Tutoring Without Tears

image: earl53

Parent tears, that is. With the cost of a professional tutor ranging in most areas from $30 to $100 an hour, getting help for a struggling young student can be financially painful -- as well as logistically challenging, if you need to get your kid to the tutor's office. Instead, try pairing your child with an older student who can help with homework in your home and won't charge an arm & a leg. Bright, patient high schoolers can be a perfect match for K through 8th graders, while college students can make great helpers and role models for high schoolers. Teen and young-adult students may not have the specialized expertise of a hardcore pro tutor, but they can ease HW anxiety at a much more modest price, usually $15-$25 an hour. Because they're fresher from the experience of whatever grade your kid is in, they can be more empathetic too, which goes a long way. And with college costs skyrocketing, employing students is a truly win-win kids-helping-kids arrangement.

Seniority

(photo: phi1317  cc)

Next month my twins start freshman year at a massive (4,000+) high school. Nervous? Probably me more than them. Something that helps, based on my older son's experience, is the school's student advisory program, which pairs each group of 25 or so teens with a teacher who can guide them through the transition to high school. They meet every day with that teacher, but the secret weapon is an upperclassman -- a "senior helper" -- who comes in regularly to answer the newbies' questions based on personal knowledge of the school's challenges and opportunities.

Another way to go is linking each freshman or new-to-the-district student with a peer mentor who can show them the ropes. DoSomething has some nice tips for taking this on as a leadership program.

Brothers & Sisters

photo: Holly Lawrence

With summer comes more together time for kids, even my 3 busy teens. I get to see the (mostly) good and (occasional) bad & ugly of this on a daily basis, but one thing that strikes me is how seeing sibling closeness in action becomes even more powerful and gratifying as they--and I-- get older and they inch ever closer to independent adult life. Because we can't live forever, knowing our kids will be there for each other is at the top of a parent's wish list, or at least mine. Some of this is out of our control (see that "independent life" part), but the basic patterns of caring for each other can be nurtured in sibs, starting very young. Here's a nice post from vlogger/social media consultant Danielle Smith on how she uses one key question to nudge her kids into respecting, protecting & encouraging each other: "Am I being kind?"

One(sie) of a Kind

Customized onesies are always a fun gift, but they're especially sweet for a 1st Mother's Day. Kids made the heart cutouts for this little T for baby girls or boys, and half the design proceeds help kids through Save the Children.

Not Mom's first rodeo? Try a "peace, love & mom" theme for Mother's Day with this cool T for older kids, also featuring children's artwork and benefitting Save the Children. Happy Mother's Day to all!

Pedal Power

 

photo: gabriel.jorby 

My most memorable childhood Christmas gift was probably an emerald-green 10-speed bike my parents had to special-order. It wasn't ready in time for Christmas, but the picture they pasted onto red construction paper was enough to set off fits of anticipation. I couldn't wait for the freedom and fun those wheels would provide.

But some kids have to wait a long time for their first bike -- or never get one at all. For those kids, Wilmette (Ill.) teen Nicole Basil started a bike-drive organization at the tender age of 8 called Pedal Power, now in its 6th year. Each fall she collects more than 100 outgrown bikes to give to Chicago Public Schools honor students in grades K through 8. A local bike shop donates tuneup services before the bikes find their new homes, and any seriously challenged two-wheelers are passed on to a school where special needs kids can learn bike repair skills. Let the good times roll!

Kindness Pays

(photo credit: T1m0thy77 via photopin cc)

In the fraught world of playground politics, think nice guys finish last? Guess again. A 4-week study found kind kids are happier and better liked by peers. Working with 400 9- to 11-year-olds, the universities conducting the study assigned half the group three simple positive acts per week. At the end of the study period, not only did the kids who performed those acts score higher on happiness measures (which, researchers say, aligns with research on the effect of positive behavior on adult states-of-mind), but they were also chosen by more peers for collaborative classroom activities. Sounds like following the golden rule may be a golden ticket to happier school years.

Heartbreak Hotel

(photo: Sontra via photopin cc)

While this Valentine's Day will be heart-filled & happy for many teens, it's a sad fact of life that for some, the timing will be awful. February is indeed the cruelest month for a romantic breakup. But just like being a good friend is the top way kids can help kids in day to day life, being a caring, respectful boyfriend or girlfriend can turn any teen into an everyday hero -- especially when it's time to end a relationship. Here's some good advice for breakups, culled from kidshealth.org:

Do:

• Be honest about why you're breaking up with your guy or girl, but not brutally so. Use tact.
• Think through all the ways the person might react, and try to prepare yourself. 
• Break up in person! Would you want someone to break up with you via Facebook or text?

Don't:

• Rush the conversation. Take some time to consider your reasons and how you'll handle this.
• Tell others beforehand that you're planning to break up with your GF or BF. They might blab.
• Badmouth or gossip about your ex after you've broken up. Golden Rule, karma, whatever you call it -- it's just not smart.

Teens who find themselves guiding a friend through splitsville may want to show him or her this online "mending a broken heart" quiz from WebMD. Answering it together is a fun distraction, and you'll both learn something in the process.