Parent Resources
Why We Love Rapping Words: Word Beats as a Reading Strategy
When you drop your child off for their lesson at Symbols, and wonder what they may be learning that day, your first thought probably isn’t that they will spend time rapping with their tutor. But this may actually be the case! Using “word beats” can actually be a very helpful reading strategy. This method involves ‘chunking’…
Read MoreCommonly Asked Questions at Symbols
As a parent trying to keep track of your child’s busy schedule, it can be difficult having questions that you don’t know the answers to. Below is a list of commonly asked questions or concerns that we often receive from parents. Some of these topics have been covered in previous blogs, but still come up…
Read MoreIs an Orton-Gillingham tutor at Symbols right for your child?
With so many different tutoring options, it can feel overwhelming to decide where to go to get your child help. At Symbols, we use the Orton-Gillingham approach, which we believe is the most effective way to tutor children with – and without – learning differences. What makes Orton-Gillingham effective? Orton-Gillingham is an approach that was initially intended…
Read MoreMathematical Difficulties Tutoring Vancouver, Richmond & Coquitlam
At Symbols, we are able to tutor students in the areas of language arts and math. If a child is struggling with both areas, language arts is addressed first, because it is imperative that a child can read and write at grade level, but math is also addressed after they are steady in those areas.…
Read MoreTeaching Sight Words in Vancouver, Richmond & Coquitlam
The last blog post on our website was on what sight words are, and how important they are. This naturally leads to the next question- how do we actually teach sight words? Exercises We Use To Teach Sight Words Sight words are almost always taught with the aid of a mnemonic. Mnemonics are a memory…
Read MoreSight Words and Dolce Words
At Symbols, we talk a lot about sight words. When you pick your child up from a lesson, you may hear them talking about the “sight word” they learned this lesson. But what are sight words? You may have also heard of dolce words, and be wondering, what’s the difference? Sight Words A sight word…
Read MoreWriting Difficulties Tutoring Vancouver, Richmond & Coquitlam
Is your child having writing difficulties? If so our writing difficulties tutoring in Vancouver, Richmond or Coquitlam can help. Many parents may have heard of the term dyslexia, used to describe extreme reading difficulties, but less commonly heard or understood is the term dysgraphia. So, what is dysgraphia? Generally speaking, dysgraphia is having trouble with…
Read MoreADHD Tutoring Vancouver, Richmond & Coquitlam
At Symbols, we offer tutoring for students with ADHD at our Vancouver, Richmond and Coquitlam locations. But first, what is ADHD? Elementary-aged children are often full of energy and enthusiasm. However, when a child is energetic or hyper to an extent where they have difficulty focusing or paying attention in class, this can be detrimental…
Read MoreTutoring and Your Taxes
NOTE: THIS ARTICLE IS OUTDATED. AN UPDATED VERSION HAS BEEN POSTED FOR THE 2018 TAX YEAR AND CAN BE FOUND HERE. How to Claim Orton-Gillingham Tutoring on Your Personal Income Tax Return It’s mid-February. Employers are issuing T4s, banks are reminding customers about the RRSP deadline, and personal income tax returns are due in a…
Read MoreWhat is Dyslexia?
One of our tutors came across this short TED-Ed video on dyslexia. She suggested we post it on our blog. Enjoy!
Read More