Here is a comprehensive list of programs to help your student stay ahead this fall.
– SAT and ACT classes both one-on-one and group courses. Our group course for SAT’s and ACT’s start after the July 4th weekend.
– Spanish 1/2 and Spanish 3/4 Workshops
– Elementary to Middle School and Middle School to High School Transition Sessions
– Algebra 1, Geometry, and Alg 2 Prep Classes which will start at the end of July. Joey will be teaching some of the courses in the Manhattan Beach Location.
– General Summer School Help
We are open Monday-Friday and you can contact our managers to book appointments for summer. Manhattan Beach Location: Kristen@studyhut.com – (310)546-2408, Redondo Beach Location: Justin@studyhut.com – (310)540-5888, and our El Segundo Location: Alex@studyhut.com (310)648-8526
1. Start Early! – This is the most important one. The internet provides plenty of ways to waste your study time, but you’ll be happy you stayed away from Netflix and Reddit when the final finally comes.
2. Study in Chunks – Your brain works best in 50 minute intervals. You may feel studious after your 6 hour study marathon, but a tired brain doesn’t absorb information like a fresh one. Take 5-10 minutes breaks every hour to make sure you’re making the most of your study time.
3. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place – Studying in bed may sound like a good idea, but once you’re in bed, so will a nap. Find a place that works for you. It should be somewhere where you can focus, spread out your notes, and get in a studying groove. And if you get sick of one place, switch it up!
4. Know Your Teacher – Ask questions, take notes, review old worksheets. Figure out what your teacher thinks is important because that’s what will show up on the final.
5. Study Alone – Start with what you don’t know. Review your old tests, quizzes, and homeworks, and take notes on what you missed. Then spend some time on your own with each of these topics. Write down any questions you have because the next step is…
6. Study in Groups – Once you’ve figured out your own strengths and weaknesses in each subject, form a study group. Here you can ask questions you had on your own and answer some of your study buddies’. Explaining concepts and hearing them explained in new ways will strengthen your understanding of the material.
7. Exercise – Exercise increases blood flow to the brain, and you may need all the brain blood you can get for finals week. It’s also a great way to take a break from book to soak up some sun.
8. Sleep – It may be tempting to cram all night, but
it may not help as much as you think. Give your brain a rest! When the night before the test comes around, be confident in the studying you’ve been doing all week and get some extra sleep.
1. During the school day, teachers’ attention is spread among many students. A tutor can create a targeted plan for your child’s specific needs.
2. Today, kids have increased access to technology, busy parents, and have extremely busy schedules, all of which can potentially distract them from their studies. Time with a tutor gives them the time to focus only on homework or studying.
3. Tutors have the time to explain a concept in several different ways, instead of having to move class along at a certain pace.
4. Tutoring can also teach study skills, which can then be applied to what’s going on in school.
5. Even for students who are doing well in school, tutoring can provide a competitive edge to do even better.
6. Summer tutoring can prepare students for upcoming difficult subjects, such as algebra, or reinforce what was already learned that year so September isn’t spent playing catch-up.
7. For high school students, individual or small group tutoring can be essential for APs and SAT subject tests.
8. For younger kids, tutoring can help boost standardized test scores.
9. A tutor can be a useful sounding board for an upcoming project, paper, or exam, and can help prevent the stress and frustration of leaving an assignment for the night before.
10. Whether it’s third grade math, high school chemistry, or middle school history, tutors have expertise in their subject and can make it more engaging and maybe even fun.
Kids today have it rough. With all the competition to get into top ranked schools, parents are starting earlier and earlier to give their little academics a head start. But when does a parent’s involvement in their kids school work become a hindrance? Like most things, it’s all about a balance.
Studies show that children with parents who stay actively involved with their schoolwork will test better than kids with parents who don’t. So stay involved! Ask questions, congratulate success and encourage asking for help in more difficult subjects. Parents should know when their kids have a test and except to see the grade for it. This holds their student accountable for their grades. When parents do get back their kids work, reward their efforts. This doesn’t mean taking your daughter to buy a new IPod every time she brings home her Friday spelling test. But it does deserve a high five or a hug. (And remember parents, B grades are still fridge worthy!) Parents should be concerned with lower grades. When problem areas in their kid’s classes arise, steps should be taken to find extra help for their students. Begin with asking to see homework and review all problems that they have trouble with. If problems continue, check in with the teacher and see what else you can do to make sure your child keeps up with work.
When involvement becomes a hindrance rather than helpful is when parents begin to micromanage. Parents must remember that students should be expected to do their homework—and not because Mom stands over their shoulder until it’s done. Establish a set routine and stick to it. Your little study monkey should know that every day like clockwork, when he/she comes home, they makes a snack and start on homework. If your student is having trouble in school, run through their completed homework for mistakes, then help them with the questions they had trouble with. If your student normally tests well in school, ask if they completed their homework each night and trust that they have fulfilled each assignment completely. This allows your student to see that they need to be responsible for their own work and that you except them to be in charge. If they begin to slack on tests, start reviewing their homework again. Students need to learn how to be accountable for their studies. Writing down assignments, organizing papers and planning when to study are lifelong skills that they will need as a student as well as a professional.
Here at The Study Hut sometimes saying goodbye is a happy occasion. As the summer is coming to an end so we say goodbye to a few of our tutors. Not to worry! Their departure is not due to sub-par performance or conflicts between other tutors, but because they are once again joining the ranks of US college students or are exploring the world in hopes of expanding human knowledge.
We are happy to see one tutor off to Columbia University this fall. Jenna who has worked with us this last year came to us already with some teaching experience. She had taught and substituted for a few of the lower elementary grades after finishing school. Now she is going for her Masters degree in education. We are always happy people using their skills to teach other and help others.
Another tutor will also be leaving not just us, the whole United States. Jenny, after a few years helping kids in our Redondo office, is packing up and leaving for Australia. A marine-bio major, Jenny spent time studying sharks while in school. Now she plans on continuing that hobby/love. She will be camping out on the remote coast of Australia tracking, recording, and studying the local shark behavior. After a few months she will then be attending graduate school in Australia.
We wish Jenna and Jenny the best of luck on their new adventures.
Hey everyone. After hours of research and planning we at Study Hut are almost ready to start a new line of services aimed at helping college-ready-high schooler’s not just choose the best college for them but also help get into and pay for school. The first half of our new services will be geared at having students “Brand” themselves by identifying their own unique set of skills and strengths which they can then use to better their chances of getting to the college of their choosing. By better understanding and realizing his/her own strengths students will be better able to write insightful and stronger college application essays and articulate their worth to colleges during the application process.
After you get in the school of your dreams we offer another set of services, which mom and will love, that help reduce the cost of college. We will help students apply and win scholarships by coaching them how to best present themselves when applying for scholarships. We are also able to find other ways of reducing the college cost by getting in-state tuition, testing out of some college courses (which is not just limited to AP tests), help with FASFA application and process, tuition reimbursement, and other programs offered to help students reduce the cost of college tuition.
We at the Hut have all ourselves gone through the marathon of college apps and are aware how much stress the process can be. We are happy to offer our own experience and expertise in aiding students doing their very best to get in and pay for college.
Valentines Day spirit is in the air at Manhattan Beach Study Hut! We are THE place to be V-day. For one, we have the best manager ever who made us all cookies with our names on them. We also each get a list of V-day topics to talk about with our kids. We ask questions like “who is your celebrity crush?” and “what is your favorite kind of chocolate?” to keep the kids engaged and not as bummed about doing homework on a holiday. The drawer full of candy also adds to the valentines spirit. …although this is year around. For me, everyday at the Study hut is like Valentines Day because I love the people I work with and care deeply about all of the kids I tutor. Also, we have a lot of baked goods here all of the time so it adds to the mood.
Our goal is to turn studying, something that is usually somewhat painful, into something fun and exciting. All of our tutors our able to accomplish this because we all have a passion for learning and for helping others. I think that this is exemplified on a day like today where love and compassion are in the air. All of us tutors try and stay connected and get together outside of work to keep a united spirit. In a couple of weeks we are going to have a girls night, and we just got done with doing a really fun murder mystery party. Having close relationships at work is important because it allows us to work as a team when tutoring. When I’m not sure of a science question, it’s nice to feel comfortable turning to Roxy and asking her help on a question. So while the cookies and candy definitely create a great Valentines mood, it’s the love and compassion that our tutors have that really make Study hut a Valentines Day everyday.
It’s a happy time of year, that time of year where you can finally relax and say to yourself, “At least I’m done with finals.” Hopefully you all did well, and if not, take solace in the fact that you made the effort to do well- by coming in to tutoring and studying hard. So give yourself a pat on the back.
This time of year also presents itself with a fresh start. Everybody inevitably finds themselves playing catch-up during the semester, but you can minimize the level of catch-up by making an effort to plan your studies more and doing a little everyday, rather than procrastinate and cram. So take this opportunity to start fresh with your tutor as well. Keep your planner updated and make a thorough game-plan as to how you’re going to study for your various tests. Hold yourself accountable to get what you need to get done before going out or playing video games. We all know the pleasure from those little things is no where close to the stress you feel when you have a chemistry test and you’ve forgotten what a nucleus is.
The message is this: whether you’re in middle school, high school, or college, the method to doing well in your classes is the same. It all comes down to a daily balance. Yes, a balance, between work, school, and personal time. To succeed in the school part, you have to balance it, not cram it, and make sure you save time for yourself in the process, because no one can ONLY work or study.
So grab this opportunity by the reigns, follow your planner, and use your tutor as a resource and guide to both success, and having a good time.
Finals are the most stressful and overwhelming time of each semester. It was hard enough studying for each test the last couple of months, but how are you supposed to study for a test in every class covering everything you have learned! It’s a tall task, but it is manageable with the right tools and preparation. The tutors at the Study Hut are ready to arm you with the weapons necessary to conquer the dreaded week.
Probably the most important key to studying for finals is budgeting time. You have to have realistic expectations for each class and weigh the pros and cons of time spent studying for each class. If I have a C+ in math and need to nail my final to get a B, I’ll put more time into that class than in English which comes easy to me and I have a solid A. Once you decide how important each final is, now you have to make sure you set time aside for each, and work both diligently, and effectively.
A second key to studying for finals is simply knowing WHAT to study. Believe it or not, finals are usually far easier than the individual chapter tests. This is because on the final, the teacher is going to test the big concepts from each section, not the nitty gritty details like those tested in a chapter test. With the help of your Study Hut tutor, you can go through your old tests and assignments and realistically pick and choose what you must dedicate more time to studying.
So remember: Don’t panic, stay organized, take your tutors advice, and study diligently. Good things will come. Best of luck to you all.
Dont let these Manhattan Beach middle school students fool you. Please stay active with them and keep them engaged.
Go through his “edline” acct with him and talk to him about each of his grades. He could use practice quizzes and he can make them himself.
He needs to focus on his daily planner too, as do ALL of our middle schoolers, and even most of our high schoolers, and have all his tests written on the day they will be given, and have a detailed study plan written out for the days leading up to his test(s).
The study tasks should say, “Make 20 flashcards for spanish verbs” and that would be on Monday for example, even if his test isnt until friday. The next day should read, “review flashcards for 2 [20min] chunks”…. you can make him difficult practice quizzes where you will be able to see if he is not only comprehending the material, but retaining it.
You’re def going to want to make mini quizzes (they can be as small as 3-5 questions based on the material he just covered). If no practice quiz is given, there is no real way to ensure comprehension.
He can work on HW, but that shouldnt be his number 1 or even number 2 priority, unless the difficulty of the assignment is a pressing concern. He needs some management help, and probably a little conceptual help, you can evaluate the needs of all this at the beginning with an interview process. You will be able to gauge and feel more comfortable after working with him a second time…that kind of thing builds as you get to know your student.
