importance of reading aloud and sharing stories. To take part, grab a book with your child and read aloud — and learn more about World Read Aloud Day here.

There are a number of inexpensive ways to expand your book collection: Browse our selection of vocabulary builders below, or check out these expert-approved books for beginners or amazing and inspiring reads under $9. You can also get popular suggestions from our book lists for kids ages 3 to 5.

Source: https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/raise-a-reader-blog/how-many-books-to-read-before-kindergarten.html

November is a time for preparing for the holidays and giving thanks, but it’s also a time for using our voices.

It’s a time to set an example by using our voice for good and encouraging our kids to do the same.

As parents, we can be the example for our children in the ways we focus on supporting giving campaigns, donating to meaningful causes, or expressing our thanks for all we have. It can really be exciting to watch our children follow our lead, especially when holiday sales, promotions, and items saturate store shelves and advertisements at this time of the year.

Choosing one cause and empowering children to get involved alongside us is one step that we, as parents, can take. When our children realize how good it feels to give to others, there’s no telling how far they will take it.

Here are some ways to give our children a voice during the season of giving:

• Volunteering at a local thrift shop or soup kitchen;
• Holding a bake sale to raise money;
• Making crafts or small ornaments to sell;
• Gathering friends to write letters to government representatives or political leaders;
• Making posters to encourage friends to support a cause;
• Sending emails or letters to friends and family to teach them about a cause or campaign;
• Having a conversation with a friend about an important cause.

The possibilities are endless.

It’s really about having our kids learn about giving themselves and then encouraging others to join them. The more, the merrier—especially when it comes to giving back to the community and world around us!

Sometimes, just sharing stories about other children who have used their voices is impetus enough for our kids to speak up.

Source: https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/raise-a-reader-blog/giving-kids-voice-during-season-giving.html

Fall is in the air! Crispy leaves, sweater weather, and pumpkin-spiced flavors are a few things to get excited about during the holiday season. Now that Thanksgiving is just around the corner, we are sharing 3 things that we are thankful for here at Omega Learning® Center.

1. Our Teachers: We are thankful for our teachers at Omega! Our tutors are qualified, motivated, and certified teachers K-8 who care about your student’s success. Many Omega tutors have master’s degrees and special education degrees, and all must complete the Omega training/certification program. Our tutors work diligently to engage with students with our OutpAce® curriculum, including auditory, visual, and tactile instructional methods to achieve accelerated growth and lasting results. Our tutors live and work in our community, and they believe in the power of a strong education and its value for your student’s future. We are continuously grateful for our hard-working tutors!

2.Our Students: We are so thankful for our students who come here every day to make a difference in their educational future. Our students come from a variety of backgrounds, and they all benefit from our customized tutoring and test prep programs. Every student puts in their effort to learn from our proprietary curriculum and resources. We love to help them improve and remediate skill gaps and enrichment. We are able to help each student regardless of their learning style, whether it’s visual, auditory, tactile or a combination of each. Omega Learning® is all about helping students achieve academic success one family at a time!

3.Our Parents: We are thankful for the parents that share their stories and experiences with us at Omega. We have an initial, mid-point, and final conference with all parents. This space is designed to show parents their student’s progress as well as listen to parent’s feedback. We are open and receptive when it comes to communication with parents, legal guardians, and relatives. We send daily communication feedback to let the parents know how their student is doing in our tutoring session. Without the parents, we wouldn’t be a big Omega family that we are today.

What are you thankful for? Let us know in the comments!

Read Across America Day on March 2nd is often recognized in schools with a whole lot of literacy fanfare and Dr. Seuss love, it’s also important for families to have a little background on the event as well so the celebration can continue on at home.

Read Across America Day is celebrated on the birthday of the beloved author and illustrator, Dr. Seuss.  Dr. Seuss, officially known as Dr. Theodor Geisel, was born on March 2, so most Read Across America Day celebrations take place on or around that day.

Schools often mark the day with read-a-thons, read-alouds, reading workshops, speakers, or reading marathons, and many teachers and school employees come to school with a large, floppy, red and white hat on their heads, mirroring the famous Cat in the Hat’s hat.  Some teachers go as far as serving their students green eggs and ham (like Dr. Seuss’s book by the same name), which always gets giggles from kids.

What does this mean for families? How can parents bring the Read Across America excitement home?  Consider these five ways:

1.Bring home Dr. Seuss books! Hit the library and borrow a handful of Dr. Seuss classics: The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, The Lorax, and Fox in Socks just to get you going.   Set them up around your house—and then read, read, read.

2.Start your kids’ days with green eggs and ham.  Really.  Have a super-silly hot breakfast waiting for them on Read Across America Day and see what they do!  Will they notice their green eggs? Will they rhyme as they eat their ham?

3.Talk like the Cat.  Do a whole lot of rhyming—silly rhyming!—throughout the day.   Instead of giving your kiddos the same instructions that you always do (Get dressed, make your bed, and brush your teeth, please.) add a little rhyme to the mix: Brush that bed head instead of playing—I’m just saying! And put on your shirt and pants—do a quick ants-in-your-pants dance!—and then clean those pearly whites just right.

4.Dress like the Cat.  Wear a super-tall top hat, complete with white and red stripes (get crafty with construction paper), or just wear a lot of red, white, and black.

5.Really READ across America.  Call a loved one, a grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, or friend, and either have your child read to that person or ask that person to read to your child.  Of course it should be a Dr. Seuss book, but sharing this meaningful time, celebrating a work from the birthday boy himself, is really what this day is all about.

Source: https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/raise-a-reader-blog/5-ways-to-ring-read-across-america-day-home.html

February is American Heart Month. The heart is arguably our most vital organ, pumping blood to deliver oxygen and nutrients to every cell in our bodies. A healthy heart helps us grow and thrive. On the flip side, an unhealthy heart can dramatically affect our lives. In fact, heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States.

Tips for Heart-Healthy Families
So how do we help our families lead heart-healthy lives?

We posed this question to Dr. Jenny Delfin, a cardiologist at NYU Langone Medical Center and one of the medical experts at Adventure to Fitness. Dr. Delfin provided a quick summary of tips for families:

1.    Limit intake of food with high saturated fat and “bad” (LDL) cholesterol — this includes red meat, dairy, fried food, and fast food.

2.    Include regular intake of food rich in Omega-3 — this includes fish such as salmon, trout, herring, halibut and flounder plus walnuts, soy (tofu), and spinach.

3.    Daily servings of fresh fruit and vegetables — the emphasis here is on eating fresh, healthy produce whenever possible. For canned foods, Dr. Delfin recommends low-sodium vegetables and fruit packed in water or real juice. Some fruit and vegetables can be counterproductive: Canned vegetables are often high in sodium or eaten with fatty dips and dressings. Similarly, canned and frozen fruit can often be packed in heavy syrup or infused with additional sugar.

4.    Choose low-fat protein — this means fish, lean meat like chicken or lean ground beef, and low-fat dairy. Beans, peas, and soy are also good options.

5.    Limit sodium — almost everyone’s daily diet includes enough sodium (and generally, too much). Limiting salt on the table is only one step. Many canned or packaged foods are high in sodium so buy low-sodium products or try for more fresh products.

6.    Regular exercise — for kids, this means at least 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous activity.

Dr. Delfin states, “Far too often, we treat diseases as opposed to prevent them. The way to prevent heart disease is to start early, by teaching children about healthy food choices, healthy portions, and regular exercise.” This infographic summarizes medical recommendations for kids.

Be Good to Your Heart on Valentine’s Day
Since tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, we asked Dr. Delfin for recommendations on all the candy, cookies, and cupcakes we’ll receive. Aside from sending them to her, she reminded us about the difference between snacks and treats. Snacks should be healthy food we eat during the day (like fruits and vegetables) versus the sugary items that should be reserved for special occasions.

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone and in honor of American Heart Month, try to think about how you can use Dr. Delfin’s recommendations with your family!

Source: https://www.scholastic.com/parents/school-success/learning-toolkit-blog/heart-your-family.html