Early Tutoring Can Be a Real Asset

An important resource in ensuring your child’s academic success is getting the help of a tutor. Dr. Jane Stewart offers tutoring services for students of all ages at her two locations—Optiminds in Southfield and The Brain Development Center in Novi.

Tutoring used to be thought of primarily as a remedial tool. If a student was struggling or made some mistakes  along the way, working with a tutor was a way to get help and make a fresh start. But nowadays, working with a tutor is often treated like having an academic personal trainer and, as such, is enlisted by even the best of students. Good students know how to take advantage of the possibilities of good tutoring and to get started early in the semester before trouble starts.

With the new school year just getting underway, here are some reasons why starting tutoring early can help:

• Real learning takes time and starting early gives your student a chance to learn concepts slowly and solidly.
• By being proactive, your child has a chance to grasp foundational concepts on which more difficult work is built.
• Student and tutor have time to get to know one another and establish the rapport that can make a difference in how they work together.  The more a tutor works with your child, the more they get to know strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles.
• Early work means that early homework assignments will be done correctly. This translates to a higher grade average and less jeopardy occurring later in the semester.
• A tutor will hold your student accountable for completing work.
• A tutor provides constant feedback on the work, which helps a student stay on track with subjects.
• Tutoring builds confidence in a person’s learning abilities, increasing motivation to continue to do well.

Dr. Jane Stewart specializes in helping people of all ages improve their study, reading and cognitive skills at two locations: The Brain Development Center in Novi and Optiminds in Southfield. Contact Dr. Jane Stewart at (248) 496-0150 or email her at: jstewart@optimindsct.com.

You can learn more about The Brain Development Center at: http://novipsych.com/brain_development and Optiminds at: www.optimindsct.com.

Some Back-to-School Tips for Grade Schoolers

By the end of the summer, many kids have put school and homework completely out of their heads. With school starting, here are some tips to make the new year run more smoothly for your child.

Develop good homework and study habits:

• Create an environment that is conducive to doing homework. Youngsters need a permanent work space in their bedroom or another part of the home that is quiet, without distractions, and promotes study.
• Schedule ample time for homework.
• Establish a household rule that the TV set stays off during homework time.
• Supervise computer and Internet use.
• Be available to answer questions and offer assistance, but never do a child’s homework for her.
• Take steps to help alleviate eye fatigue, neck fatigue and brain fatigue while studying. It may be helpful to close the books for a few minutes, stretch, and take a break periodically when it will not be too disruptive.
• If your child is struggling with a particular subject, and you aren’t able to help her yourself, a tutor can be a good solution. Talk it over with your child’s teacher first.

Ease back-to-school stress—Switching from the laid-back fun in the sun of summer to rules, homework, and routines can be a big jump for parents and children alike. Try slowly switching to an earlier bedtime. Remember that children between the ages of 5 and 12 need 10 to 11 hours of sleep. Displaying a calm, positive attitude will also help. If you’re excited for school to start, your children will follow your lead.

Establish routines—Setting up daily routines at home at the start of the school year (or even before) can also help children adjust. Doing this directly benefits their work in the classroom where their day is full of routines.

Let your children know what’s expected of them every day. Creating a checklist or flowchart will help children get organized and stay on schedule, which also eases anxiety. Enlist their help in creating the schedule as a way to get them to buy into it.

Dr. Jane Stewart specializes in helping people of all ages improve their study, reading and cognitive skills at two locations: The Brain Development Center in Novi and Optiminds in Southfield. Contact Dr. Jane Stewart at (248) 496-0150 or email her at: jstewart@optimindsct.com.

You can learn more about the Brain Development Center at: http://novipsych.com/brain_development and Optiminds at: www.optimindsct.com.

Optiminds—The College Student’s Best Friend

If you’re a college student, it’s a good guess that you find yourself with too much to do and too little time to do it in. Maybe it’s time to treat yourself to some help from Optiminds.

In a short time, we can teach you how to reduce stress and increase your mental capacity, which will allow you to process information better and faster. You will be able to retain critical information that you’ve learned in class, so you can apply it quickly when doing homework or taking exams.

We utilize skills-based programs, computerized drills, visualization techniques and mental exercises individually tailored to your unique needs to achieve proven results. We’ll help you set your goals and achieve them.

Here are just a few comments from satisfied college students about their Optiminds experience:

“My college grades improved, and I actually remember what I studied.”

“This visualizing really works! I see my organic chemistry in 3D in my head and am getting an A. Thanks, Dr. Jane!”

“I’ve learned how to overcome stress and being overwhelmed. Now I have time to have fun with my friends!”

“I got a full ride to medical school after Optiminds helped me raise my MCAT score.”

Dr. Jane Stewart at Optiminds has been helping to improve the study, reading and cognitive skills of clients of all ages. Find out more about Optiminds tutoring programs for students of all ages by calling us today at (248) 496-0150 or email us at: jstewart@optimindsct.com. And be sure to visit our website at www.optimindsct.com.

Time Management and Study Tips for College Students—Part 1

Whether you are just starting your college experience or consider yourself a seasoned pro, it’s never too late to improve your study habits. Here are some practical tips from Dr. Stephanie Sarkis, Ph.D. and ADD expert:

• Always attend the “real” class, and use the Internet one for review.
• If you are not a morning person, don’t schedule classes for 7 a.m. You will not go.
• Get involved on campus. All work and no “productive” socializing is boring.
• Too much socializing equals bad grades. Everything in moderation.
• If you are feeling overwhelmed, are having problems sleeping, or are experiencing emotional problems, visit your college’s counseling or crisis center.
• Many colleges have free tutoring centers on campus. Take advantage of them.
• Sit near the front of class.
• Attend the whole class. Even if you feel like you will just die if you sit there any longer. Even if you feel your brain start to ooze out the side of your ear. Professors sometimes give really important info at the end of class.
• Recopy your notes after class. Or if you’ve typed them (which is recommended), do a quick read-through after class.
• See how your first semester goes before you consider getting a job. See how heavy your course load is first.

Dr. Jane Stewart at Optiminds has been helping to improve the study skills of clients of all ages. Find out more about Optiminds college brain fitness programs and cognitive skills training by calling us today at (248) 496-0150 or email us at: jstewart@optimindsct.com. And be sure to visit our website at www.optimindsct.com.

How Can Brain Fitness Strategies Improve Productivity?

Have you ever wondered, what is that quality that kept Sherpa Tenzing moving ahead and scale those unscaleable heights? What is the driving force behind all those people, who have done hundreds of acts of gallantry and valor and yet strive to do more? Well, the only factor that keeps each and every person to crave for more is motivation, which is the foundation of productivity.

Productivity is defined as the measure of output gained by the use of per unit input as an outcome of a production process. There are various factors leading to enhanced productivity – namely motivated employees, resolving of conflicts arising out of various factors, optimum use of the resources, effective resource allocation and budgetary allocation.

The basic guidelines for ensuring maximum productivity are that you should set targets for yourself on a day to day basis and they should be accomplished. You should break your large goals into small tasks, thereby simplifying the goal and your ability to reach it at the earliest. The secret to productivity is that you should not waste 80 percent of your time to do the 20 percent of work, but it should be vice versa.

For business professionals, productivity is based on the inter-personal relationships at the workplace and cognizance of the role performed by him. If his peers and superiors encourage the tasks performed by him and award him for the same in terms of incentives or other benefits, his morale as well as productivity levels can be kept high.

Optiminds for Brain Fitness

Continuing on the theme from the last post.  If you want study skills and time management solutions talk to one of the many professionals who can help.  While making a plan for a week make sure you plan for recreational activities, time for TV watching, time to can catch your favorite team play. College activities are important to college success. Also take into account the time you would spend with friends or on phone. This is very important because you need time away from studies otherwise what happens is you sit there with an open book trying to guess what everybody else is doing or just day dreaming and wasting your time!

After you have planned your week write it down and as far as possible stick to the time table. Remember that you have made the planning and the timetable. If you think that it is not working then change it! Sometimes what you think and what you can do is difficult to guess before you actually try it out. Need some help? Contact a professional tutor to help set some guidelines.

Make sure that you have a comfortable place to study. The temperature should also be comfortable. The lighting should be sufficient. If you think that you study better with music playing in the back ground then keep your favorite music ready and start your studies as per your plan.

When you manage your time and plan your studies your college life will be more rewarding and successful. The time management skills you learn will help in other aspects of your life too. A great tool for success.

Time Management Plans Are Important Skills For Study And Life

Keep it simple for college success.  Are you one among those who always think that 24 hours a day is not enough? You need couple of hours more each day? Are you always rushing to meet the deadlines and always very stressed when it comes to completing home assignments? Do you feel that you have no time for studies?

Well if this is the case then may be you need to learn and develop time management skills. This will not only help you in your studies it will also help you in your life. These skills are helpful in society and with on other responsibilities like jobs and family.

Here are some tips that will help you to manage your time better. First you have to sit down and identify the areas where you need more time. Think about your daily routine. How and where you spend time. Once you identify how you are spending the day it will become clear where you need to take control of the situation. In college a rule of thumb is, you have to study two hours for every one hour class. Some may be less, some more, so it will help if you prioritize your classes.

After you identify the problem areas and have your priority list ready the next step is to make a plan. You have your semester schedule with you. When you look at it you may feel over whelmed. So break it into parts. Most teachers will give you home assignments well in advance. You can start from that. Make a list of assignments and the due dates. Arrange the work according to the deadlines. There may be some classes that you think you hate or absolutely don’t like. So make sure to give enough time to complete home assignments of that class. Ask for help if you need it. Study with a friend so that it becomes an enjoyable experience!